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Top Guns Honorees Discuss Investing in Tech, People

A Conversation With the 2023 Top Guns Award Honorees

The Top Guns Award program recognizes individuals as representatives of their operations who—through the work of engaged, dedicated staff—are making marks in their local communities. These businesses represent the gamut of independent home improvement operations, from a full service lumberyard to farm stores to core hardware.

Top Guns honorees are chosen for their commitment to and passion for the independent home improvement channel. They are pillars of innovation and have helped grow their businesses through strategic leadership with consideration for their communities and teams. This year’s honorees were specifically chosen for their focus on utilizing technology to improve operations.

During the 2023 NHPA Independents Conference, the Top Guns honorees took part in a panel, giving a sneak peek into their operations and how technology helps them improve efficiencies, connect with customers and build their bottom line.

“Just this year, we decided to form a cross-functional technology team and held our very first Technology Summit, which have helped us organize and prioritize all of the technological processes we could implement. When you start looking at the needs of each of the teams—HR, accounting, merchandising, marketing, operations—there’s a lot of technology out there that supports the goals of those departments and we want to be sure we put in place what makes sense for each.”
—TJ Colson, President of Wilco Stores

“When it comes to technology, I look at the ways we can improve the customer experience. We are a customer-first organization, and so as we evaluate technology solutions, I’m always looking at what can I delete or what new offerings can eliminate repetitive tasks. Adding technology doesn’t necessarily make us better. I try to determine whether any technology will lead to a better experience in our store or if it is going to save us time and keep my employees focused on customers.”
—Eric Hassett, Owner of Hassett Hardware

“We think of ourselves as fast-followers, we don’t necessarily want to be first to the game when it comes to technology. We spend a lot of time in R&D, which for us is research and duplicate. We attend industry events, roundtables and look to our industry peers for inspiration and ideas for technology. When we see someone else doing technology well, that’s a springboard for us to implement a particular type of technology if it makes sense in our operation.”
—Scott Sommers, President of Hartville Hardware & Lumber

 

Learn more about each Top Guns honoree here.

Following the panel discussion, conference attendees were invited to a reception to celebrate the achievements of these leading retailers and as a culminating event of the 2023 NHPA Independents Conference. The reception was graciously sponsored by STIHL and the National Hardware Show. See highlights from the panel and reception below.

Connect With the Honorees