Your Path to Retail Growth Starts Here
Facing Challenges in These Areas?
Business Valuation
Facing challenges understanding what your business is worth?
Whether you’re planning for succession, considering a sale, bringing in a partner or simply making long-term strategic decisions, knowing the true value of your business is essential. Many retailers rely on assumptions rather than objective data, making it difficult to plan with confidence.
How NHPA Strategic Consulting can help?
Our consultants provide an objective assessment of your business by evaluating financial performance, operations, assets and market factors that influence value. You’ll gain a clearer understanding of what drives your business’s worth and receive practical recommendations to strengthen its value over time, whether you’re preparing for a transition or planning for future growth.
Family Business Coaching
Facing challenges balancing family relationships with business decisions?
Family businesses face unique opportunities and challenges. Navigating communication, defining roles, resolving conflict and preparing future generations can become increasingly difficult as the business grows.
How NHPA Strategic Consulting can help?
Our consultants help families create healthy communication, establish clear expectations and build governance strategies that support both the business and family relationships. Together, we’ll help position your business for long-term success across generations.
Financial Analysis
Facing challenges turning financial data into strategic decisions or identifying what’s really driving profitability?
our financial statements should do more than report what happened. They should reveal the operational drivers behind your performance, uncover opportunities for growth and help you make confident decisions about the future. Whether you’re optimizing a mature business or looking for a clearer understanding of your financial performance, the right analysis can transform the way you lead.
How NHPA Strategic Consulting can help?
Our consultants transform financial data into actionable business insights. By evaluating key financial metrics alongside operational performance, we identify opportunities to improve profitability, strengthen cash flow, optimize working capital and support smarter strategic decisions. You’ll leave with practical recommendations and a clear roadmap for driving stronger financial performance.
Inventory Management
Facing challenges maximizing inventory investment while maintaining product availability?
Inventory is one of your largest business investments. Too much inventory ties up working capital, while too little leads to missed sales and dissatisfied customers. Strategic inventory management requires balancing customer demand, purchasing decisions and financial performance.
How NHPA Strategic Consulting can help?
Our consultants evaluate inventory performance, purchasing strategies and category management to identify opportunities for increased inventory turns, stronger cash flow and improved profitability. Together, we’ll build practical inventory strategies that align with your financial goals while ensuring your customers have the products they need.
KPI Monitoring
Facing challenges maximizing inventory investment while maintaining product availability?
Inventory is one of your largest business investments. Too much inventory ties up working capital, while too little leads to missed sales and dissatisfied customers. Strategic inventory management requires balancing customer demand, purchasing decisions and financial performance.
How NHPA Strategic Consulting can help?
Our consultants evaluate inventory performance, purchasing strategies and category management to identify opportunities for increased inventory turns, stronger cash flow and improved profitability. Together, we’ll build practical inventory strategies that align with your financial goals while ensuring your customers have the products they need.
Lease Negotiations
Facing challenges making lease decisions that support your long-term business strategy?
A lease is more than a real estate agreement. It is a long-term financial commitment that can significantly impact profitability, expansion opportunities and operational flexibility. Understanding the financial implications before signing or renewing is essential.
How NHPA Strategic Consulting can help?
Our consultants provide strategic guidance throughout the lease evaluation and negotiation process. We’ll help assess financial impacts, evaluate long-term business objectives and identify opportunities to negotiate terms that strengthen your organization’s financial position and support future growth.
Merchandising Management
Facing challenges maximizing sales through your merchandising strategy?
Every square foot of your store should contribute to the customer experience and your financial performance. Effective merchandising combines customer behavior, category performance and operational strategy to increase sales and improve profitability.
How NHPA Strategic Consulting can help?
Our consultants evaluate merchandising strategies, store layout, category performance and customer shopping patterns to identify opportunities that increase sales, improve inventory productivity and create a stronger in-store experience that supports long-term business growth.
Pricing and Margin Management
Facing challenges protecting margins while remaining competitive?
Pricing is one of the most influential decisions you make as a retailer. Effective pricing strategies require balancing customer expectations, competitive positioning and financial performance without sacrificing profitability.
How NHPA Strategic Consulting can help?
Our consultants analyze pricing strategies, product mix, gross margin performance and competitive positioning to uncover opportunities that improve profitability while strengthening customer value. Together, we’ll develop pricing strategies that support sustainable financial performance and long-term growth.
Retail Operations
Facing challenges transforming operational excellence into a competitive advantage?
The most successful retailers don’t leave execution to chance. They build operational systems that align people, processes and performance, creating consistency across the organization while remaining agile enough to adapt to changing market conditions. When operations lack alignment, profitability, customer experience and long-term growth all suffer.
How NHPA Strategic Consulting can help?
Our consultants evaluate the operational systems that power your business, identifying opportunities to strengthen execution, improve cross-functional alignment and increase organizational effectiveness. By connecting operational strategy with financial performance, we’ll help you build scalable systems that improve accountability, elevate the customer experience and position your business for sustained, long-term success.
Strategic Planning
Facing challenges preparing your business for what’s next?
Long-term success doesn’t happen by chance. It requires a clear vision, aligned leadership and the discipline to make intentional decisions that move the business forward. Whether you’re navigating growth, responding to change or preparing for the next chapter, strategic planning creates the foundation for sustainable success.
How NHPA Strategic Consulting can help?
Our consultants work alongside your leadership team to evaluate your current position, identify future opportunities and build a strategic roadmap aligned with your organization’s vision. Together, we’ll establish clear priorities, measurable objectives and actionable strategies that strengthen organizational alignment, improve decision-making and position your business for long-term growth.
Succession Planning
Facing challenges ensuring your business is prepared for the next generation of leadership?
Succession planning is about more than transitioning ownership. It’s about developing future leaders, preserving organizational knowledge and building the leadership capacity needed to sustain your business for years to come. The strongest organizations intentionally prepare for the future long before a leadership transition takes place.
How NHPA Strategic Consulting can help?
Our consultants partner with business owners and leadership teams to develop succession strategies that align with your long-term vision and business goals. Together, we’ll identify and develop future leaders, strengthen organizational continuity and create a practical roadmap that protects your legacy while positioning your business and the next generation for lasting success.
Vendor Relations
Facing challenges maximizing the value of your supplier partnerships?
Your vendor relationships influence profitability, inventory performance and your ability to serve customers. Strategic partnerships go beyond purchasing products. They create opportunities to strengthen operations and improve financial performance.
How NHPA Strategic Consulting can help?
Our consultants evaluate supplier relationships, purchasing strategies and vendor performance to identify opportunities that strengthen collaboration, improve operational efficiency and maximize the value of your partnerships. Together, we’ll develop strategies that support profitability, supply chain resilience and long-term business success.
Why NHPA Strategic Consulting is Right for You?
Whether you’re looking to solve a specific challenge or plan for long-term growth, NHPA Strategic Consulting provides direct access to experienced retail professionals who deliver practical, actionable solutions.
- One-on-one consultations (virutal or in-person)
- Unbiased, trusted industry experts
- Experience-based recommendations
- Focused on measurable results
- Flexible payment options
Meet Our Consultants
About Tony Corsberg
Tony Corsberg, founder of Merchant5, brings more than four decades of retail leadership experience to NHPA’s Strategic Consulting team. He specializes in merchandising management, including store design, visual merchandising, category and assortment planning, promotional space management, vendor relations and more.
As the former Vice President of Merchandising at Friedman’s Home Improvement, a multi-store home center retailer, Tony has a deep understanding of effective merchandising strategies and supplier partnerships.
An active NHPA contributor since 2012, Tony has participated in the Marketing & Merchandising Roundtable and co-created the NHPA Foundations of Merchandising Management program. He also shares his insights as a regular NHPA Media columnist.
Curtis Gillman
Curtis Gillman, consultant at Legacy Retail Advisors, brings extensive operational and strategic expertise to NHPA’s Strategic Consulting team, with a primary focus on family business coaching, leadership and ownership succession, business growth through acquisition and greenfield expansion and financial analysis and KPI monitoring.
Curtis is the former Chief Operating Officer of Gillman Home Center, overseeing 18 locations and driving operational excellence across the organization.
An active NHPA contributor since 2023, Curtis participates in the Top Guns Roundtable and shares his insights as a regular NHPA Media columnist.
Dr. Rob Mathews
With a tactical focus on strategic planning, problem solving and innovation and customer experience mapping, Dr. Rob Mathews, owner of Mind2Momentum, brings a unique blend of academic insight and hands-on retail expertise to NHPA’s Strategic Consulting team.
Rob serves as the Executive Director of the Ball State University Entrepreneurship Center and is the former owner of Mathews True Value Home Center, giving him a deep understanding of both entrepreneurial and operational perspectives.
An active NHPA contributor, Rob has been the lead instructor for NHPA’s Retail Management Certification Program since 2016, co-created the NHPA Foundations of Leadership program and regularly shares his expertise as an NHPA Media columnist.
Jeremy Melnick
Jeremy Melnick, founder of LJB Advisors, brings deep expertise in accounting, lease negotiations, and business valuation, helping retailers make informed financial and operational decisions that drive growth.
Jeremy is the former COO of JC Licht, overseeing 60 locations, and the previous owner of Gordon’s Ace, a seven-location retail chain. He has been recognized as NHPA Young Retailer of the Year (2006) and as an NHPA Top Gun (2016).
An active NHPA contributor, Jeremy shares his insights as a regular NHPA Media columnist.
Mike Aylen
Mike Aylen, owner of Bloom Retail, specializes in pricing and margin management, helping home improvement retailers optimize profitability and make data-driven pricing decisions.
With 15 years of experience as a pricing consultant for retailers across the U.S. and Australia, Mike brings a global perspective on retail strategy and best practices.
An active NHPA contributor, he served as a 2025 Retail Management Certification Program (RMCP) instructor and shares his expertise as a regular NHPA Media columnist.
Bob Levitan
Bob, principal of Black Mountain Consulting, LLC, provides consulting services to independent paint and decorating retailers concerning all business matters from start-up to exit. Bob was a co-owner and Director of Operations of Babel’s Paint and Decorating Stores in the metro Boston area for 26 years. Bob was instrumental in the growth of all five locations, sales and strengthening the Babel’s brand. Bob and his partner sold the business in 2016. Bob was responsible for all aspects of the required due diligence related to the sale of the company. Prior to his tenure at Babel’s, Bob spent 15 years in the retail and wholesale building materials space.
His consultancy focuses on operational excellence for paint and decorating retailers including policy and procedure development, POS system optimization, margin improvement, inventory management controls, back-office efficiencies, personnel consulting and other strategic business matters.
Why Work with NHPA Strategic Consulting?
Mission Focused & Non-Biased
Our team of consultants is NHPA mission focused and has no allegiance toward any buying group or business, other than yours.
Specialized Retail Focus
NHPA Retail Consultants each specialize in specific areas of the business, keying in on the retail core competencies and key strategic areas that matter most to you and your growth.
Roundtable Moderators
NHPA Strategic Consultants are participants in NHPA roundtables and take part in and help lead the critical conversations that point the way forward for their fellow independent home improvement and paint and decorating retailers.
Specialized Retail Focus
NHPA Retail Consultants each specialize in specific areas of the business, keying in on the retail core competencies and key strategic areas that matter most to you and your growth.
Proven Subject Matter Experts
NHPA Strategic Consultants have helped design curriculum for NHPA’s Retail Management Certification Program and NHPA’s Foundations of Retail education programs. They are also regular contributors to Hardware Retailing and Paint & Decorating Retailer magazines. Their expertise is industry renowned.
Extensive Retail Experience
NHPA Strategic Consultants have worked in retail most of their careers and have held top positions at some of the leading independent hardware stores, home centers, LBM and Paint & Decorating retailers in the US.