Plus 221 per cent at acehardware.com in third quarter

In the USA, independent retailers affiliated to the cooperative Ace Hardware saw sales increase by almost 30 per cent in the third quarter. The same-store sales reported by the approximately 3 300 Ace retailers who share daily retail sales data were up 28.9 per cent over the same period in the previous year. This rise was the result of a 12.3 per cent increase in same-store transactions and a 14.8 per cent increase in average ticket. The heightened importance of both convenience and safety, coupled with the shift in consumer discretionary spending from sectors such as travel and entertainment to home maintenance, has distorted demand and driven much of the growth within Ace stores in the USA, the company says in its quarterly report.
The retail business operated by the central office itself has grown by 47.5 per cent to USD 186.3 mio. Online sales have risen by 22.6 per cent to USD 6.5 mio. Digital business through acehardware.com has increased much more strongly in the third quarter, however, to be precise by 221 per cent.
Ace Hardware Corporation's overall sales have climbed by 30.7 per cent to USD 2.0 bn.
Ace added 43 new domestic stores in the third quarter of 2020 and shed 22 stores. The company's total domestic store count was 4 585 at the end of the third quarter, signifying an increase of 57 stores from the third quarter of 2019. On a worldwide basis, Ace added 46 stores and shed 29, bringing the worldwide store count to 5 403 at the end of the third quarter of 2020.