House-Hasson to Hold January Virtual Dealer Market

House-Hasson Hardware will conduct an online dealer market sales event in January 2021 similar to the company’s highly successful summer online dealer market. 

Plans have been shelved to hold an in-person market during January at Nashville’s Opryland Hotel, says Don Hasson, president of House-Hasson, America’s largest independent regional hardware distributor. 

“We looked at the statistics on COVID-19 and restrictions that exist at present on large gatherings in Nashville,” Hasson said. “We decided to cancel the in-person Opryland Hotel market, and we’re instead going to have a full-blown online market.”

The Fresh Start virtual dealer market is scheduled for January 27-29. Programs such as bonus buys, pallet buys, super savers, deals on drop ship and warehouse orders, and other dealer margin builders, will be part of the market. 

Hasson said that getting word out early about the change of plans is important because of the numbers of people who attend markets, the amount of advance preparation required and to enable dealers to begin planning how to make the most out of the January online market. 

“Our online market in June 2020 had about a 20 percent year-over-year sales gain,” Hasson added. “To say we were pleased would be an understatement. 

“We chose to go with a smaller sales event in October, principally because product demand was so high we had to focus on meeting the immediate needs of our dealers. Their profitability is the basis for everything we do.”

Hasson said he and the company staff miss being able to visit personally with customers. 

“For nearly 115 years we’ve been building relationships with dealers,” he said.  “There’s a lot of personality in the hardware business, and the interpersonal relationships are an important part of our company’s life. 

“Still, we want to hold a market in which people can be confident of their safety. It just didn’t seem like a good idea to even think about trying to get 1,500 to 2,000 people, or more, in one room where they’ll be looking at hardware, or to have lunch. Plus, restrictions are such that it wasn’t feasible.”