Content about Vermont

Home Channel News selected 50 hardware stores -- one from each state -- for inclusion in the second annual Hardware Store All-Star list. The stores distinguish themselves with strong customer service, innovative approaches to retail and a connection to community and customers.

The alphabetical listing of All-Star stores, one from each of the 50 U.S. states, continues here with Texas, Utah and Vermont:

LBM dealers trying to deliver building materials into New York are wondering if they haven’t become a new source of state revenue, given the stepped-up enforcement of linkage laws by the Department of Transportation (DOT). Although the issue is being addressed in the New York State legislature by a bill brought forth by the Northeastern Retail Lumber Association (NRLA), lumberyard delivery drivers are playing cat and mouse with state troopers while their bosses are fighting $1,000 citations in court.

Getting rid of mobile homes damaged or destroyed by Hurricane Irene is a costly impediment for many low-income households wanting to start over. But a public-private partnership spearheaded by Vermont state officials got a $25,000 infusion from Aubuchon Hardware, a northeastern chain of 130-plus hardware stores.

Marcus Moran Jr., Aubuchon president and CEO, presented the donation to Lt. Governor Scott and Lawrence Miller, Secretary of Commerce and Community Development, in a ceremony on Oct. 3. Aubuchon has 25 stores located in Vermont, according to the company’s website.

The Secretary of the Interior Ken Salazar picked a Vermont Hardware Store to promote conservation and control the sea lamprey.

Bibens Ace Hardware in Colchester, Vt., welcomed Salazar to the store, where he spoke about the connection between outdoor recreation, conservation and job creation, according to an article on the Vermont Public Radio website.

New faces and veteran exhibitors gathered in the Las Vegas Convention Center on Tuesday for the 2011 National Hardware Show. Always a collection of innovative new products and packaging, this year proved to be no exception, with offerings like the Easy Reach Plant Pulley (you can raise and lower hanging plants to water them) and Heat Zone, a shop light with a heater and a fan, both on display in New Product World.

As hardware retailers continue to look for ways to increase sales in a down economy, some have found a niche market in “Made in the USA” products.

With consumers keenly aware of the nation’s unemployment rate (currently at 9.4%) and motivated by value in their purchasing decisions, some retailers are reporting a growing number of consumers who are looking for American-made products.

Aubuchon Hardware was forced to close two of its stores in Northern Vermont on Jan. 18 because of declining sales, according to an article in the Burlington Free Press. 

Employees at the Essex Center and Enosburg Falls locations were notified by e-mail on Tuesday at noon, according to an assistant  store manager. The company issued a press release saying the closings were made with "much regret."