Ace Hardware Plans New West Coast Distribution Center

Hardware retail giant Ace Hardware announced it will open a 1 million-square-foot retail support center in Visalia, Calif., adding more than 400 jobs to the region and improving the company’s West Coast reach.

Centrally located between Sacramento and Los Angeles, the new facility will augment existing distribution centers in Rocklin, Calif. — the Greater Sacramento area — and Prescott Valley, Ariz.

Construction on the new Ace Hardware distribution center is scheduled to begin later this year and the facility is expected to be fully operational in early 2023. The news comes as Ace is preparing to open at least 60 new stores in the coming months, having already opened 110 stores this year.

“Ace Hardware continuously evaluates distribution capabilities to ensure we meet our growing business demands and offer the best support and service to Ace retailers and our wholesale customers,” Ace Hardware Corporate Vice President of Marketing Jeff Gooding said in the Wednesday (Aug. 25) announcement.

“Opening this new facility is essential for Ace to keep up with our historic growth and better serve our network of retailers, and ultimately, our Ace customers,” he said.

The Visalia distribution center will feature new technology, a climate-controlled environment and improved automation to help streamline and enhance operations — and room to expand as Ace’s needs increase.

Ace’s distribution center network serves more than 5,500 retail locations across the U.S. The new Visalia distribution center will serve more than 300 Ace-affiliated stores in multiple states.

Related: Lowe’s, Home Depot Court Big-Spending Pro Contractors As DIY Takes A Breather

Home improvement stores have recently been stepping up their initiatives to court professional contractors as consumers shift away from do-it-yourself (DIY) projects. Overall transactions are down at Home Depot, Lowe’s and Ace Hardware locations, the companies said in separate earnings announcements earlier this month, but each also noted an increase in average ticket size, driven in part by the volatility in the price of lumber in the second quarter.

Additionally, Home Depot and Lowe’s executives said that in-store traffic has shifted, with weekday performance strengthening compared to weekends as consumers spend their Saturdays and Sundays elsewhere.