Face-to-Face Still Matters
House-Hasson president and CEO Steve Henry talks markets, territory growth and why shaking hands still beats sending links.
Henry has led the company since 2021 and has been part of its leadership for more than a decade. Under his direction, House-Hasson acquired Bostwick-Braun’s hardware division in 2024, expanding its distribution reach across the Midwest.
Since acquiring the hardware division of Bostwick-Braun in June 2024, House-Hasson has expanded its distribution footprint and extended its reach into new territories across the Midwest and beyond. President and CEO Steve Henry, who stepped into the role in 2021 after more than a decade with the company, has led the integration and overseen continued growth while keeping the focus on supporting independent retailers.
As part of that support, House-Hasson hosts three dealer markets each year. The most recent was in Nashville, Tenn., this past January, and the next—its Rise & Shine Summertime Dealer Market—is scheduled for June 12-14 in Sevierville, Tenn.
In this exclusive conversation with Hardware Connection, Henry shares updates on the Bostwick-Braun integration, thoughts on where the industry is headed and why he believes small-town hardware stores will continue to thrive. He also weighs in on tariffs, e-commerce and how House-Hasson adapts without rushing change.
Hardware Connection: Approaching a year since House-Hasson acquired Bostwick-Braun’s hardware division, how has the integration progressed? Have there been any unexpected challenges or surprises along the way?
Steve Henry: It’s gone extremely well—although it can never move fast enough for us. We had to completely clean out both Bostwick-Braun warehouses. Initially, we thought Bostwick-Braun retailers would purchase specific SKUs they’d previously sold and that we’d be adding a lot more SKUs. But former Bostwick-Braun retailers have liked what House-Hasson sells and didn’t want to go back. So we had to shift gears and maintain the same SKU count.
That was probably the biggest surprise: We went in thinking folks were familiar with certain brands and we assumed there would be more brand loyalty. But by and large, customers preferred what House-Hasson is selling. We had to pivot, but in the long run, it’s made things easier. We didn’t want to make any changes until we got it right.
The goal was to mirror both warehouses—the former Bostwick-Braun warehouse in Ashley, Ind., now mirrors the House-Hasson warehouse in Prichard, W.Va. We’re now running at a 96-97 percent fill rate, and it’s working really well.
With ongoing tariff uncertainty, how do you see the current and potential future tariff situation affecting House-Hasson and the independent retailers you serve?
Typically, when something like this hits the economy, there’s a short-term benefit—we’ve bought a lot of inventory at lower prices. We’ll pass along increases when we have to, but so will our competitors.
If other wholesalers are paying more, they’re going to raise prices just like us. The playing field stays pretty level. The only difference is who bought early and stocked up before the tariffs. In the short term, some smart retailers may buy early to beat the price hikes. But we’re all in the same boat—Orgill, Do it Best, everyone’s prices will go up about the same.
