• Business: ProTrade Hardware & BBQ Supply
• Location: Somerset, Kentucky
• Owner: Jenn and Luke Bates
• Years in business: 5

Jenn and Luke Bates were honored by Pulaski County which selected ProTrade Hardware as Small Business of the Year in 2024.

Jennifer and Luke Bates probably couldn’t have imagined a rockier road when they decided to open ProTrade Hardware in Somerset, Kentucky. They built the store from scratch and opened during the height of the pandemic. Those obstacles make their success even more remarkable.

ProTrade Hardware has become incredibly popular with the residents in Somerset and Pulaski County whose chamber of commerce selected it as one of two Small Businesses of the Year in 2024. Jenn says Paladin Point of Sale has helped them smooth out many of those early bumps to become so successful.

Jenn and Luke had both worked in the grocery industry with The Kroger Company before taking the plunge into hardware.

“We always wanted to have our own business, but we weren’t sure what we wanted to do. My dad has a rental company and initially wanted to open a hardware store to accompany it. He decided it was more than what he wanted to do at the time and suggested we open it to compliment the rental store, since he knew we wanted to open a business,” she explains, adding that they did a lot of research to whittle down their options for providers to Orgill Distribution and Paladin Point of Sale. “We were familiar with point-of-sale systems from working with Kroger. We had calls with a lot of companies but felt uneasy with most of them. It wasn’t like that with Paladin.

“Just comparing everything that Paladin offered, it was very straight forward, and all my concerns were addressed.”

Once the Bates opened their store, a few years had passed, and they realized they needed help changing their product offering to more of DIY vs Pro driven. Paladin helped them clean up the inventory and refine their offering to fit their clientele. Paladin’s Market Driven Inventory Management and its integration with Orgill EDI and other programs help make ordering and inventory control simple and sharpen ProTrade’s business performance.

“The whole process is very easy. It streamlines what we do,” Jenn says. “Paladin’s reports helped us narrow down what to get rid of and what to keep. It showed we weren’t making a lot on some items, so it came in handy when it came to making those decisions.

“We initially intended to go pro with contractors driving our business. But we found out we are DIY-driven, and we realized pretty quickly we have a strong grilling niche.”

Grills, smokers and grilling supplies have earned ProTrade a loyal following from Kentucky residents surrounding Lake Cumberland.

That niche is fueled by Somerset’s location on scenic Lake Cumberland where outdoor life is celebrated with grilling. Because of that popularity, Jenn and Luke found that grills and smokers, sauces and rubs are as popular in their store as nuts, bolts and power tools. The niche has become so popular, Jenn and Luke have already rebranded the store – ProTrade Hardware & BBQ Supply – and are remodeling it to increase their grilling and fireplace floorspace.

ProTrade is also using PaladinShop™ to spread its hardware and grilling gospel. PaladinShop provides a ready-built digital store that extends ProTrade’s service and sales to online customers. It allows the store’s customers to make payments on their account, print invoices, view purchase history, and shop ProTrade’s inventory 24/7.

Traditional online retail requires a significant investment of time, money and technical expertise. PaladinShop gives Jenn and Luke an online store without the high cost and hassle of a typical e-commerce site. It features customer self-service features where they can manage their accounts and make payments and a digital store that has detailed

“We’re a true mom and pop store. So, if we do something like this, it’s up to us,” Jenn explains. “We’re super new at this, but it has launched, and we have people on the site looking around, paying bills, and browsing.

“Paladin Support has been extremely helpful in getting us going. We really appreciate the support. Dealing with customer service from other companies is like trying to break into Fort Knox to get an answer. Paladin is very helpful and responsive. They have exceeded our expectations! We love Paladin and all their people!”