Spring 2020 Strategies

COMPANY NEWS

Marking Milestones

When Service Strikes Keenan and Peggy Williams, owners of LaGrone Williams Hardware in Hope, Arkansas, were surprised with Estwing Golden Hammer awards late last year. The industry award is given to hardware retailers who have been serving their communities for 50 years. Keenan’s father LaGrone had worked in a hardware store since 1936 before he opened LaGrone Williams Hardware in 1961. The business moved to its current location in 1988. Keenan worked in the business starting when he was 9 years old. Peggy started working at the store in 1970 wrapping Christmas presents, a service the business still offers customers during the holiday season. Providing unique services and having those hard-to-find items has been key to the company’s longevity, Peggy says. “We’ve built ourselves on customer service, and the people in town have really stuck with us,” she says. “The big thing that’s known in our area is that if you can’t find it here, you can’t find it anywhere.”

Hope is home to about 10,000 residents, but the store’s reach stretches beyond that, about a 40- to 50-mile radius. Keenan says the people who come from that distance are in search of specialty items, and that’s what he enjoys most about being in the hardware business.

“I like the challenge of supplying what the community needs,” he says. “We try to provide things that keep the town going.” There are now three Golden Hammer awards in the store: One each for Peggy and Keenan and the award Keenan’s father received in 1986. Preparing for a Celebration Next year marks the 150th anniversary of Blish-Mize Co., and the distributor is gearing up for a celebration worthy of a century and a half of service. Three brothers-in-law—David Blish, eventually serving more than 800 hardware stores, lumberyards and general stores throughout the Midwest. Today, Blish-Mize proudly serves more than 1,500 customers in 13 states across the U.S. Enjoy this look back at the past, and get ready to celebrate the future with Blish-Mize. If you have a special photo or milestone you would like to share as the company prepares to celebrate, send an email to blish.connor@blishmize.com Edward Mize and Jack Silliman— founded the company in 1871,

42 Spring 2020 • Hardlines Strategies