Farmington Hills-based Aco Hardware, which has 52 stores throughout Michigan, will join Ace Hardware, the nation’s largest hardware cooperative, officials announced Wednesday.
“Last year, we committed to our customers that we would invest and grow our business,” says Mark VandenBerg, CFO of Aco. “After months of research and due diligence, we are confident we have selected the best organization with which to align and grow. Ace Hardware offers our stores a world class brand, top notch merchandise opportunities, and a supply chain network second to none.”
Aco Hardware, originally founded in 1946 as Traskos Brothers Hardware Depot in Dearborn, will transition to Ace over the next six-months, at which point all stores will be Ace Hardware branded stores. The new Ace stores will offer Craftsman, Valspar, and Clark + Kensington brands as well as more than 10,000 Ace-branded products. Aco will operate the stores under the name Great Lakes Ace.
The organization currently employs approximately 850 workers and will continue to be an economic driver in the Detroit market, VandenBerg says.
As part of the transition, the stores slated for conversion are hosting sales to clear out their inventories. The stores are in Auburn Hills, Brighton, Center Line, Clarkston, Clawson, Clinton Township, Farmington Hills, Highland, Lake Orion, Macomb, Milford, Port Huron, Rochester Hills, Roseville, Royal Oak, St. Clair Shores (2), Shelby Township, Southfield, Sterling Heights, Union Lake, Warren (3), and Waterford (2).
The remaining Aco locations will be part of a second transition cycle, with dates of the sale and conversion of the stores to the Ace Hardware brand yet to be announced.
