Side Mission: Retailer David vs. Goliath Battle

The American Dream begins in a big box hardware store.? My wife and I bought our first home in Connecticut.? We lived ten minutes from a Home Depot and it was mana.? I knew I had arrived and felt accomplished as a homeowner the minute I walked into that store.? The tease of the senses from the mix of smells from sawdust to freshly cast rubber and plastic to the sights and sounds of the beeping skid steers and lifters in the aisle made for an intoxicating experience.? It only improved when I brought home all the new products and my garage began to smell like a big box hardware store.

Ironically, now that my wife and I have downsized the suburban McMansion for an urban condo our hardware needs have dropped off precipitously. ? I wish it would go to zero, but it won't, so I still have to make an occasional trip to the local big box hardware store for some random tool that in some cases I previously owned when we were homeowners and gave away in the downsizing, but now realize I still need in a condo. The long tail never ends.

Hardware in the United States is big business.? Home Depot’s 2022 sales topped out at $157 billion followed by Lowe’s at $97 billion (according to Statista).? Both Home Depot and Lowe’s have the lion's share of sales as they dwarf all other entrants in this competitive space.??

When I need a quick home hardware fix, I traipse over to my local Ace Hardware store.? I live in downtown San Diego and Ace is less than a ten-minute walk away. Walking makes it feel small-town local, but once I am inside feels local.? The store clerks always greet me within the first twenty to thirty seconds I enter the store.? They offer help and boy do they know how to help.? Unlike some of their big box counterparts, they have a smaller, more compact store to lord over.? Thus they come off with what feels like a wider range of expertise.? Rarely have I found there is a question they could not answer.? They walk you over to the aisle and they will walk you through options and help with any questions.? Usually, if they can’t answer a question, they will refer to one of the higher-up gurus also working in the store and this is all accomplished minus the smell of sawdust and dodging skid steers.? Checkout is fast and simple too. There is rarely a line, no self-check-out and I get my loyalty program credits. Now as an empty-nester condo owner, I no longer need the sensorial and ego boost that the big box stores gave me when I owned a home.

Ace Hardware is individually owned and operated, so experiences can vary and I have noticed that when I am out of town, in particular, to visit my mother in Kansas City. For example, the Kansas City Westport Ace Hardware, while larger versus my local downtown San Diego branch, is less on it when it comes to the in-store greeting process.??

Ace reported a record 2022 revenue of $9.2 billion, a 6.7% increase from 2021 (according to acehardware.com).? This is faint relative to Home Depot and Lowes, but commendable given the legacy of Ace Hardware.? Ace was founded in 1924 by five Chicago hardware store owners.? The company was incorporated four years later and has been in existence ever since.? In the modern retail era, 1924 is like the Jurassic period and Ace Hardware is like a species that has survived since the primordial era thus putting Ace on par with crocodiles and alligators.? Ace is no Croc when it comes to speed and agility.? These small stores have survived given their ability to find a successful niche where big box stores dare to go.? They act as disruptors interrupting our long-range trips and plans to venture to the big box store.

I felt the pall of not heeding my disruptor spidey senses to avoid the big box vortex and walk to my local Ace when I recently ventured via car to my closest Home Depot.? The reason:? I needed a specific tool in a strap wrench to fix two stubborn bathroom sink faucets.?

So upon entering the store, I tracked down an orange-vested Home Depot associate to ask where I could find the elusive strap wrench only to have him look at me like I had three eyeballs and as if I was interrupting something so important for him.? Without moving a foot, he raised his right arm and pointed in the general direction to “aisle 6”.? I went to aisle 6.? Aisle 6 in the Point Loma California Home Depot, is a black hole of tool porn.? As I stood in aisle 6 scanning the shelves and trying to take in additional oxygen looking for the elusive strap wrench, I noticed at the end of the aisle was now the same orange-vested associate I had previously approached minutes earlier.? He was now talking with a customer that I assume he had brought over to aisle 6.? Cheater.? Ten minutes later,? I found the elusive strap wrench on my own with my spidey senses in Aisle 11.

The moral to this story is that while my local Ace Hardware has better service, Home Depot has the better strap wrench.? What brought me to Home Depot, was I purchased a strap wrench at Ace Hardware two months prior.? It was not working out for me and I deferred to the massive Home Depot for what I suspected would be a greater selection, better return policy, and a cheaper choice.? In the end, I paid more for the single Home Depot strap wrench available (no greater selection), but it was better as It was slightly larger and had grooved rubber bindings to allow it to better grip faucet fixtures.? I suspect both are made in the same factory in China.

As for my faucet project, I now have one-half of it done.? I fixed the cold fixture and now I have an issue with the hot fixture not wanting to be removed.? Before I bail and call a plumber, I will make one more trip to my off-site storage to fetch one of the select tools I previously owned as a homeowner:? a telescoping basin wrench. ? With that, this project should come to a successful close without a visit to either Home Depot or Ace.?

And while I don't see Ace overcoming Home Depot anytime soon, I do see a ton of potential in these smaller spaces getting more productive with technology and increased population densities. Spidey senses out.