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Old-Fashioned Hardware Store Looks to the Future
Harrison's Ace Hardware has been doing business at 36 Broad Street in Milford for 92 years. Now owned by Richard Miller, the store retains the charm of days gone by but continues to thrive in a thoroughly modern world. Below, Miller discusses how, and why.
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Business New Haven
1/10/2000
By: Priscilla Searles
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The store opened in October 1907. It was owned by Charles Harrison Sr., but he took on a partner in the early years. People still remember the store as Harrison & Gould, which is still its corporate name. The store was more of a general store in set-up, selling hardware, lots of kerosene lamps, cutlery, wash tubs and feed and seed. As time went on they carried more items such as horse blankets and Firestone tires. There was a gas pump out front, which was located next to a water pump for horses. They expanded the original business in 1918 and again in 1923 when they pushed out the side ten to 15 feet to the property line and expanded the back end 50 or 60 feet. The current wood floor was added in 1923. In the 1950s, an addition connected the back to the barn, which is now our paint department and seasonal display room.
When did you become involved in the business?
It was a family business. We bought it in 1976 and originally it was run by my father, myself and my three brothers. Now it is just me. But after all these years Harrison's is still in its original location. We have 15,000 square feet, 5,000 of it is sales floor.
In the age of large chain discount stores, independent hardware stores are hard to find. How has Harrison's managed to survive?
First of all, Ace Hardware Corp. is a cooperative owned by the 5,000 store-owners. That's where the buying power comes in - we couldn't buy at competitive prices as individuals. There isn't a conventional hardware distributor left in Connecticut; as the independent hardware stores closed, so did the wholesalers. We've been with Ace since 1981. It gives us a competitive edge: We can compete and still make money.
What else keeps Harrison's alive?
I love homeowners, but if we had to rely just on homeowners we would have been out of business years ago. I seek out maintenance, commercial and industrial accounts, selling them supplies - it pays the rent. I do good business with the city of Milford, the state of Connecticut vehicle inspection program, supplying tools and maintenance materials. A business similar to mine, in business for over 200 years, didn't diversify and closed last month. We stay in business while others have not because we're flexible and welcome change. For example, we were one of first places to get a [paint] color-matching computer about 15 years ago.
Harrison's does attract a lot of homeowners. What brings them in?
People tend to say, 'I knew I could get it here because I couldn't think of any other place to get it.' We still carry hard-to-find items. We carry replacement chimneys, wicks, burners, lots of special-order lighting, fasteners [nuts, bolts, screws], a lot of the harder-to-find stuff. We still carry washboards and tin funnels. If you're trying to fund something to do a particular job, we try to make sure you have everything you need to do the project. It's convenience with service. And you can get in and out of our store with what you need in less time than it takes you to find a parking space at another location. Go someplace where you're pretty sure that you're going to get what you need and get back to the job, at a fair price, and be done with it.
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