GENTRY — It’s hard to beat an old-time hardware store when it comes to finding a doo-dad, a scoop of 10-penny nails or advice on how to fix just about anything.
Big box stores, like Lowe’s and Home Depot, may be newer, shinier and packed with a lot of stuff, but they lack the charm, practical knowledge and service found in family-owned establishments such as the J.R. Bever Co. in Gentry.
You’ll find the usual nuts and bolts, electrical and plumbing supplies, hammers and paint. But look closer and you’ll also find heaters and wood stoves, animal feed, horse tack, Radio Flyer toys, ladies’ purses, jewelry and western decor. They cut keys and sell rain barrels.
Nicole and Guthrey Neavear of Gentry stopped in at Bever’s this week for potting soil and other gardening items.
“The people are nice. It’s more personal here,” Nicole Neavear said.
Guthrey Neavear said he likes the store because of the selection. Bever’s occupies what were once several store fronts and every kind of merchandise imaginable is packed in tight aisles under the original pressed tin ceiling.
“You can’t find stuff like this at Lowe’s, and the prices are cheaper. As soon as you walk in the door, someone asks if they can help you,” Guthrey Neavear said. “And, I’d rather come here than travel 20 miles.”
Home Depot, based in Atlanta, is the largest hardware retailer and home improvement chain in the country, and the second largest retailer behind Walmart. Home Depot had about 2,200 stores and reported $67.9 billion in sales in 2011.
Lowe’s, based in North Carolina, was the second leading hardware retailerwith sales of more than $48.8 billion from 1,700 stores in 2011.
Ace Hardware is the largest cooperative with sales of $3.5 billion from 4,400 stores.
As of 2009, there were 15,734 hardware stores in the country, according to the U.S. Census Bureau. Most are independent businesses, but nearly all are affiliated with a national wholesaler.
Shopping local
Randy Bever, owner of the J.R. Bever Co. in Gentry, said he is seeing a change in shopping behavior.
“We’re beginning to see a lot more people shopping local,” Bever said. “A lot of the buy local initiatives are taking effect across the country and we’re beginning to see, too, that people are wanting to try to support their hometowns more.”
Bever said his affiliation with ACE Hardware allows his store to remain price competitive with Walmart and other box stores, despite their claims of having the lowest prices on everything.
“You can’t have the lowest price on everything. They hammer these few things, and on most of the store we’re at their price or belowit. We’re real close anyway,” Bever said. “They’ve got a big budget to get that message out.”
Bever said manufacturers have also seen the value of having smaller stores as customers. “A lot of the manufacturers have figured out that if they keep making great deals to Home Depot and Lowe’s, pretty soon that’s going to be their only two customers. Then, if one of them gets mad or decides to play them against another vendor, they don’t have any market left,” Bever said. “So, they’ve decided they need to keep some independents in the game, and the biggest independent player out there is ACE Hardware. So, we get the deals that the big boxes get as well. It’s a perception difference that is the biggest thing.”
Bever’s has 10,000 squarefeet, a warehouse and an outside sales area. Most hardware stores have about 8,500 square feet, according to the National Retail Hardware Association. That compares to home centers that average 14,000 square feet and warehouse-style hardware stores that average about 100,000 square feet.
Hardware stores experienced a slowdown but weathered the recession better than most businesses selling fix-up products to do-it-yourselfers, according to the Hardware Association. By 2012 stores were showing signs of recovery. Sales at hardware stores and home centers increased every month of the last quarter of 2011. Hardware store sales totaled $1.73 billion in October compared with $1.56 billion for the period a year before.
News, Pages 11 on 04/04/2012