Rob and Joanne Lawrie won an Outstanding Retailer Award in the category of Retail Spirit at last year’s Hardlines Conference. This year, they were back as presenters, talking about their company’s growth from a single store in Annapolis Royal, N.S., to their seven Home Hardware stores today.
Joanne said one of the many things they have learned along the way was “learning the expectations that the community has of you.” Running a hardware store really embeds you in the community, she noted. It results in expectations that have to be met in ways that other types of businesses might not encounter.
