PRO Group Inc., Press Release July 27, 2010

Success at Retail: PRO Hardware Names 2010 Paul L. Cosgrave Memorial Award Winner and 2009 PRO Hardware Retailers of the Year

Denver, July 27, 2010, PRO Group, Inc. has named Hindman ProMart Home Center of Hindman, Kentucky the winner of the 2010 Paul L. Cosgrave Memorial Award. The store is also a 2009 PRO Hardware Retailer of the Year for Wallace Hardware Company, which is located in Morristown, Tennessee.

Since 1978, the store, owned by Robert “Bob” Thacker, has been serving the small town of Hindman and four surrounding counties. It’s the only hardware store in the area, with the nearest alternative—Lowe’s—16 miles away. Despite the current economy, Hindman ProMart is home to a new showroom.

“Hindman ProMart is the epitome of what the PRO program can accomplish if all of the steps are followed in detail,” says Richard Snowden, senior vice president of marketing for Wallace Hardware Company. “They have been in business for 32 years and have grown a good and viable store. It demonstrates that if you have a plan that centers around the PRO program and execute it well, you will succeed.”

Store Manager Stan Stumbo, who has been with the company for 23 years, said he was surprised to learn that the store is being honored. “I was excited to think that a store in a town of 800 people would win nationwide,” he says. But it’s the breadth and depth of offerings that distinguish Hindman ProMart. There, individuals and construction companies can purchase the materials to build a home from the 23,000-square-foot home center. “We’re not just a home center. We furnish everything for building a house—even the sand and gravel for foundations—all the way from the foundation to the roof,” says Stumbo.

The mission of Hindman ProMart is to understand and take care of its community’s needs. That mission meshes well with the philosophy of the Paul L. Cosgrave Memorial Award. The award, presented annually to a PRO Hardware retailer, recognizes superior commitment to the principles and ideals of effective hardware merchandising developed by PRO Hardware Founder Paul L. Cosgrave.

Stumbo says he promotes the PRO brand whenever he can. It’s on the store’s trucks as well as signs inside and outside of the home center. “PRO has distinguished us from the rest of the stores,” says Stumbo. “They’re my number one supplier.” In the past 10 years Hindman ProMart’s sales have grown by 30 percent. Stumbo attributes this to the store’s adherence to PRO’s “Six Pillars of Success”: identification, merchandising, low-cost purchasing, inventory control, advertising and value-added services.

What really distinguishes Hindman ProMart is its extensive array of offerings appealing to both men and women. For example, the store sells cement, vinyl siding, shingles, windows and molding as well as a complete line of floor covering and lighting, doors, washers, dryers, refrigerators, stoves and more. Need a key? They can make that, too. Hindman ProMart even offers a speedy checkout area for contractors, complete with special prices. Over the years, Hindman ProMart has literally helped build the town of Hindman, from the foundation up.

The 2010 Paul L. Cosgrave Memorial Award finalist is Wiley Brothers PRO Hardware and Lumber, in Schaghticoke, New York. The store is also a 2009 PRO Retailer of the Year for The Bostwick-Braun Company, which is located in Toledo, Ohio.

“Good things can happen to great people and that’s why it only makes sense that Wiley Brothers PRO Hardware and their employees are being recognized for this award,” says Damian Nicholson, PRO program director for The Bostwick-Braun Company. “I can’t say enough about how impressed I am with the store and the people who work there. It’s their spirit, dedication and hard work that embody the success of their store, and we are proud to have them as our customer. We are honored that they are our Retailer of the Year!”

Wiley Brothers has been serving its community—which numbers about 700 residents—for more than 60 years. The family-owned store has faced growing competition in that time, as the era of the big-box stores challenged the owners to strategize and create a store that would continue to draw in patrons.

“I think the competition forced everybody in this business to take a look at what they were doing and sharpen up a little bit,” says David Moore, who owns the store along with Tim Wiley. “They forced us to really take a look at our pricing and customer service and make improvements. I don’t think that was a bad thing.”

Moore credits PRO Hardware, in part, for the store’s success in holding its own against the competition. “They give us the purchasing power that makes us competitive,” says Moore.

With the nearest big-box stores 15 miles away, Wiley Brothers PRO Hardware and Lumber fills a void in the community, providing not only full hardware, lumber selection and home center offerings, but really honing in on customer service. In fact, the employees at Wiley Brothers average 20 years of service at the store. “We tend to hire good people whether we need them or not,” says Moore. “And then we just make the business grow around them.”

Those representatives aren’t only responsible for making sure the store runs smoothly and overseeing free deliveries. They also orchestrate the many services the store offers, including water pump repair and installation; paint and stain mixing; computerized pole barns, garage and deck design; free estimates, plan takeoffs and quotes; power nailer/stapler rental; roof shear rental; key cutting; window and screen repair and more.

When the store isn’t fulfilling the community’s hardware needs, it’s working to make the community, itself, a better place. Every year Wiley Brothers PRO Hardware & Lumber awards the Abbott L. Wiley scholarship to a student enrolled in the construction technology program at the area’s Hudson Valley Community College. In addition, the store sponsors a variety of community-oriented events throughout the year.

Searing Electric & Plumbing PRO Hardware, based in Longview, Washington, is the 2009 PRO Retailer of the Year for Horizon Distribution, Inc. which is located in Yakima, Washington. Perseverance and resilience have defined Chris Searing’s 10,000-square-foot store, which faces nearby competition in the form of both Lowe’s and Home Depot. When asked why he selected this retailer, Paul Needham, regional sales manager for Horizon Distribution, Inc., said, “Chris Searing is a class act, and this becomes apparent when you walk into the store and see how he interacts with employees. It also comes through in the genuine way he serves his customers.”

Long-Lewis Hardware Company, which is located in Birmingham, Alabama, named Lincoln Hardware & Supply in Lincoln, Alabama their 2009 PRO Retailer of the Year. The store supports all aspects of the PRO program and participated in all PRO promotions to help increase sales in 2009. Owners Thomas and Elizabeth Heath are consistently trying out new ideas to increase sales. Last year, those new ideas put them in the PRO Achiever’s Club, earning them a trip to the Riviera Maya, Mexico. “The Heaths are good and genuine people and the trust that they have placed in Long-Lewis to develop their new business venture is inspiring,” says Jane Blythe, PRO program director for Long-Lewis Hardware Company.

PRO Hardware Retailers of the Year are selected based upon merchandising, inventory management, PRO key supplier support, advertising, store identification, sales and financial performance.

Rita and Stan Stumbo-Hindman ProMart, Shari Kalbach-PRO Group, Inc., Eddie Flynn-Wallace Hardware

David Moore and the Good People at Wiley Bros.

Chris Searing - Searing Electric & Plumbing PRO Hardware

Thomas and Elizabeth Heath -Lincoln Hardware & Supply

Headquartered in Denver, PRO Group, Inc., www.pro-group.com, is a merchandising and marketing organization with purchasing power exceeding $3 billion through its 40 Member Distributors.

Note to media: Digital photographs are available upon request from Elissa Motley of PRO Group, Inc. elissa.motley@pro-group.com