Orchard’s super hardware strategy
Orchard Supply Hardware has gone through a lot of changes in its 80-year history, but the California chain — now numbering 89 units with $660.7 million in annual sales — has weathered them all. Changes in ownership, leadership, store design, color scheme and signage have come and gone. But the stores’ customers — known for their exceptional loyalty — have generally stuck with the chain.
In March 2011, Orchard’s majority owner, Sears Holdings, announced that Orchard had hired Mark Baker as its new chief executive. Baker’s curriculum vitae — former head merchant for Home Depot and, more recently, president and COO of Scotts Miracle-Gro — has observers expecting big-league initiatives from the California company. Baker had only been on the job for a few weeks when he hired Steve Mahurin, the former chief merchandising officer at True Value and another former Home Depot executive, as his head merchant.
(As reported by HomeChannelNews.com)