The best of both worlds: Fuller's Home and Hardware, Hinsdale, IL.(SPECIAL DISTRIBUTOR PROFILE: ACE HARDWARE)

Do-It-Yourself Retailing, May, 2005 by Tratensek, Dan M.

After spending about two hours wandering the aisles of the local Home Depot recently, Adam Fuller was puzzled.

"The entire time I was there, no one came up to me and asked me if I needed help," said Fuller, who runs Fuller's Home and Hardware in Hinsdale, Ill. "On top of that, they didn't even have all the products I needed. As a consumer, I don't see why anyone would shop there."

Fuller's bewilderment as a consumer, however, is tempered by the reality of being a retailer. "Even though I might not see the attraction, I still know that Home Depot is certainly the leader in our market," he says.

And while Fuller is realistic about his store's place in the market, he definitely feels he can exploit the weaknesses of Home Depot and other big-box...

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