Scott Swanson
Sweet Home’s Hoy’s Hardware has been
recognized as one of 12 “Best Hardware Store
in Town” honorees by True Value Hardware.
Manager Greg Mahler and his wife Teresa
received plaques during a presentation at
True Value’s 2012 Spring & Rental Market,
held in Orlando, Fla., in February.
Sponsored by True Value Company, the
“Best Hardware Store in Town” program
recognizes retailers who exemplify successful
retailing. Since 2007, when it began the
competition, the co-op has recognized nearly
60 stores for delivering the best shopping
experience for customers.
rewards from True Value for their store’s being selected one of the top hardware stores in the nation. They’ll receive a dinner, special name
tags, shirts, a dinner certificate, and a perpetual trophy to honor employees month by month, among other honors.
The company
focuses on the five principles of successful
retailing: people, place, product, price and
promotion. When retailers deliver on the five
Ps, they meet the needs and expectations of
customers, creating a profitable and sustainable
business.
Stores are self-nominated, or nominated
by a peer or retail manager, and go through
an aggressive series of selection processes as
regional managers narrow down the top candidates.
Hoy’s was nominated by Ed Walsh,
a retail consultant based in Oregon City, who
serves this region.
Mystery shoppers visit each store selected
as a finalist four separate times, at
different times during the day and week, to
gain perspective as typical customers. Stores
are evaluated based on physical appearance,
product selection, competitive pricing, promotional
sales and customer assistance.
“Hoy’s True Value Hardware represents
what it takes to exceed customer expectations,”
said Lyle Heidemann, president and
chief executive officer of True Value Company.
“They continue to succeed by constantly
recognizing and adapting to meet the different
needs of the communities they serve and
by delivering the best in a shopping experience.”
Hoy’s and the other 11 winners were
selected from nearly 8,000 stores associated
with True Value throughout the world,
and Hoy’s was chosen from some 300 in the
region, which stretches from Montana to
Alaska.
True Value Co., headquartered in Chicago,
is one of the world’s largest retailerowned
hardware cooperatives with sales of
$1.8 billion in 2010. True Value independent
retailers worldwide operate under a variety
of names: True Value, Grand Rental Station,
Taylor Rental, Party Central, Home & Garden
Showplace and Induserve Supply.
“There’s some big players in our region,”
Walsh said. “There are 30,000-square-foot
stores and 2,000-square-foot stores. There
are stores that have been open 100 years and
stores that have been open one year, and everything
in between.”
Mahler, who has managed the store for
five years after taking over for his father
John, said he was “really surprised” to receive
the honor.
“They really rolled out the carpet for
us,” he said. “It was a nice experience.”
Mahler said Walsh informed him that
Hoy’s had been nominated late last fall and
was interviewed by a company merchandising
manager.
“That was the last we heard of it until
December, when they told me we were one
of the finalists,” he said. “They told us there
would be some visits from mystery shoppers.”
As it turned out, he said, the mystery
shoppers had already been to the store by that
time. Mahler said he received a copy of their
report, which indicated that his store had
been rated at “about 95 percent.”
“The next thing I know, we got a call that
we were a winner,” he said.
In addition to award plaques, the store
gets special name tags for its personnel,
shirts for employees, a dinner certificate so
the staff can celebrate, a perpetual trophy to
honor employees month by month and other
goodies. Hoy’s will also get write-ups in a
number of national hardware retailing magazines.
“It’s quite a prestigious thing,” Mahler
said. “It was a great experience. It takes all
of our store staff to make it happen. It’s not
just individual, it’s a team effort. Without
our team, we would not have achieved the
success we have. I’m very proud of the store
staff we have here and we’re making sure
they’re sharing in the recognition with us.”
Hoy’s opened in the 1930s under the
name Johnson Meyer. The store originally
featured a dirt floor and eventually operated
in tandem with two other hardware stores.
John Mahler purchased the store in 1971 and,
since that time, the store has changed locations
and grown from 5,000 to 16,000 square
feet. For a time, the store moved from general
hardware to variety goods when it became
part of V&S Variety.
After Wal-Mart established itself in Lebanon
in the early 1990s, the store returned to
its hardware roots, but you can still find some
variety items. According to Greg Mahler,
customers are often surprised with the store’s
product selection.
“We’re unique in that we still carry yarn,
health and beauty products, notions, and
housewares,” he said. “In addition, we also
stock camping and sporting goods, fishing
supplies and all your basic hardware needs.
In the past couple years we’ve added a propane
filling station and building materials.
People can literally find everything they want
in our store. They don’t expect that.”
Walsh said small hardware stores “often
get lost in the shuffle” and he wanted to make
sure that didn’t happen to Hoy’s, which is
why he nominated the store for the award.
“Businesses like that are under-appreciated,”
he said. “That was my main motivation
for doing that.
“They’ve been excellent retailers for
40 years. They have to stay in business, but
they take into consideration the community.
There are bigger stores, flashier stores, more
dynamic personalities, but it’s stores like
Hoy’s that keep communities running.”
Mahler said staff members “engage every
customer who walks into the store. Our goal
is to provide the best products at a fair price
and the best customer service possible.”
True Value also noted the “positive work
environment the owners have created for
their employees.
“They’ve established clear, well-defined
goals that everyone strives to achieve every
day. The bar is set very high for Hoy’s staff,”
a company statement said.
“We’d never ask them to do something
that we wouldn’t do ourselves,” Mahler said.
He said the award was particularly sweet
for John Mahler.
“He was ecstatic,” Greg Mahler said.
“After all the years of hard work and sweat,
it’s about time he got some recognition and
kudos for his efforts. It was a surprise but it
was an honor. It was well-deserved, especially
for him.”