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Ace Hardware Corporation “The Helpful Hardware Place” is more than a hardware store. It was founded in 1942, in Chicago by a group of Chicago-area retailers. During its course of 80 years, ace has grown from a tiny group of hardware stores to a network of over 4800 locations in 50 states and more than 70 countries.

Ace hardware name is one of the most widely recognized trademarks in America as per an independent marketing study. In the home improvement industry, “Ace – The Helpful Hardware Place” is a renowned slogan.

Ace continued to grow and flourish because of their exceptional customer service. Their services are backed up by dedicated corporate support, state-of-the-art distribution system and talented 80,000 team members. Till now Ace’s commitment to delivery helpful Hardware service has remained unchanged.

In order to increase buying power and profits, entrepreneurs Richard Hesse, Frank Burke, Oscar Fisher and E.Gunnard Lindquist united their Chicago-area hardware stores and initiated the beginning of Ace Hardware. In 1931, Ace Stores, Inc changed its name to Ace Hardware Corp. In 1952, the first “self-service” store was established in Merrillville, Ind. and it turned out to be a place to “browse and help yourself”.

Achievements:

It was ranked #5 on Franchise Times’ 200 list for 3 consecutive years.
It was ranked #6 among the Top 500 Franchises by Entrepreneur Magazine.
It was ranked highest in Customer Satisfaction among Home Improvement Stores, 2 Years in a Row in 2008, by J.D. Power and Associates.
It is among most extensively recognized trademarks in America
As per Ace representatives, they will continue to grow because of the level of service they provide to their loyal customers.

Franchise Cost:

In order to grab the co-operative opportunity of owning an ACE Hardware franchise, all you need is to invest $ 5000 initially for membership application. Then further you need to have $ 5000 for stock purchase followed by $ 250,000 liquid capital requirement. Total investment is somewhere between $ 400,000 – $ 1,100,000 – based on a 12,000 square foot retail store.

Out of the above mentioned amount, depending upon store size, Ace will allow a franchisee to borrow between $ 390,000 – $ 740,000. In addition to this, “Ace Exclusive Incentive Package” is offered to the qualified individuals.

This exclusive package entitles qualified individuals for $ 195,000 incentive including:

Complete training program
Full store design
Store set-up services
Assistance in Grand Opening event
An Inventory discount of $ 110,000 Ace’s incentive package helps prepare franchisees for ownership and can drive down the total investment for a business by nearly 20%.

In addition to this package an enhanced incentives package is offered by Ace if anyone decides to open additional stores.

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