Larry Myers owns two community hardware stores in Spokane County, River Ridge Hardware and Peters Hardware, which are celebrating 70 and 90 years in business, respectively, this month.
On a sunny Monday afternoon in northwest Spokane, a steady stream of other people wander the narrow hallways of the River Ridge hardware store, where consumers of all ages shop for paint, tools, lawn and house decorations, puppy supplies, snacks and ice cream. at the 70-year-old home improvement store.
Owner Larry Myers says business improves when the weather is nice, as it did on this first day on the job after a weekend when the temperature was 70 degrees.
“We’ll almost double our activity on a sunny day versus a rainy day. . . because other people are excited about doing things in their garden and in their homes,” she explains.
Myers owns River Ridge at 2803 W. Garland and the longtime community hardware store, Peters Hardware, at 12118 E. Sprague, a few gates east of the Spokane Valley Heritage Museum. The River Ridge and Peters hardware retail stores are owned by Myers’ holding company. company, Summer Walker LLC. Se declines to disclose the annual revenue of the two sites.
The company has a total of 27 employees, totaling thirteen full-time employees in River Ridge and four full-time employees in Peters.
“My slogan is ‘neighbors, help neighbors,’ and that’s what I really do, and that’s what I try to convey to all my employees, is that we’re here to help our customers,” he says.
Sales and visitor base have grown throughout the company’s 90-year history, he says.
Despite emerging product prices due to inflation, the festival of home improvement retail giants, and a shrinking workforce, regular consumers, consisting of people who relieve themselves, asset maintenance corporations, and other small businesses, are constantly going to the outlets because of a customer-centric service philosophy. he says.
“River Ridge and Peters are community staples,” Myers says. “You can save a pretty penny by going to the big box stores, but when you get out of your car to go into the store, I’ve already helped you. “
Peters Hardware and River Ridge Hardware are members of Do it Best, a hardware, lumber, and construction fabric cooperative in Fort Wayne, Indiana.
“I use them for my marketing. I use them for sales and I use them for my e-commerce site,” Myers says of the Do it Best co-op. “I don’t have to. I chose to take advantage of sales merit when other purchasing powers would require you to have things on offer. “
In addition to marketing and increased purchasing resources, Do it Best also supplies and delivers weekly trucks full of restocked stock and seasonal items.
At Peters Hardware, the peak consumers are small businesses, rental maintenance companies, and a few nearby landlords. Lately, Myers is trying to turn a profit there by targeting more residential homes in the area, as Peters handles a quarter of River Ridge Hardware’s total sales.
Mailings, promotional events, social media classifieds and email campaigns will be ramped up this year with the goal of boosting sales activity by 10% to 15% through 2019, Array says.
“I replaced my marketing ideas,” says Myers. I’m looking to build a base of 50-year-old homeowners who think like Peters. “
An e-commerce platform has been created for both stores. A rewards program has also been created to accept and email addresses of store visitors that the company will use to promote its upcoming sales. A new moving program is now available as a way to introduce the store to new network citizens with a coupon for a loose space key to be crafted in Peters.
Some younger consumers use the to check the availability of the product before visiting. Others prefer the option of shopping in person, where they expect to find answers from expert workers who can offer recommendations on projects and products.
“That’s how it stayed relevant and evolved over time,” Myers says. “Neighborhood hardware retail outlets serve a purpose. As long as this purpose is achieved in terms of helping consumers and offering products at a moderate and competitive price, those retail outlets will remain valid and evolved over time,” Myers says. “.
Myers bought River Ridge Hardware in 2017 in a deal that returned the 59-year-old former lender to work in the Audubon community where he grew up. It purchased Peters Hardware in 2021 from third-generation owner, Gary Peters.
River Ridge was founded by Hal Norrie in the 1950s, when the company was first located at 4417 W. In 1983, Brian Poirier purchased the company and moved its operations approximately 1 1/2 miles southeast of Garland Avenue.
“Sometimes it’s just a matter of being in the right position at the right time,” he says of buying River Ridge.
Myers graduated from Eastern Washington University with a degree in communications in 1990. He left the bench after a 22-year career, which brought Poirier together, he says.
After two decades on the bench, Myers says he was looking for a replacement when he jumped at the chance for an entrepreneur by offering to acquire River Ridge.
“I was one of the handymen and frequented his store,” Myers says. “I said I’d be interested in buying it. . . In 2014. In 2016, he contacted me again. . . and the rest is history. “
This month, Peters Hardware and River Ridge Hardware celebrate 90 and 70 years in business, respectively. Over the next three years, Myers says he has some upgrades planned in Peters for a tool rental service and the expansion of a garden center.
“I don’t see any major adjustments here at River Ridge, other than evolving with the times and offering products that our consumers find relevant,” he says.
In River Ridge, by contrast, Myers will spend more time selling the traditional frame-in-store store business, dubbed Frame it Today.
The continued longevity of any of the hardware retail stores will depend on the continuity of the network and the popular DIY home renovation trend, driven by the onset of the pandemic.
“With landlords, there are projects,” Myers says. During the toughest times, when other people stay home and take fewer vacations. . . They’re looking for a way to make their home livable. “
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