The Hardware Connection Expands Staff, Adds Doug Donaldson as Senior Editor
Responding to increasing readership and demand for high-quality news and content about the hardware industry, The Hardware Connection is expanding its staff, adding longtime hardware industry writer Doug Donaldson as senior editor.
Donaldson has written extensively about the hardware industry since 1999, visiting stores across the nation and interviewing more than a thousand retailers. A regular contributor to The Hardware Connection since 2012, Donaldson compiles the How’s Business section of the publication in addition to writing profiles of independent hardware retailers.
“We welcome Doug’s enthusiasm for independent hardware retailing, and he will help expand and evolve The Hardware Connection’s coverage of the industry,” says Chris Jensen, Editor/Founder/Principal of The Hardware Connection. “One of his strengths has always been profiles of retailers. He really drills down to the core of what makes a store tick and conveys that in his articles.”
Donaldson wrote the cover feature, “Fourth Generation Helps Position Century Club Retailer for the Next 100 Years,” for the November 2022 issue of The Hardware Connection. He also wrote several features for the two-part series in 2019 on Century Club: The Innovators and Survivors Who Helped Build America that was awarded the FOLIO Eddie Award for Best Series of Articles.
Donaldson got his hardware industry start as an editor at Hardware Retailer/Do-It-Yourself Retailing, where he worked on various custom publications for NRHA and served as editor of Farm Supply Retailing. In addition to his years of writing about the hardware industry, Donaldson has been a freelance writer for more than three decades, and his byline has appeared in some of the nation’s leading consumer publications, including Men’s Health, Better Homes & Gardens and Men’s Journal. Donaldson has also written and edited custom content for several Fortune 500 companies.
“Donaldson’s experience with custom publishing provides The Hardware Connection with additional benefits for our advertisers and corporate partners,” says Craig Cope, The Hardware Connection’sPublisher/Principal. “Expanding the staff and continuing to aggressively cover the hardware industry as a digital-first publication affirms our commitment to our audience, the independent hardware retailers.”
Donaldson resides with his wife Liesa in Beacon, New York, about an hour north of New York City, and notes that he was overjoyed when a new hardware store opened in the little town.
