2009 Young Retailer of the Year Honoree
NICK KUKLENSKI
Two's Company
For two retailers with just a few years experience, Kirby and Nick Kuklenski have made a lot of the right moves. The first right one may have been choosing each other as business partners. Together, they’ve found their skills are far stronger as a team than they would ever be apart.
Kirby, three years older than Nick, started a career in banking after college, but soon began to dream what it would be like to run his own business. The more he looked at different options, the more that dream began to look like a hardware store, and the more he began looking to Ace Hardware as the means to make it happen.
At about the same time, his brother Nick graduated from college. Nick had run his own landscaping business in high school and was eager to be a part of a new enterprise. While Kirby looked for an opportunity to buy a store, Nick decided to take a crash course in hardware retailing by working at an Ace Hardware store in the Denver area through a new-owner mentorship program with Ace Hardware.
After about a year, the brothers found their first opportunity in a hardware store that had recently closed in Colorado Springs. The store was in need of a major renovation, but the shopping mall surrounding it was beginning to revive and it promised to be a prime retail spot.
Both Kirby and Nick had plenty to learn about running a hardware store, but that didn’t stop the brothers from rolling up their sleeves and getting to work. They directed the entire process, from a floor to ceiling remodel of the building, to setting up merchandise, to hiring employees. The timing was perfect too. The community had begun to miss its local hardware store. The brothers opened their doors to a steady stream of customers and in the first year they had nearly doubled their pro forma numbers.
Meanwhile, another opportunity had been brewing in a small community in Denver called Federal Heights. Once again, the location was a shopping mall that was on the cusp of growth. But this time the brothers could build their store from the ground up and glean from all of the lessons they learned in Colorado Springs to design the perfect store.
Also by now, they were beginning to refine the way they worked together as a team. Kirby, with his background in banking, focused on the business side of running the store; keeping the books in order and making sure sales were in line with spending. Nick was at home on the salesfloor, arranging merchandising and creating innovative displays.
At Mile High Ace Hardware, Nick has let his creativity run free, and neither of the brothers has been afraid to try something new, even if it ends up not working out. Both quickly figured out that the best way to learn was to see what other retailers were doing.
“We’re pretty aggressive in the way we run the business,” says Nick. “We’re just not afraid to try anything. We tried a lot of new things in the Colorado Springs store, and we’re still waiting to see what will work up here. We’re also not afraid to get rid of something if it doesn’t work out.”
A good example is the houseware’s department. Nick created upscale displays and put the department at the front of the store, stocking it mainly with seasonal and gift items. But sales were sluggish until they decided to rethink the entire department. They eliminated most of the existing merchandise and replaced it with an extensive offering in kitchen gadgets. Now, it’s one of the top selling categories in the store.
So far, the store’s strongest categories revolve around lawn and garden. After studying demographics of the area, the brothers decided lawn and garden would be a hot seller. They designed a greenhouse connected at the side of the building. The brothers are certified Stihl dealers, along with a repair shop, and the category has been one of the store’s strongest. Nick also designed a 2,000-square-foot elevated deck at the front of the store to display lawn and patio furniture.
So far, less than a year after the grand opening, sales at Mile High Ace Hardware have risen more than 25 percent above pro forma numbers. But two clean, well-merchandised stores hardly reveal the whole scope of the Kuklenski brother’s accomplishments.
As they were learning about bookkeeping and merchandising, they also developed a strong sense about how to manage their staff. “Cross-training is number one in all of our stores, We don’t have department managers. Every single person that works here learns how to do everything. Because we have the Ace name over our door, people expect knowledgeable service from us, so having it is absolutely necessary and key to our business.”
They encourage their employees to take advantage of a wide range of training opportunities, from courses offered by NRHA to vendor specific training. In the short time the brothers have been in business, they’ve already adorned the walls with more than 80 different plaques showing completions of various courses.
The brothers continually visit other retailers in the area to look for merchandising strategies and ideas. Just as quickly, they’ve started to share what they’ve learned with others. Barely a year into their first store, they had the opportunity to participate in Ace Hardware’s store training program where they were able to mentor a new Ace store owner.
In addition, they find ways to give back to the community through donations of time and money. They sponsor events for local charities and schools, including a free movie night for local families. Every week, they have children from the special needs program at the local school come into the store to learn skills that eventually will translate into jobs. To drive more brand awareness in the community, the brothers also sponsor a local racecar driver and use racing events to hand out hats emblazoned with their store name.
Opening the second store so quickly after the first was a lot easier with both of them at the helm, the brothers admit. They feel their teamwork has made the perfect combination for driving the business forward. How many stores they’ll open along the way is anyone’s guess.