Scott Garber and Chad Symens at NHS with our newest clients, Acuity Brands
The annual NRHA (North American Retail Hardware Association) sponsored National Hardware Show in Las Vegas last week was another great tradition for our Accelerated Analytics team! Thousands of vendors displayed their product lines and future new releases in everything from paints and tools to lawn care and appliances. This was a great opportunity to meet with many of our customers who use Accelerated Analytics POS reporting and analysis for their Home & Hardware retailers such as Home Depot and Lowe’s. Of particular interest was our new ability to report on corporate Ace Hardware store and SKU sales and forecasting. We met with customers WM Barr, Calumet, Masterbuilt, Bercom and Stoner. We also met with our newest customer, Acuity Brands, who sell several lighting brands such as Lithonia Lighting and Juno.
The Accelerated Analytics team connected with vendors, customers, and attendees via their #DIYisOurSweetSpot contest that ran from May 9th – 11th, during the hardware show. Entrants completed an online entry form and posted or tweeted about Accelerated Analytics to enter the contest. Three lucky attendees were drawn at random from among the entries to win hundreds of dollars in customer product prizes. Our third place winner was Tim Chin with RPE; second place was Jason Kane with Kane Enterprises; and our grand prize winner was Stephanie Cates with Rescue Pest Control. Congratulations to all three of our contest winners!
A common theme we heard at the conference was the heavy dependence on e-commerce sales and retailers. Many of the vendors we met who are new to the retail market are selling quite successfully on e-commerce sites and on Amazon. Many of these younger vendors, rather than starting out at Home Depot or Lowe’s, were making a name for themselves on e-commerce sites before getting that “big break” at the large corporations. Fortunately, the Accelerated Analytics reporting solution isn’t limited to brick and mortar stores. We are able to offer reporting and analytics for online retailers and currently work with online giants Amazon.com and Zappos.com, among others.
When asked what new, innovative products caught a lot of attention at the show, Accelerated Analytics Director of Sales and Marketing, Jennifer Freyer commented, “ I saw some amazing products that are coming to stores. Duracell and Hillman have partnered on keyless entry products that can provide auto key solutions for 91% of vehicles without needing to pay at the dealer. In the Lawn and Garden area, the WORX Landroid robotic lawn mower was demonstrating – I need that for my lawn!” The team also met with business partners Cleveland Research Group during NHS.
The National Hardware Show is an important event for Accelerated Analytics each year.