Ace Hardware Jumps to No. 5 in Franchise Times’ Top 200
Ace Hardware Corp., the largest retailer-owned hardware cooperative in the world, announced it was recently ranked in the top five in the 2019 Franchise Times Top 200, following four straight years ranked at No. 6. The respected annual list ranks the largest U.S. franchises by global sales.
“Ace is proud to be recognized again by Franchise Times as a top franchise, and thrilled to have earned the number five ranking for 2019,” said John Tovar, vice president operations and new business for Ace. “We continue to see incredible growth both in new store openings and among our existing retailers, and it is because of our hardworking independent store owners and their commitment to serving their neighbors with the highest-quality products and the convenience their customers expect from Ace.”
Ace Hardware’s move into the top five puts the company among elite worldwide companies including McDonald’s, 7-Eleven, KFC and Burger King. Ace Hardware is the only non-food brand in the top five.
The company credited strong same-store sales growth, a near 50 percent jump in online orders on Acehardware.com and 147 new store openings for the successful results. The company added $643 million in sales in 2018, a 4 percent increase from the previous year.
Ace Hardware is structured as a retailer-owned cooperative where independent owners operate the majority of locations, even though it is sometimes considered a franchise system. Ace “franchisees” or retail members not only own their individual stores, but also serve as shareholders in the organization.
The Franchise Times Top 200 is an annual ranking of the 200 largest franchise systems in the U.S. by global system-wide sales, based on the previous year’s performance. To see the full Top 200 list, click here.
