Thermopolis Hardware to join Ace Hardware co-op

Thermopolis Hardware and Mercantile will be getting a make over in the coming months. The local retail establishment has decided to convert to Ace Hardware and will now be part of a team of almost 5,000 locally owned and independently operated Ace stores across the globe. Ace is actually a co-op of hardware store owners who use their combined resources to buy at the best price possible.  

Karen Sinclair, part owner, shared: “We have always strived to offer the best possible customer service and have been very blessed to have a great team of people that we work with to help us accomplish that goal. Ace’s slogan of The Helpful Place fits right together with our philosophy also. We are a family-owned, family-run business and are honored to be a part of this wonderful community. We very much appreciate the support that we have gotten from our community and appreciate the opportunity to continue to do so with the help of Ace.” 

“In the next few months we will be clearing out a lot of merchandise to make room for new product,” said Mike Sinclair, also part of the family ownership team.  

Dennis Sinclair, also a part owner, feels confident that this is a great move for not only the family business but also for the community, as Ace has been a highly regarded name for many years. The leadership team at Ace was really the deal maker, as their focus is helping a hardware store be successful, and that success leads to more community involvement and great opportunities then to serve our community.  

Some of the changes will include the change in how their rewards program will run. The current program will end at the end of December to accumulate points, and then those redemptions will need to be made by the end of February.    

Regarding why the Sinclairs are transitioning to Ace Hardware, the main reason is they will have better options in the supply chain. Karen said, “The last several years have been very challenging for any retail business and just the ability to be able to purchase goods that we need for our customers in a timely manner led us to begin this searching process… The supply chain matter we think will be much improved.” Karen added, “I think we just felt like the direction that Ace was going was that was the direction we also wanted to go.”

One notable factor that the Sinclairs said about Ace Hardware is that Ace’s President/CEO John Venhuizen sent a handwritten letter to the Sinclairs, welcoming them to the Ace family. This personal gesture from Venhuizen to them made a significant impression. 

The transition to Ace Hardware will happen sometime in the spring. Mike Sinclair said that they should have an update on the transition in February. Right now, they had to address their current inventory and make room for Ace’s products. Also, there will be an entirely different layout for the store as well. The Sinclairs added that they believe the prices should remain about the same, but they noted that inflation is affecting everyone.

Karen said, “We look at this as a great opportunity. Honestly, we do. We think it’s an opportunity for us, for our staff, and for our community. We just think it’s a wonderful thing. Really the bottom line, we want to improve and be better. And all of us, our employees, are doing that we think every day.”