ACE Hardware Operations

Alpha8472
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ACE Hardware Operations

Post by Alpha8472 »

I have seen many ACE Hardware stores and there is such a variation on what they carry.

There is a small chain in the San Francisco Bay Area called Alamo Hardware that has a huge
Toy department. The one in San Ramon, California used to be a huge Lucky then Albertsons. They added a second floor to the former supermarket and it has extensive second floor windows. The entire second floor is like a grand balcony. There is an elevator and 2 staircases. This store has it all. There is even an outdoor Garden Center. Did Lucky have Garden Centers?

There are $70 stuffed animals and high end toys. They have expensive dinosaur plastic toys that look like the kind you find at Hobby Lobby. The quality is amazing. There were many interesting toys that you can't even find at Walmart.

The Christmas decorations were really fancy and much higher quality than Walmart. The selection was extensive and it all looked really good.

This ACE Hardware was like a treasure hunt.
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Re: ACE Hardware Operations

Post by pseudo3d »

There was never an Ace growing up in my town until high school. The first one closed after a few years due to a combination of road construction and a new Lowe’s opening a few miles away (not a direct hit but the Ace had benefitted from Home Depot being pretty far away). The second one opened almost a decade after the first one closed. It evolved from an outdoors shop, so it had a department for hiking and backpacking. This was also much larger (located in half of what used to be a Winn-Dixie Marketplace years ago), but it lacked a garden center.

Another cool example was a combination gas convenience store/Ace in Houston, but sadly it was torn down for a highway ramp.
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Re: ACE Hardware Operations

Post by Romr123 »

there's one here in Palm Springs that really leans into the campy desert aesthetic, with high-end things particularly patio furniture. Huge gay clientele and employee base...fun place to visit.
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Re: ACE Hardware Operations

Post by jamcool »

There is the mega-sized Ace store in Tucson (22nd St @ Kolb)that has a large housewares and kitchenware section, large Christmas decoration department and hobby and model center.
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Re: ACE Hardware Operations

Post by veteran+ »

I really like Ace and True Value way more than Lowes and especially Home Depot.

Koontz here in West Hollywood is very good as well even though it is way too small.
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Re: ACE Hardware Operations

Post by storewanderer »

Ace is completely operator dependent but it is unusual to see a truly bad Ace. The variance is just in what they offer, often dictated by store size. I have noticed Ace has a reputation for high prices however whenever I price compare Ace to Home Depot or Lowes I find their prices to vary by store and item but usually range from 25-35% (surprisingly often) lower to just about 10% higher.

There was a failed Ace in Sparks (former Lumberback) that had about 75% of its space dedicated to furniture. The selection of actual hardware/tool items in there wasn't great, especially given the giant space they had. The prices in this store were very, very high (far higher than other Ace Stores in surrounding areas). Their garden center varied very widely from year to year in quality/effort for some reason, real ups and downs from year to year. They tried to install a coffee/espresso/hot dog type counter to cater to the high school students across the street and also had an assortment of toys. This was a sad, sad Ace Store. In its last year or so they were not restocking and it was evident they were going under, and I walked out empty handed a couple of times. This store was in business for many years limping along, and did sell to Big R West a couple years ago. Big R West spent months liquidating the Ace merchandise (not sure what happened to all of the furniture) which was very shopworn and difficult to get rid of. Big R West got rid of the furniture and added back in a better assortment of actual hardware categories, doesn't do much with garden anymore, and has clothing and small kitchen appliances. Big R is not doing well in that location either.

There was also a very short lived Ace in Reno on South Meadows when that shopping center opened around 2008. It was quite small and was only in business a few years. For what it was, for its small size, it had a great mix of items. Sandwiched within 2 miles of 2 Home Depots, that was a very bad location choice for someone, not sure who owned that store.

There is a newer Ace in Central Reno in a very old building. Old Ace logo sign out front. Wood floors, and half of the merchandise down in a basement. Nothing really interested in terms of odd/different categories. You'd think the store has been there forever, but it hasn't been. Great mix of items, very friendly employees, and just what you'd expect from a hardware store. Pricing is more than reasonable. I think that store does quite well. They don't do garden (live plants) but they cover the hardware bases very well.
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Re: ACE Hardware Operations

Post by rwsandiego »

This thread brings back memories of The Great Ace, an Ace hardware in at the intersection of Diversey, Clark, and Broadway in Chicago. In addition to the usual hardware, they had housewares, small appliances, upscale window coverings, and more spread across three floors. It was where everyone living in Lincoln Park, Lake View, and Lincoln Square shopped. When they moved to the Clybourn Corridor the store just wasn't the same and they eventually closed. Really miss that place!
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Re: ACE Hardware Operations

Post by storewanderer »

The other interesting thing about Ace is they have a small overseas presence as well. Their model overseas isn't really any different than their model in the US in terms of store format but they seem to work with single groups that develop larger blocks of stores vs. the way it is in the US with a bunch of one store operators and a few groups with more stores. At one point I think Lowes controlled Ace in Canada but I am not sure what is happening with that. Ace has a formula that seems to work very well with the operator model they use. On the back end they seem to be able to get quite an assortment of products to these stores.
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Re: ACE Hardware Operations

Post by bryceleinan »

It also sounds like Ace is encouraging single-store operators to become multi-store operators, or sell to a larger operator. The Ace where I’m at (Dayton, NV) is owned by the Louie family out of Fallon. Susanville Ace (~90 miles north of Reno) sold to Crown Ace out of SoCal. I know Westlake Ace (the only stores indirectly owned by Ace Hardware) took over a bunch of the old OSH stores, and a couple more locations (like Pleasant Hill).

Interestingly enough, Sparks is about to get another Ace Hardware in a 2008-10ish built but never opened Longs Drugs that’s about the same size as our new Ace in Dayton.
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Re: ACE Hardware Operations

Post by Alpha8472 »

The Pleasant Hill, California ACE Hardware was a replacement of sorts. There was a longtime ACE Hardware in Pleasant Hill. It closed and several years later Bill's ACE Hardware opened up across the street. Then it got looted in 2020 as part of a wave of looters that ransacked stores ranging from Kohl's all the way to Sunvalley Mall in Concord. I just happened to be at a Safeway down the street when the store employees told everyone to run for your lives. The police were able to repel the looters at the front of the mall.

Bill's ACE Hardware was forced out by the landlord because CVS wanted the building. CVS posted a sign announcing a new store with a drive-thru. Then CVS suddenly took down the sign and shortly after announced their plan for hundreds of store closures.

Then Westlake ACE announced that it was opening up again in the building. It should be soon.
Last edited by Alpha8472 on November 6th, 2022, 8:50 pm, edited 2 times in total.
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