In 1982 Robin and Beth Lawrie saw an opportunity and the beauty in Annapolis Royal. They relocated their young family to start a ‘green field’ home hardware store which they personally built.
In the early years the store concentrated on the basic hardware essentials of most home owners; paint, electrical, hand tools, sporting goods, and lawn and garden supplies. Over the years the store grew, its’ product assortment increased. The store built a successful reputation on solving customer problems. From the start it was a family business “I can remember installing ceiling tiles in the original store before it was open” says Rob Lawrie. “ I spent many days after school putting out freight, building things and learning the business from the ground up”. “ It was a great place to grow up and I had tones of practical learning experiences”
After University Rob came back to work in the family business and was ready to take the business to the next level. “I had all kinds of ideas I wanted to try and I had ambitions to grow the business.” “In 1994 I met my wife and we bought mom and dad out in 1999”. “We quickly began making more changes to the business, our customers embraced them and supported our ideas”. We doubled the store size in 1999 and introduced a tool rental department, from there things started happening!” Business continued to grow and we began looking for more ways to continue the increase. We started selling windows and doors, that led into roofing and plywood and all of the sudden we were selling a considerable volume of building materials.
Our ultimate goal was to have a Home Hardware Building Centre in Annapolis Royal and through some strategic maneuvering and choice decisions we were able to purchase Annapolis Woodworkers in 2008. It was a perfect match. Annapolis Woodworkers Ltd was at a point it needed to expand on its’ product base. Its’ strength in the lumber and building material departments have made the store a staple in the community since its’ start in 1974.The combination of both enterprises enabled us to reach our dream of servicing an “under one roof” operation which could better serve the community.
Over the past couple of years we have had many tough challenges, but “its been fun to come up with the solutions” says Lawrie.
From the start we wanted to improve on what was already here. That involved consolidation of the hardware store and the building supply store and a reno that would bring us up to the times. It also involved the evaluation of staffing levels and the ability to service our customers. We have been very fortunate to have very dedicated and professional individuals. Everyone brings something to the organization.
We spent many months planning the retail and warehouse layout of the facility. In the fall of 2008 we began the construction of our 8000 sq ft Autostak Warehouse. Our staff along with Roscoe Construction assembled the state of the art lumber storage facility during the winter months. This facility stores 95% of our inventory undercover and out of the sun, rain and snow. This gives us the opportunity to offer a premium product to our consumers any time of the year. It also provides us with better inventory control, more efficient service and less waste, ultimately providing better quality products and services for our customers at lower prices. The staff are very proud of this building. It comes second to none in the area. Drop by and have a tour, it is truly impressive!
By the spring of 2009 renovations were underway to the original Annapolis Woodworks location. This involved a complete gut and rebuild of the existing building. We had to include a complete re-wire and air exchange handing system. Keep in mind this was all while the store was operational. This was a much larger challenge than anticipated by all parties involved. Our staff and customers were so patient and good natured. Everyone worked around the mess and managed the best they could. We cannot say thank you enough to everyone who was involved in these changes. We are definitely glad that they are now over. The renovation continued through the summer of 2009 and by August we were ready to start setting up and move from the hardware store location. Another task that was underestimated. How do you operate two stores at the same time while moving and with the least impact to our customers? Our answer…..Have a fantastic, dedicated and professional staff ! That’s how.
By the end of August we pulled the plug on the hardware store and transitioned all staff and operations to the new location we were by no means really ready. We just knew we would have to deal with the hiccups the best way we could. Customers came and we serviced them. Slowly but surely things started coming together. Merchandising improved, inventory amounts were adjusted and everyone got used to their new surroundings.
Over the winter we have been working on special projects such as the new kitchen and bath display area, the garden centre, and various displays through out the store. We have been busy fine tuning everything and it is finally all coming together.
In the end we want the best store we can offer to our community. It is this support from the customers, our friends, and our families that have allowed us to develop and grow a facility we should all be proud of. With-out their support and patience we would not have been able to accomplish what we have. Thank you!
The one thing that Joanne & I are the most proud of, is our staff. They are tireless, dedicated, team oriented professionals who have accomplished so many great things together in the past few years. They too should be proud of what they have achieved. They have developed a state of the art hardware building centre store that is second to none, congratulations and thank you!
Home Hardware is a 100% dealer owned cooperative chain with more than 1000 stores located across the country. Annapolis Home Hardware Building Centre is a proud member of this association and looks forward providing the many services, products and ideas to our customers which this organization offers. Please stop by to see us!
Home Owners Helping Home Owners !
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