The Hardware Man - To Everything There is a Season
- Editor
- 1 day ago
- 3 min read
Howdy folks,
They say in life the one constant is change. The Preacher in Ecclesiastes wrote, as well as Pete Seeger and later the Byrds sang, “To everything there is a season and a purpose”. As a hardware store serving a rural area, both statements are very true. We are constantly adjusting for what our community wants and needs in an ongoing effort to better supply product.
We got notice a few weeks ago that our local Family Dollar was closing and liquidating. While not surprising, as corporate has struggled and they were working through shutting down poor performers throughout the country, it still had an impact on our small community in Clintonville. It seemed to be a reasonably busy store with customers buying basic groceries and goods without having to go into another town. It served our Amish community with access to necessities convenient to their homes and employed several locals.
As the store reduces inventory, liquidates fixtures and prepares to close, there is a void left in the area that forces decisions to be made by community members and the remaining area businesses. As a business, I see opportunity to continue to serve by expanding some select lines within our store. In talking with our friends at the Market, they will be increasing their inventory and stock also. Our collaboration will allow local demands to be met for goods during that period of adjustment before the old Family Dollar is filled by a DG Market.
Some may recall my first column with this paper addressing the impact of local businesses on the economy. The multiplier effect of the dollar that is spent at a local business has more direct benefit to the economy. In short, a hundred dollars spent at a local hardware store is redistributed within the community via payroll, services and other spending. That hundred dollars can have a ripple effect within the local economy of two to three times its original power before it leaves the area.
Perhaps the most important reason to keep the dollar spending with local businesses is to keep that business around. While we compete in some areas with the dollar store, market and gas station, our combined contribution to the community makes the town welcoming and livable. A town without a gas station gives no reason for a traveler to stop. A town without a market has no easy access to food or basics. A hardware store enhances the quality of the homes and lifestyles. Restaurants and pizza shops give residents reason to stay local while offering employment opportunity.
I am not talking down on what a corporate dollar store brings to the equation. They have a business plan and if it works, they stay and thrive. If it doesn’t, it closes and something else takes its place. We saw the effect of Wal-Marts on towns and shopping centers. There is a certain benefit to knowing that box store has it in the same spot as all their other stores. That homogenization of our suburbs has actually detracted from our local charms, where I can go to Anytown, USA, eat at Applebee’s, shop at Dollar General and Home Depot, get my oil changed at Jiffy Lube and coffee at Starbucks. There is nothing different, nothing memorable. I came, I bought, I forgot.
Have you visited a vibrant small town? You remember your experience and tell others about it.
All that, to say we are focused on continuing to serve our community. We are expanding some of our product mixes to meet the demands of the area. You’ll see bottled water and more home goods and cleaning supplies. We will be observing customer traffic and may expand our hours again. I believe between the Market and us, Clintonville will be able to get what they need conveniently. And like most things, it’ll be temporary until it changes again.
Daniel Karns and his wife own Clintonville Hardware & Rental along with other businesses. Join the discussion by contacting him at info@clintonvillehardware.com.
