Ace Hardware reports holiday sales growth

Consumers weren't just picking up bargain items at discount and department stores the day after Thanksgiving, they were also loading up on hardware, tools and housewares, according to a Nov. 27 release from Ace Hardware Corp.

Ace has deemed Nov. 23 the single most successful sales day in its 77-year history.

Boyd White, store manager for West-lake Ace Hardware, 2350 S. Campbell in Springfield, said his store's post-Thanks-giving sales were "phenomenal"; the largest day-after-Thanksgiving sales since the store opened in 1985. Hardware was a big seller, he said, and sales of Christmas decoration items have been steadily larger this year.

White attributes the positive sales in part to the events of Sept. 11 people are taking pride in their homes, wanting to fix up and dress up their property. "We saw the same thing after Desert Storm," he said.

Tim Turner, of Rathbone Ace Hard-ware, 508 E. Commercial, said, "Sales were more than double last year's." Tools were a top seller, with the hottest items being those that were free after rebate. People also bought a lot of wagons and tricycles, he said.

Nationally, Ace's Nov. 23 numbers show that same-store sales were up by 55 percent compared to day-after-Thanks-giving sales last year, among those retailers who fully participated in the promotion. That segment included retailers that inventoried at least one of all 26 promoted sale items.

Ace spokesperson Paula Erickson stated in the release that individual shoppers spent more money this year.

"The results were even more encouraging because total transactions were up 27 percent, and the average transaction per customer increased 22 percent for this group of retailers," she said.

Erickson added that the company's positive transactional data contrasted other retail segments, which reported flat or reduced transactional results.

"Wal-Mart, for example, while reporting on a record single-day dollar volume, also stated that the average amount of goods purchased per customer was down" she said.

Erickson said that stores that participated only partially in the sale by stocking fewer than 14 of the 26 promotional items still enjoyed success, with same store sales increases of 50 percent. The total increase in transactions was 27 percent, with the average transaction per customer up 18 percent from last year.