SPECIAL REPORT — Ace Hardware is the largest co-op home improvement retailer in the U.S., and in the world. Its reach extends to more than 60 countries, but its presence in its neighbour to the north has always been problematic.
Ace’s first attempt to secure a foothold in Canada actually took the form of negotiations back in the 1980s with Cochrane-Dunlop, a full-line hardware wholesaler. Ace even chatted around that time with Macleod-Stedman (which later became TruServ Canada)….
