Ace Hardware 2015 Annual Report Download - page 13

Pat and Alison Deary were
looking for a way to grow
their B2B sales when they headed to the
Ace convention in fall 2015. While they were
there, they learned about Ace’s new LED
retrofit program and it was as if a light bulb
had gone on over their heads. “I said, ‘Wow,
this is big,’” recalls Pat. Noblesville Ace
was already Supply Place certified, with a
thriving B2B business, and the Dearys saw
the fantastic sales opportunity the LED
retrofit program presented their existing
B2B customers.
Pat and Alison started their strategy by
converting their own store to LED so they
could utilize it as a showroom for the program.
It was a sales tool that had the added
advantage of saving them $4,800 a year on
their own utility bills. With all the support
available from Ace, the Dearys were able
to create a custom sales package to bring
to each potential customer and used Ace’s
energy savings calculation tool to figure out the
savings the customer could expect. “People
are so interested in hearing about the energy
savings and the money they’re wasting with
standard bulbs,” says Alison.
The Dearys first brought the proposal to
one of their longtime B2B customers. They
crunched the numbers and discovered the
customer would save $2,489 in the first year
with the rebate, and $900 each year after, on
an investment of $4,800. Needless to say, the
Dearys closed the deal. “It was our first sale,
and we cleared a profit of around $2,000 with
an investment of 10 to 15 hours of our time,”
says Alison. “It’s a great return.”
“There have to be hundreds
of opportunities for us.”
The overall potential for sales in their area
is huge. “There have to be hundreds of
opportunities for us,” says Pat. “We’re talking
to our local hospital, and there’s all their other
buildings, the doctors’ offices and clinics.”
They have other proposals in the works with
local B2B customers.
The Dearys are proud to be one of the
pioneering retailers for the program. “It’s so
exciting,” says Alison. “We can’t go anywhere
now without counting the bulbs they have.
Every business is an opportunity.” Pat agrees.
“We were at a Christmas party, and while
everyone was having a good time, I was
figuring out how many bulbs I could replace
for them,” he laughs.
Not only has the LED retrofit proven to be
lucrative on its own, but it’s also driving up the
store’s Supply Place sales as a whole. “It gives
us a foot in the door. Our B2B sales have been
up about 21% so far this year over last year,”
says Alison. “We haven’t seen anything this
exciting cross our path for a really long time.”
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