FAQs

Ace Hardware is a cooperative of independently owned retail stores that specialize in hardware, home improvement, and related products. It offers support, branding, and supply chain advantages to its member retailers.

Ace is a retailer-owned cooperative, not a traditional franchise. Retailers own their stores and have voting rights in the cooperative, but benefit from centralized support and branding.

A co-op is business owned and operated by a group of independent retailers or individuals who come together to achieve shared goals such as buying, marketing, and distribution.

In a co-op, members can often purchase supplies at lower costs due to collective buying power and have more freedom in how they run their business. In a franchise, franchisees must buy supplies from the franchisor and follow strict operational guidelines to maintain brand consistency.

Yes, Ace offers conversion programs for existing independent hardware stores. These programs include rebranding, inventory transition, and operational integration.

Yes, you can own more than one Ace Hardware location. We operate as a retailer-owned cooperative, which allows for multi store ownership.

You can begin by looking through the myace.com site and reading all about our model. Your BDM will also provide you ample details after filling out the Qualification form.

Visit www.acehardware.com or contact Ace's Retail Development team for personalized guidance and application materials.

Fill out our free, no obligation, Confidential Qualification form here You can also contact the corporate development team by emailing myace@acehardware.com.

Ace does not provide any internal financing. We recommend SBA loans or a local bank you have a relationship with. Ace also has lender partners that we have paired New Investors with in the past that can discuss financing options, we recommend these banks as they have worked with hardware store owners in the past and understand the co-op model.

Opening an Ace store typically requires a minimum investment of $350,000 to $1 million depending on location, store size, and inventory needs. Ace also requires an initial franchise fee and working capital.

The timeline varies, but most stores open within 6 to 12 months after approval, depending on site & market availability, construction, permitting, and inventory setup.

Ace has a recommended product mix for any new Ace store. Whatever is ordered on your opening stock order that fits within the recommended product mix at the recommended quantities based on your store is free to you. It is a credit that we give to you at the 6 month and 12 month period, it is not a loan. Your MDM is a great resource to explain this is more detail.

Opening an Ace store typically requires a minimum of $350,000 in Liquid Capital and Net Worth of $700,000.

While having retail experience can be helpful, it is not a strict requirement. Ace provides extensive training and operational support to help new retailers succeed.

Ace has an initial franchise/application fee of $5,000

Our MDM will be able to identify if this location is a good fit for an Ace location. We have success criteria and a sales projection model to identify what the projected sales might be for that site. If you don't have a site in mind, we have a real estate team that will help assist in finding a location. If you would like to take the next step and speak with your MDM, please start by filling out the Qualification form.

Ace does not own any real estate. With Ace being a co-op you become a stakeholder

Yes, Ace and our national tenant broker will work on your behalf assist with lease negotiations for new investors.

Ace looks at each market on a case by case basis, connecting with your BDM is the next best step to learn about territory availability.

The size of a typical Ace store is 8,000-15,000 square feet but this can dependent on the market and availability of real estate, the Ace New Business team will provide further guidance on store size and location

There really is no exact distance, but it all depends on that area. We will have to look at the market you are in, the population of that market, demographics, surroundings, etc., and then determine how far your store will have to be from another existing Ace store, because we want all our retailers to be successful.

Ace offers training in a variety of ways. In person and online to prepare owners for their first store.

Ace supports you in every step of the new owners process, from initial discussions to market selection, site selection, real estate negotiations, and more. We also provide support in merchandising, marketing, inventory management, training, and technology. Retailers also benefit from Ace's national brand recognition and supply chain network

Ace has a recommended product mix for any new Ace store. Whatever is ordered on your opening stock order that fits within the recommended product mix at the recommended quantities based on your store size is free to you. It is a credit that we give to you at the 6 month and 12 month period, it is not a loan. Your MDM can explain it to you in more detail.

No, there are assortments that are tailored to fit the size of your store. We encourage our store owners to tailor their product mix to their community in order to differentiate their store. However, we have a proven product mix that we recommend all stores carry, this is called the Discovery Assortment, your MDM will discuss more with you about the correct mix of product.

Yes, Ace encourages you to buy specialty items (niches) from other vendors, that aren’t sold by Ace. Most vendors will even bill you through Ace which increases all Ace retailers’ buying power.