The local Hardware store or DIY store, are a diminishing sight in a lot of local towns and cities. These stores normally sell a huge an array of household products, hardware lines such as nuts and bolts, screws, drill bits, fasteners, wall brackets, screwdrivers, spanners, planed timber, for home improvement including: fasteners, light building materials, hand tools, power tools, key cutting, locks, hinges, chains, plumbing supplies, electrical supplies, cleaning products, housewares, tools, utensils, paint and painting accessories, lawn and garden products, including lawn mowers, push mowers, battery operated mowers, and petrol mowers. They also stock a great range of electrical products, and were always your man for sourcing difficult to find products for their local customers.
Many hardware stores carry a huge range of products, in excess 24,000 different lines so stock control is very important, and the movement of stock must be carefully monitored. Some products can sit on a shelf for years until they fill a need for some hopeful shopper.
The demise of the hardware store nearby, and Local DIY store, is due to a mix of issues such as the long hours required to keep them open, the slow rate of sales per item, and the absolute refusal of the next generation to work the long and unsociable hours required to keep them viable and operational. In addition we have the limited will or ability of the younger generation to tackle DIY jobs around the house, add to this the “cherry picking” by large discount stores who will dictate the key fast moving, products they wish to sell, buy in bulk directly from the supplier (mostly in the far east) and sell cheap products at cheap prices (often in the form of poor quality products)
When we then throw in “The Sheds” (large group hardware retailers, who usually operate from large “out of town” retails sites) into the mix and it is no wonder that the nearby Hardware Shops, and DIY Shop, are disappearing from our cities and towns.
Despite all of the above the challenge to this sector is now being taken up by a new band of brave retailers who are adding to their range of products, grouping together in buying groups to buy better, and going online to re-offer the local hardware store to customers all across the country.
www.hardwareireland.ie is one of these brave retailers. The recent pandemic has now put this retailer on the map and customers now realise and appreciate that they can buy online from the comfort of their own home, usually with next working day delivery, and shop competitively with no health risk, no waiting in queues, and no heavy lifting, in fact they now can have their own local hardware shop back. All it takes is a little bit of planning.
Hardware Ireland also offer phone in orders and will ensure that the product required will be sourced and sent with minimum delay or fuss. Add to this a full guarantee and “no quibble” returns policy and we have a new recipe for success.
In addition to a superb range of products online, Hardware Ireland also operate from a traditional hardware store in Crumlin Village, so customers can rest assured this is no “fly by night” organisation. Customers can, and do, call in person from as far away as Wexford, Cork, Galway, and even the North. Situated a 5 minute walk from Our Lady’s Hospital for sick children, we get visitors from all over the country calling into us says Owner Alan Feighery. Peruse our site and you will see that not only have we got a superb range and great value, but we also operate the best service in this sector online. Join our mailing list for weekly specials or join us on Facebook.
