How does a local business compete when customers can buy almost anything online or head to a massive retailer down the street?
For more than 60 years, Hardware Sales has been a fixture in Bellingham, Washington, growing from a family business that once sold dynamite to a sprawling operation with 50,000 products, around 150 employees, multiple revenue streams, and a footprint spanning seven city blocks.
In this episode, we sit down with Brookelyn, Hardware Sales’ Marketing and Business Strategy Manager, to talk about what keeps customers coming back. We dig into their “white glove” approach to customer service, the value of knowledgeable employees, and why treating people like family can become a serious competitive advantage. We also explore how Hardware Sales is evolving through social media, events, ecommerce, rentals, and new revenue streams while holding onto the personal experience that made the business successful in the first place.
Customer service can be a competitive advantage. At Hardware Sales, the goal is to greet customers and offer help almost immediately. In a world where customers are often left searching for an employee or navigating a purchase alone, being genuinely helpful can be a powerful differentiator.
Knowledge is part of the product. Customers are not only coming in to buy a plumbing part, tool, or hose. They are coming because an experienced employee can listen to the problem, help them figure out what they need, and walk them through how to solve it.
Local businesses can offer something scale can’t easily replicate. Hardware Sales competes in a market with big-box retailers and online shopping, but decades of relationships, familiar employees, personalized service, and deep ties to the community give customers reasons to choose local beyond price or convenience.
Community can turn a business into a destination. From partnering with local events to hosting a barbecue competition for construction companies, Hardware Sales is finding ways to bring people together. The store becomes a “third space” where customers know people, run into friends, and feel connected to their community.
Staying local doesn’t mean staying the same. Over the decades, Hardware Sales has continually adapted, expanding into rentals, industrial sales, ecommerce, Amazon brand management, events, social media, and other opportunities. The business keeps evolving while protecting the customer experience and community relationships at the heart of its brand.
Check out Hardware Sales at their website or on Instagram.
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