Hoy’s honored as national ‘Best Hardware Store’

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.”

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