Ace Hardware 2005 Annual Report Download - page 10

2005 ANNUAL REPORT NEW FRONTIERS. NEW OPPORTUNITIES. 9
Ace has powerful brand recognition
in the marketplace, equity that comes
from being in business for more than
eight decades, and owns “helpful”
service in consumers’ minds. The
strength of the Ace name is driven by
an integrated approach to promoting
the brand, raising top-of-mind
awareness, increasing footsteps,
enhancing consumer loyalty and
attracting new shoppers to Ace.
Ace is The Helpful Place®, and the sharp
focus on customer service is paying off. In
the first-ever “Real People Ratings Best of
2005” report, Ace was ranked number one
in the home improvement store customer
service category, surpassing all of the “big
boxes” and other independents in the industry.
To gather the data, quarterly online opinion
polls were sent to its pool of mystery shoppers.
The survey was conducted in May, August and
December 2005, generating a total of more
than 24,000 responses.
The national advertising events continue to
be an important part of Ace’s brand-building
strategy, driving traffic at key times of the
year. The 2005 February Bag Sale increased
participating retailers’ sales by 19 percent
over the 2004 sale. The Memorial Day and
the Helpful Hardware Days Sale, held in May
and September respectively, also contributed
to a steady sales stream. The One Day Sale the
day after Thanksgiving resulted in one of Ace’s
strongest national events since the promotion
began in 2001. Overall, retail sales for the
One Day Sale increased 9.5 percent above
the results of the 2004 sale for those retailers
who fully participated in the promotion.
Since the first One Day Sale in 2001, this
event has increased retail sales cumulatively
by 151 percent. These results prove the power
of retailers banding together to support a
promotion that is heavily advertised in all
key mediums: television, radio, circulars and
one-to-one with Ace’s preferred customer
program, Helpful Hardware Club®(HHC).
HHC has surpassed 10 million customers
and offers participating retailers a number of
customized promotions to send to their best
customers. From Rewards mailings to a holiday
mailer and the Ace Brand mailer, both of
which give customers $5 off a $15 purchase,
more than 2,200 Ace retailers are harnessing
the power of communicating with their best
customers and driving enhanced loyalty.
By mining consumer data through Helpful
Hardware Club, Ace is able to make better
decisions in terms of selecting promotional
product, target marketing and driving sales.
And with more than 2,400 stores submitting
retail data through the Ace Data Warehouse,
Ace is able to make real-time decisions based
on actual data and retail facts.
With the Internet now being the number one
source consumers turn to for information,
Ace continues to increase its focus on building
the brand in the online arena through content
enhancements to acehardware.com. Customers
use the site first and foremost for product
research and project advice, as well as for
company information and to readily identify
their local Ace Hardware store. In the past
year, more than 18 million visitors came to
the site, an increase of 77 percent from the
previous year.
Throughout 2005, Ace made billions of
consumer impressions with its branding efforts.
A total of 610 million came from circulars
alone … nearly 8 billion from broadcast
(television and radio) mediums … 325 million
from news stories on Ace in magazines,
newspapers, on television and on radio …
and 36 million from Helpful Hardware Club.
These strong numbers will be further enhanced
in 2006, thanks to some new and innovative
brand-building approaches that will continue to
break through, increase top-of-mind awareness
and further position in the consumers’ mind that
Ace is The Helpful Place … a convenient,
neighborhood destination that provides
comprehensive product and project advice and
saves customers time.
Ace ranked
number one in
customer service
by the acclaimed
“Real People
Ratings” survey.