‘We’re Faster Than Amazon’: How Ace Hardware Is Beating Big Tech While Selling Local
At #4 on our Franchise 500, the 102-year-old company is using a hyperlocal strategy with franchisees to drive digital growth.
This story appears in the January 2026 issue of Entrepreneur. Subscribe »
To view our entire 2026 Franchise 500 list, including category rankings, click HERE.
Ace Hardware is doing what once seemed impossible: Making online shopping feel local.
The franchise is known for its good-neighbor vibes and service, and it has managed to maintain its hyperlocal reputation even as it leans into digital innovation to drive sales. Case in point: Digital revenue increased 34.9% in Q3 of 2025 versus a year earlier, and 93% of all those digital orders were fulfilled by the customer’s local store. Eighty-six percent of digital purchases are picked up by the customer; eight percent are delivered to the customer’s door via the store.
“That makes a digital purchase feel a heck of a lot more local,” says Andy Enright, senior vice president of retail strategy and operation. “The vast majority of our inventory is in our 5,000-plus U.S. stores rather than our distribution centers. We’re faster than Amazon on stuff we stock.”
Related: Ace Hardware’s Major Investment in This Underused Marketing Strategy Reaped Huge Returns
Ace held the No. 5 spot on this list in 2025, having just introduced a new store design called Elevate Ace, which aimed to prioritize brands and product categories including paint, power, and backyards and barbecues. Elevate stores are now outperforming earlier designs by 12%, and the company plans to remodel an additional 400 stores in 2026 while doubling down on those winning product categories. For example, a newly launched Sun & Shade initiative offers coolers, speakers, and even high-end sunglasses to build the backyard of shoppers’ dreams. In-store insights, combined with a growing mobile app, loyalty program, and internal retailer app, have turned Ace’s business into a treasure trove of localized data, powered by the decisions of local franchisees.
“The in-store model and our digital experience feed each other,” Enright says. “And because our stores are unique — from merchandising to marketing to pricing — we basically have 5,000 tests running at all times.”
Those learnings will drive Ace’s development plan moving forward, helping the corporate analytics team find trends among different customer segments and communities to spotlight promising opportunities in open markets.
“Despite being 102 years old, we still see a major runway for growth,” Enright says, noting that the company was set to open 179 new stores in 2025. “Where can we open a profitable store that wouldn’t cannibalize an existing store? We’ve come light-years in answering that question. It’s helping us be more confident in placing bets.”
Related: Your Local Ace Hardware May Look Totally Different Soon — Here’s What You Can Expect
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To view our entire 2026 Franchise 500 list, including category rankings, click HERE.
Ace Hardware is doing what once seemed impossible: Making online shopping feel local.
The franchise is known for its good-neighbor vibes and service, and it has managed to maintain its hyperlocal reputation even as it leans into digital innovation to drive sales. Case in point: Digital revenue increased 34.9% in Q3 of 2025 versus a year earlier, and 93% of all those digital orders were fulfilled by the customer’s local store. Eighty-six percent of digital purchases are picked up by the customer; eight percent are delivered to the customer’s door via the store.
