Since 1984, the White family has taken pride in serving the community and evolving their business to meet changing customer needs. White’s Ace Hardware at 731 S. Range Line Rd. in Carmel, originally built in 1989, is undergoing renovations set for completion March 17, with a grand-reopening celebration May 1.
“We want to continue Ace Hardware’s long history in the city, and we know that we have to continue to grow and reinvent ourselves in order to serve our great customers and to be a relevant business in our community,” owner Chris White said.
The store draws most of its customers from a 2- to 3-mile radius, and White said the team values the local store experience. From hard-to-find items to a locally sourced garden center, White’s Ace Hardware aims to stock items that continue to grow a loyal following, according to White.
“We feel that treating the customer like family and having a sense of community is more important than ever, because small businesses are disappearing, and they are being replaced by mass merchants and self-checkout systems and that seems to be eroding the hometown store experience that once was the pride of a community,” White said.
Noting changes in customer purchases since the pandemic, White set out to renovate the Carmel store to better meet current trends.
“We’ve seen a large uptick in demand for products both in outdoor living and outdoor maintenance (yard care),” White said. “With the remodel, we have adjusted our assortments in general hardware goods in order to expand our assortments in these areas.”
White said customers can expect, “an expanded assortment of grills, smokers and grilling accessories as well as an expanded lawn and garden department that is anchored by our new expansion of Stihl outdoor power equipment.”
The store continues to operate, and no staffing changes have been made related to the renovations.
Ace Corporate is coordinating most of the renovations with national companies, but two local businesses – Browning Chapman and Ashpaugh Electric – were contracted for flooring and electrical, respectively.
“After the dust has settled on this adventure, we are planning on looking at how to improve or expand the garden centers attached to each store,” White said. “We absolutely love the garden center business, and it really helps drive the sales inside the store, so we will definitely be looking at how to expand that part of our company.”
For more, visit whitesacehardware.com or stop by the store.
