2024 Retail Hardware Deals Report
A total of 175 hardware store facilities were purchased, opened as greenfields or were closed in 2024, joint research by Hardware Connection and Webb Analytics finds. Within that number, 55 were acquired in 28 deals. Another 81 stores opened, while 39 were shuttered.
The biggest single deal saw Ace Corp’s Ace Retail Holdings unit acquire Bishop Ace Hardware’s 11 stores. Another Ace retail unit, Westlake Ace Hardware, did two deals that brought it six stores while opening 11 greenfield locations.
Aubuchon completed four purchases for 13 facilities, and Nation’s Best Holdings made four purchases for six stores. In addition, there was an abundance of individual store purchases, including:
- Rocky’s Ace Hardware took over Hometown Ace Hardware of Gloucester, Mass., and Smith Hardware of Rockport, Mass.
- Cardinal Home Center bought Valley Building Supply of Staunton, Va., and Lake Ann Tractor & Hardware in Mineral, Va.
- Elder’s Ace hardware took over Schofield’s Ace Hardware in Florence, S.C., and Fairley’s Ace Hardware in Dunlap, Tenn.
- Gillman Home Center bought the Goecker Building Supply locations in North Vernon and Seymour, Ind.
- Ashley and Matt Lloyd bought Kendall’s Ace Hardware of St. Paul, Minn.
- Boulder Hardware bought Hardware Hank, also based in Boulder, Mont.
- Adam Whanger acquired the Ace Hardware in Rainelle, W.Va.
- Costello’s Ace Hardware bought Warrenville Paint & Hardware of Warren, N.J.
- The wonderfully named Hey Everything acquired Wiehe’s Hardware of Barron, Wis.
- Door County Hardware purchased Jungwirth Ace Hardware in Sister Bay, Wis.
- Hermsen’s Ace Hardware acquired Heiser Ace Hardware of Platteville, Wis.
- R.P. Lumber bought Mount Carroll Home Center in Illinois.
- Texarkana Ace Hardware acquired Dot’s Ace Hardware, also based in Texarkana, Texas.
- Ossian Hardware bought Markle Do it Best Hardware in Indiana.
- Star Hardware acquired Conyer’s True Value Hardware of Manchester, Conn.
Also noteworthy was the Home Depot, which has resumed growing in the U.S. It opened seven new stores domestically in the past year. Lowe’s plans to open 10 to 15 new stores annually over the next several years, according to a press release issued by the company in December. In 2024, Tractor Supply Co. opened 80 new stores, bringing its total to 2,296 stores in 49 states.
The 175 actions in 2024 beat the 143 that occurred in 2023 but trailed the 232 in 2022. In 2024, hardware stores and home centers figured in 12.3 percent of all the transactions that Webb Analytics tracked.
The numbers compiled by Hardware Connection and Webb Analytics exclude reopenings of existing stores. They also excluded Home Depot’s purchase of SRS Distribution, which involved 769 pro-oriented drywall, landscaping and pool supply stores.
Craig Webb is president of Webb Analytics, a consultancy and information provider for building-material dealers. Webb follows and reports on home center trends at Webb-Analytics.com.
