Ace Hardware To Invest $1B To Roll Out New Experiential Stores
Ace Hardware is drilling into the experiential retail trend with a big bet on a new store concept.
The hardware retailer plans to invest $1B to launch the Elevated Ace concept in new and existing locations over the next five years, Retail Dive reported.
The company introduced the concept with a 13K SF model store during a convention at the McCormick Place Convention Center in Chicago. The rollout of the new concept is planned to begin in Q4, with a wider push starting in January.
The new concept includes new showrooms, new product assortments and an outdoor space with plants and grilling demos.
The company has been in the process of reimagining the brand to build stores that highlight the company's core categories — paint, power tools, backyard grilling and home preservation — while embracing the community and creating an experience consumers can't find online.
Ace has been busy in other ways, opening 111 new stores throughout June that brought it to over 5,000 locations across the U.S. The company plans to open 200 stores by the end of the year. Globally, Ace has 5,800 locations in 60 countries.
Other retailers have also been playing around with the experiential business model.
Dick's Sporting Goods rolled out its own concept called Dick's House of Sport, which features its normal merchandise as well as batting cages, golf simulators and rock walls. By 2027, the company plans to roll out 75 to 100 of the stores, according to Modern Retail.
