Ace Celebrates 100 Years with ‘We Are Better Together’ Themed Chicago Celebration

Kicking off with an extravaganza of sights and sounds, the Ace Hardware Fall Convention in Chicago, August 8-10 had a big, dramatic opening with the Centennial Celebration in Wintrust Arena.

More than 7,000 people witnessed and participated in the flurry of sights, sounds and performances during the convention’s opening event. Themes of Ace helpfulness and “we are better together” echoed throughout the nearly two-hour spectacular.

With a soundtrack provided by The Blue Man Group and an enchanting vocalist, Ace Hardware’s Centennial Celebration included a lively retelling of the Ace founding story, including how founding retailers negotiated their first deal, a bulk purchase of sponges. Weaving their performances throughout the event, the Blue Man Group played music on building materials and spun toilet paper into the crowd with leaf blowers. During one segment, the Blue Man Group performers ordered parts for a PVC musical instrument via the Ace app.

In a video presentation, Ace was congratulated for reaching the century mark by a host of celebrities, including Dirty Jobs star Mike Rowe, New York Yankees manager Aaron Boone, Hall of Fame MLB player David Ortiz, and Hall of Fame NLF quarterback Brett Favre.

Ace Retailers Highlighted During Centennial Celebration

Throughout the celebration, Ace retailers, including Bill Hagan, owner of Hagan Ace Hardware with 11 locations in Florida, took the stage to share their stories.

“I believe our success in the future is largely rooted in the foundations of our past,” said Hagan, who represents the third generation of ownership. “Since our founding, we’ve embraced a lot of change for the better, just like we did our store count that’s increased from one to 11. Our number of employees has changed a little—from two to 440.”

Hagan talked about his initial experience working on the store’s salesfloor, helping a customer solve a problem plumbing problem to restore her water.

“It’s the business of helping others,” Hagan says. “You see, I helped somebody and that just gave me this heartwarming feeling. Joy filled my work. And from then on, hey, I was hooked.”

CEO Venhuizen Leads Light Show

The theme of Ace helpfulness continued to resonate when Ace Hardware President and CEO John Venhuizen stepped on stage.

“Sometimes inside the store, many times outside the store, you put your own needs second,” Venhuizen said. “You subordinate your desire so that you can shine your light onto someone who needs a little help.”

As attendees entered Wintrust Arena, they received gift bags that included flashlights and wrist bracelets with LED lights. Before the show began, attendees were asked to put on the bracelets, which glowed different colors during different parts of the festivities. For example, the lights shined blue when the Blue Man Group played or yellow during the presentation of the Ace All-Stars, who are 10 patients from Children’s Miracle Network Hospitals, chosen for their impact on community.

As the conclusion of the Ace Centennial Celebration, Venhuizen asked questions and requested that the crowd respond by turning on their flashlights. For example, the CEO asked how many retailers have been retailers for five, 10, 25 or 50 years.

“We are blessed to be in the business of serving others, and we’re not just a player in the hardware industry,” Venhuizen said. “You are the hope of the hardware industry and our future life, which is primarily in the hands of our local leaders like you.”

Buying Event with Big Energy

Claiming to be the biggest hardware show in industry history, the Ace Hardware Fall Convention occupied more than 1.5 million square feet at the McCormick Place Convention Center and recorded more than 17,600 attendees including 8,000 Ace retailers from more than 5,000 stores. On the vendor side, the show had more than 1,500 booths with more than 6,000 vendor personnel present.

As part of the show floor, retailers were able to walk through Ace’s new concept store, ELEVATE3 Ace Experimental Flagship Store. This 13,000-square-foot, full-scale model store highlights product lines exclusive to Ace and immersive shopping design.

Ace’s Heartware Stories Available on Apple TV

In related recent news about Ace Hardware, select episodes of Heartware Stories, Ace Hardware’s mini-documentary series, are now available on Apple TV. This compelling series showcases 100 acts of goodwill by Ace employees across all 50 states, highlighting the company’s century-long commitment to community support and heartfelt kindness. As of July 5, the series is also available on Google Play and Amazon Prime, with a special rollout on ROKU planned for Fall 2024.