Ace Hardware?

[storewanderer]

Around Reno there seems to be some kind of a weird thing going on with Ace Hardware. Someone is opening Ace Hardwares in what feels like every shopping center in town with enough space. I have no idea what the logic of this is. This is all very recent in the past few months.

Multiple of these shopping centers have already had failed hardware stores in the past. I am not sure why someone suddenly thinks it will be different this time. Maybe because the houses are older?

Reno-Caughlin Pkwy.- there was a short lived Coast to Coast franchise in this shopping center. It did little business and closed. High income area. I don't see many DIY-ers in this area, but maybe? I do not see this as a viable location.

Reno-McCarran/Mira Loma- this Ace took a former Dollar Tree space. The Dollar Tree had a history of very low sales volume. Many rental houses in this area, and a huge apartment complex behind the store is the main source of business for this shopping center. So I don't see this as an area with a bunch of DIY-ers. The CVS has a strong pharmacy but sells little merchandise and the Raleys is a very downscale operation. I do not see this as a viable location.

Reno-Lemmon- there was a long time True Value in this center, I thought it did okay and maybe it did, but it closed and Ace quickly filled the space. This location should work.

Reno-South Medows Pkwy.- this one is funny- when this center was constructed it opened with an Ace. This store failed quickly. I felt it lacked selection. Ace is now moving back into a sliver of the space it previously occupied. The space is so small I can't see how it will be useful for anything. I do not see this as a viable location. There are two Home Depots far too close.

[bryceleinan]

Around Reno there seems to be some kind of a weird thing going on with Ace Hardware. Someone is opening Ace Hardwares in what feels like every shopping center in town with enough space. I have no idea what the logic of this is. This is all very recent in the past few months.

Multiple of these shopping centers have already had failed hardware stores in the past. I am not sure why someone suddenly thinks it will be different this time. Maybe because the houses are older?

Reno-Caughlin Pkwy.- there was a short lived Coast to Coast franchise in this shopping center. It did little business and closed. High income area. I don't see many DIY-ers in this area, but maybe? I do not see this as a viable location.

Reno-McCarran/Mira Loma- this Ace took a former Dollar Tree space. The Dollar Tree had a history of very low sales volume. Many rental houses in this area, and a huge apartment complex behind the store is the main source of business for this shopping center. So I don't see this as an area with a bunch of DIY-ers. The CVS has a strong pharmacy but sells little merchandise and the Raleys is a very downscale operation. I do not see this as a viable location.

Reno-Lemmon- there was a long time True Value in this center, I thought it did okay and maybe it did, but it closed and Ace quickly filled the space. This location should work.

Reno-South Medows Pkwy.- this one is funny- when this center was constructed it opened with an Ace. This store failed quickly. I felt it lacked selection. Ace is now moving back into a sliver of the space it previously occupied. The space is so small I can't see how it will be useful for anything. I do not see this as a viable location. There are two Home Depots far too close.

Ace is trying to get owners to open more locations from what I recall reading.

Lemmon Valley is owned by Crown Ace, which is one of the larger Ace chains in California. They also bought Susanville and South Tahoe (the one by Target/former Raley’s), among others.

Caughlin Ranch is owned by Carter Bros (the Midtown Ace), which itself was recently recapitalized.

Mira Loma is owned by Wingfield Ace in Sparks, and I have no clue who owns the one in South Meadows.

The South Meadows one is a little weird to me too, since it’s smaller than their first location. I know the new Ace prototype can be run as small as 5k SQF, but as you mentioned, it’s close to 2 Home Depots, and not that far from Mira Loma Ace.

[jamcool]

You can find things at an Ace store that you can’t find at the Blue and Orange boxes. There is also more help there than the big boxes. Plus a lot of people prefer going to a smaller store than dealing with the hordes in the big box DIYs .

[ClownLoach]

You can find things at an Ace store that you can’t find at the Blue and Orange boxes. There is also more help there than the big boxes. Plus a lot of people prefer going to a smaller store than dealing with the hordes in the big box DIYs .

I am going to agree to disagree.

There should be a greater assortment of localized need hardware at a local Ace versus a generic blue or orange box along with local expertise.

However, Ace is very inconsistent in the standards they enforce of their franchisees. Some locations are small but jam packed and seemingly the building exudes knowledge of the unique attributes of local homes. In Long Beach there is a very small Ace that has operated for decades on Anaheim Street, and growing up there it was a landmark for handymen, homeowners, and everyone else as they seemed to have all the unique and unusual hardware that seemed to be present in Long Beach buildings. The store was maybe 3,000 square feet and is absolutely essential to the community. I am sure that store has saved homeowners in town many millions of dollars by stocking the weird and unusual hardware prevalent in town, thus allowing for affordable repairs instead of costly replacements of plumbing systems, electrical fixtures, doors and windows, cabinetry, and more.

Near me there is only one Ace for many miles and it is a blemish on the chain. It is a beautifully designed, spacious and well signed 20,000 Sq ft store that has perfect lighting and displays and everything else. Problem is that on the best day I would estimate their in stock rate at 60%, and their service is completely clueless down to the point of not knowing the difference between a screw and a nail, blue/orange are far more helpful. I wish I was joking but I am dead serious. The current state of Rite Aid in stocks is superior to this Ace. They never have what I need and although they do have some of the local oddities such as a weird air filter size that is present in many of the local homes but is impossible to obtain from the blue/orange warehouses and can only be sourced in full cases on Amazon. But the overall experience is garbage, any time I visit and they actually have the item I need I browse the aisles sometimes thinking of other things I might need for the house. The general empty 'going out of business' feeling begins to sink in and I usually wind up leaving with my one item in hand. Meanwhile I can go to blue/orange for one item and I never escape with less than a cart load.

The only good thing I hear in this situation of stores opening is that each is a different franchise which means the good ones will likely do fine and the bad ones will close. I wish I had the capital to open an Ace franchise here and put the nearby store out of business, because it would not be difficult to capture all of their customers. I have not seen any new Ace stores in years in the OC and SD areas.

[storewanderer]

The past couple times I've gone into Ace Stores I've left empty handed due to the stores not having what I needed. The stores were semi messy, price labeling was sloppy, and one store was so helpful it was so obvious they thought I was there to shoplift and I became uncomfortable to even browse.

The only ones I've been to that look good lately and I had a decent experience are that Crown operator.

I think they are over expanding. Pushing these store operators to over expand is not going to end well.

I have found the past few years their pricing is at or below Home Depot/Lowes on comparable items though. There is a wide pricing variance by store.

One unit in Sparks that closed had outrageously high pricing (Big R took it over, and their pricing seems even worse).

[Super S]

You can find things at an Ace store that you can’t find at the Blue and Orange boxes. There is also more help there than the big boxes. Plus a lot of people prefer going to a smaller store than dealing with the hordes in the big box DIYs .

I am going to agree to disagree.

There should be a greater assortment of localized need hardware at a local Ace versus a generic blue or orange box along with local expertise.

However, Ace is very inconsistent in the standards they enforce of their franchisees. Some locations are small but jam packed and seemingly the building exudes knowledge of the unique attributes of local homes. In Long Beach there is a very small Ace that has operated for decades on Anaheim Street, and growing up there it was a landmark for handymen, homeowners, and everyone else as they seemed to have all the unique and unusual hardware that seemed to be present in Long Beach buildings. The store was maybe 3,000 square feet and is absolutely essential to the community. I am sure that store has saved homeowners in town many millions of dollars by stocking the weird and unusual hardware prevalent in town, thus allowing for affordable repairs instead of costly replacements of plumbing systems, electrical fixtures, doors and windows, cabinetry, and more.

Near me there is only one Ace for many miles and it is a blemish on the chain. It is a beautifully designed, spacious and well signed 20,000 Sq ft store that has perfect lighting and displays and everything else. Problem is that on the best day I would estimate their in stock rate at 60%, and their service is completely clueless down to the point of not knowing the difference between a screw and a nail, blue/orange are far more helpful. I wish I was joking but I am dead serious. The current state of Rite Aid in stocks is superior to this Ace. They never have what I need and although they do have some of the local oddities such as a weird air filter size that is present in many of the local homes but is impossible to obtain from the blue/orange warehouses and can only be sourced in full cases on Amazon. But the overall experience is garbage, any time I visit and they actually have the item I need I browse the aisles sometimes thinking of other things I might need for the house. The general empty 'going out of business' feeling begins to sink in and I usually wind up leaving with my one item in hand. Meanwhile I can go to blue/orange for one item and I never escape with less than a cart load.

The only good thing I hear in this situation of stores opening is that each is a different franchise which means the good ones will likely do fine and the bad ones will close. I wish I had the capital to open an Ace franchise here and put the nearby store out of business, because it would not be difficult to capture all of their customers. I have not seen any new Ace stores in years in the OC and SD areas.

Ace can be very inconsistent from one store to the next.

I have been to several small town Ace stores that were excellent and had an inventory that was tailored to the local area, and prices were reasonable. In some cases, competitive (and lower) than Home Depot or Lowe's.

I have also been to quite a few that seemed more like a poorly run convenience store, and were very run down with odd inventory and high prices. Sometimes, prices are so high that merchandise will sit on the shelf for years to the point that packaging becomes brittle and yellowed, and sometimes the product inside as well, and they still won't give discounts or clearance the items.

Locally, Longview, WA had an Ace store that took over most of a former ERNST store, before Home Depot or Lowe's came to town. Displays etc. were good, but the prices were HIGH. This did not change when Home Depot opened, and later when Lowe's arrived. Ace carried on but wasn't doing as much business, then consolidated in to a much smaller space. The most annoying thing was that there was somebody there full time trying to get people to enter a drawing for free windows pretty much whenever the store was open. Apart from that, when they moved to the smaller space it actually made it easier to find things and prices got a little better, but not by much, and the location ended up closing. At some point it was taken over by a company called House Mart which had a terrible website and appeared to be based in Hawaii, and seemed out of touch with this area. They also had a store in Olympia, not sure if it is still open.

I think that Ace and True Value, when operated properly, are a good fit for many areas as long as the owners are in touch with local needs and the local economy so prices can be fair.

[veteran+]

The 2 near me are very well run with reviews to match but pricing is not the best.

[BillyGr]

Then you get a few areas where towns are still small enough that the bigger brands simply don't want to open there, and thus the Ace (or True Value) is a great asset.
People may still go to the bigger chains when they are near one (or if they can't find exactly what they are looking for in the smaller stores), but having that local store is also essential to allow for making repairs when needed, without the time necessary to go to the farther away locations.

[bryceleinan]

The past couple times I've gone into Ace Stores I've left empty handed due to the stores not having what I needed. The stores were semi messy, price labeling was sloppy, and one store was so helpful it was so obvious they thought I was there to shoplift and I became uncomfortable to even browse.

The only ones I've been to that look good lately and I had a decent experience are that Crown operator.

I think they are over expanding. Pushing these store operators to over expand is not going to end well.

I have found the past few years their pricing is at or below Home Depot/Lowes on comparable items though. There is a wide pricing variance by store.

One unit in Sparks that closed had outrageously high pricing (Big R took it over, and their pricing seems even worse).

That buyout of the Sparks Ace by Big R (a Do-it-Best licensee) was a real head-scratcher for me. I’m not quite sure what Big R saw in Sparks, other than a large store for sale. That store did better as Ace, although Big R did win Stihl dealer of the year for Nevada.

[storewanderer]

The past couple times I've gone into Ace Stores I've left empty handed due to the stores not having what I needed. The stores were semi messy, price labeling was sloppy, and one store was so helpful it was so obvious they thought I was there to shoplift and I became uncomfortable to even browse.

The only ones I've been to that look good lately and I had a decent experience are that Crown operator.

I think they are over expanding. Pushing these store operators to over expand is not going to end well.

I have found the past few years their pricing is at or below Home Depot/Lowes on comparable items though. There is a wide pricing variance by store.

One unit in Sparks that closed had outrageously high pricing (Big R took it over, and their pricing seems even worse).

That buyout of the Sparks Ace by Big R (a Do-it-Best licensee) was a real head-scratcher for me. I’m not quite sure what Big R saw in Sparks, other than a large store for sale. That store did better as Ace, although Big R did win Stihl dealer of the year for Nevada.

Was it doing better as Ace? Ace had a huge portion of the space filled with "furniture." But I never saw much traffic there, the garden program seemed to shrink every year, it felt like a dying store for many years before Big R took over. Since Big R took over, I still see very little traffic. I am completely turned off by Big R's "so so" mix of products and high pricing. Big R seemed better in Fallon and Winnemucca, was never too impressed with the Fernley Big R either,... supposedly Sparks has more variety... I don't know.

Big R or someone affiliated with them bought that building in Sparks...

I'm not sure why they wanted that location either. Something further out in Spanish Springs may have made some sense, well, until Lowes opens by the WinCo if that ever happens.