(Sept. 30, 2016)  Orgill has begun renovations of a new 500,000-sq. ft. distribution center in Post Falls, Id., to serve the Pacific Northwest, Alaska and western Canada.

RETAILERS FLOCK TO VEGAS FOR ORGILL, INC. FALL DEALER MARKET
August 30, 2016

LAS VEGAS (Aug. 30, 2016) – Las Vegas was the center of all things hardware last week as thousands of home improvement retailers came together for the Orgill, Inc. Fall Dealer Market, held Aug. 25-27 at the Sands Expo Convention Center.

All-time attendance records were set for an Orgill Fall Dealer Market with attendees traveling to Las Vegas from all 50 states, all 10 Canadian provinces and 50 countries worldwide. Canadian retailers showed their support of Orgill’s recent expansion into Canada, as the number of Canadian retailers on hand in Las Vegas was more than double the amount who attended the Fall Dealer Market last year.

Among the more popular attractions at the Market were the concept stores. This year’s event featured three fully merchandised stores: Continental Hardware & Building Supply, which focused on a 50-50 DIY-pro customer mix; Maple Ridge Home Centre, which focused on a 50-50 DIY-pro customer mix and carried Canadian-compliant products; and Vista Home & Garden Supply, which focused on the lawn and garden and farm and ranch categories.

The impulse items, lawn and garden and Worldwide Sourcing categories were also highlighted at the show through special product showcases that featured broad product assortments from a wide range of vendors as well as many ideas for effective merchandising.

With the Door Busters, Market Busters, Coupon Specials, New Items and Pallets, there were plenty of opportunities for retailers to make big purchases, and save some money along the way. The Market also included a special promotions area just for its Canadian customers—more important than ever since Orgill expanded its reach in Canada with its 2015 acquisition of Chalifour.

Learning opportunities included Brand Building and retail services clinics, lunch-and-learn seminars and educational workshops.

On the products side, one highlight was the unveiling of DEWALT’s new FLEXVOLT™ system, which featured the world’s first batteries that change voltage as the user changes tools. The FLEXVOLT™ batteries are compatible with 20-volt, 60-volt and 120-volt tools.

Up next for Orgill will be its Spring Dealer Market in New Orleans, Louisiana. The event will be held Feb. 16-18, 2017. For more information, please contact Orgill at 800-347-2860 or go to www.orgill.com.

MEMPHIS — Orgill, Inc., the world’s largest independent hardlines distributor, will be expanding its network of world-class distribution facilities with the addition of an approximately half-million-square-foot distribution center in Post Falls, Idaho.

Orgill has signed an agreement to acquire the facility and is expecting to close on the purchase September 1.

The new facility will be Orgill’s seventh full-service distribution center, in addition to locations currently operating in Tifton, Georgia; Inwood, West Virginia; Sikeston, Missouri; Hurricane, Utah; Kilgore, Texas; and London, Ontario.

“We are excited to announce this expansion to our distribution network and look forward to the enhanced efficiencies this will create for our customers as we move forward,” says Ron Beal, Orgill’s chairman, president and CEO.

The primary reason for the addition of the new Post Falls facility was to provide faster and more efficient service to Orgill’s growing customer base. The new facility will service customers in five states throughout the Northwest including Montana, Idaho, Oregon, Washington and Alaska as well as Canadian customers in British Columbia and Alberta.

These customers had previously been served out of other Orgill distribution centers but the addition of the new facility will streamline the delivery process.

“Orgill’s investment in this distribution center will further enhance our ability to provide retailers with access to all the products, programs and services they need to compete effectively,” says Brett Hammers, Orgill’s Chief Operating Officer.

Following the completion of the purchase, Orgill will begin retrofitting the facility and expects to be fully operational and serving customers in these states by March 31, 2017.

About Orgill, Inc.
Orgill, Inc. is the world’s largest independently owned hardlines distributor providing retailers across the United States and in more than 60 countries throughout the world access to over 75,000 products and industry-leading retail services. Operating seven distribution centers representing over four million square feet of warehouse space, as well as three export consolidation facilities, Orgill distributes hardware and home improvement products to hardware, home improvement and building material retailers of all types and sizes.

House-Hasson Hardware likes what it saw at summer market

Sales territory expansions and sales staff additions in Louisiana, Pennsylvania, and Ohio helped to propel House-Hasson Hardware’s June dealer market to the highest ever-attendance for the company’s summer market.

The event held at the Wilderness of the Smokies Resort in Sevierville, Tenn., just outside the Great Smoky Mountains National Park. Attendance, which is normally around 2,000, was up at least 10%

“We’re very pleased,” said Don Hasson, president of House-Hasson Hardware. “Our geographical area expanded into Louisiana when we acquired Long-Lewis Hardware (formerly headquartered in Birmingham, Ala.). We’ve added salesmen in Pennsylvania and Ohio, and those areas are showing solid growth.”

Amish customer base is just one of the areas where House-Hasson moves are paying off, the company says.

Hasson said the targeted areas were central Pennsylvania; Ohio north of Columbus, the state’s capital city; and around Baton Rouge, La.

“Adding territories is working well,” Hasson said. “A significant percentage of our growth in past years was through acquisitions, but it’s to the point at which there aren’t that many independents available to acquire. Our strategy is changing somewhat to accelerate growth through even greater store sales for our dealers and by adding territories.

“For example,” Hasson said, “we’ve had an expanding presence for years among Amish dealers, and we saw a strong increase in Amish dealer attendance as a result of our expanded focus in Ohio. Overall, we’re very pleased with everything we’re seeing across our entire region.”

Hasson said market attendance is influenced by dealers liking the discounted deals available at the company’s three annual markets and because the events are set up to be enjoyable for dealers and their families.

“Another aspect is that there are a smaller number of independent distributors,” Hasson said. “We’re one of the very few independents that can take care of everything from the front to back of the store, and everything around it.”

House-Hasson’s next market is scheduled for October 20-22, 2016, again at the Sevierville Events Center, Sevierville, Tenn.

Industry leaders, manufacturers and retailers spent last week scouring for new products, attending educational seminars and connecting with peers at the National Hardware Show in Las Vegas.

The Show began Wednesday and ended Friday at the Las Vegas Convention Center. The event featured thousands of exhibitors and attracted more than 20,000 attendees.

Show areas that highlighted new products, such as Inventors Spotlight and the Featured Product Gallery, attracted crowds of people looking for new items to sell and wanting to stay abreast of up-and-coming industry trends.

The Show partnered with the North American Retail Hardware Association (NRHA), the association presenting its All-Industry Conference on the Show floor. The conference offered seminars on topics such as the state of the economy and how to compete with Walmart.

Many companies and retailers were honored at the Show, presented with awards recognizing innovation, business acumen and retailing vision. The awards included the Industry’s Top Gun Awards, which NRHA presented to recognize the work of four of the industry’s best independent home improvement retailers.

The Show offered fun, too – attendees enjoyed food fresh off the grills in the Tailgate, Backyard & BBQ area. There were even celebrity sightings as well, with Bob Vila greeting crowds at the Viatek booth and signing autographs.

By adding a Canadian company into its operations, Orgill is broadening its available product assortment, increasing buying power, improving sales support and offering more competitive pricing to Canadian customers.

Customers are already noticing a difference. Ken Meier, hardware purchaser for Warman Home Centre in Warman, Saskatchewan, is seeing better fill rates, competitive pricing and a simpler way to do business.

“Before, I was purchasing products both from Orgill and another Canadian supplier,” Meier says. “Now, I’ve been able to switch all of my purchasing to Orgill. They can fill anything I carry.”

Orgill had already opened up new opportunities to Warman Home Centre over the past several years, and the service is only getting better.

“We keep finding those products that are new and different from anything else we carry,” Meier says. “Orgill’s Dealer Markets have been crucial for us to see what’s new, what’s coming and how that can look in our store.

“We love looking at the model store sets to get ideas,” he says. “As a retailer, you should never stop changing. If you do, you’ll die. Orgill helps us keep changing.”

Orgill’s expanded presence in Canada has come as a result of its acquisition of the assets of Chalifour Canada, a former distribution arm of TIM-BR MART Group.

As part of transitioning Chalifour into Orgill’s fold, Orgill established Orgill Canada, a wholly owned subsidiary of Orgill, Inc.

The purchase was finalized Oct. 1, 2015, and launched a companywide effort to shift Chalifour into Orgill’s existing operations as part of the new Orgill Canada.

Teams of Orgill employees have worked as quickly as possible to make the transition happen seamlessly, without disrupting service to any Canadian customers.

With the acquisition, Orgill instantly got a London, Ontario, distribution center and brought on board more than 250 new employees, hundreds of new vendors and over 1,000 new customers across Canada.

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