Ben on his YouTube channel “Ben from the Hardware Store” demonstrating Gorilla Tape.

Ginn Hardware Makes Headlines

Ben Ginn, manager of Ginn Hardware in Vanceburg, Kentucky, made the cover of Hardware Connection’s July 15 edition. The store has been a Paladin client since 2025.

Ben is almost certainly better known than the store. While Ginn Hardware serves the roughly 1,500 people of Vanceburg, along with surrounding Lewis County, which sits along the Ohio River in the northeast portion of the state, Ben’s YouTube channel, “Ben from the Hardware Store,” has developed more than 80,000 followers, according to the story.

Like a lot of people in the retail hardware business, Ben grew up in it – spending much of his childhood at his “papaw’s” plumbing supply business. In the cover story, Ben shares a little about his life in hardware and his social media playbook, which has made him an online sensation. Check out his YouTube channel – Ben from the Hardware Store

The story was also featured in Hardware Retailing.

Read more in Hardware Connection

Beaufort Hardware, Riverside Building Materials Beacon Award Honorees

Beaufort Hardware and Riverside Building Materials were among the Beacon Award honorees at the annual Independent Home Improvement Conference last month in Orlando, Florida. Both stores are Paladin clients. Beaufort has been with Paladin since 2024, while Riverside began utilizing Paladin Managed Services this year.

Tommy Simpson’s Beaufort Hardware has served Beaufort, North Carolina, since 1998. Beaufort is a thriving town of roughly 5,000 residents located on North Carolina’s “Inner Banks.” Read more

BDK Feed and Supply recognized for horticulture innovation

Eric Kingsland, co-owner of BDK Feed and Supply in Blanchester, Ohio, is featured in the current edition of Hardware Connection for both his horticultural innovation and a good sense of humor.

It seems the store has a loyal customer known for cultivating cucumbers he turns into pickles. And each year he visits BDK, a Paladin client since 2023, and asks for “pickle plants.” See how Kingsland and the BDK staff responded to his request on Page 12 of Hardware Connection.

Hardware Retailing

• Do it Best Group names new communications director
• Ace Retail Group promotes Tony Houk to SVP Operations
• Homeowners to spend less on home improvement in last half of 2026, HIRI finds
• Ace Hardware and Ace Handyman Services recognized on Entrepreneur’s Best Franchise list
• Persistent affordability concerns drive builder confidence lower in July
• Tractor Supply Company partners with Instacart
• June retail sales show continued growth for ninth consecutive month
• NRF releases 2026 Top 100 Retailers list
• NHPA expands media brands with acquisition of Hardware Connection
• Do it Best Group’s Eric Lane shares update on sales team integration

HBS Dealer

• Do it Best Group event promotes innovation
• Solid sales for building supply dealers, hardware stores
• ROAD to Housing Act: it’s the law
• Thriving in a post-Covid world
• Construction outlook for Q2 2026
• True Value heads to Fort Wayne
• Orgill points to YTD sales growth

Retail Dive

• Tractor Supply sputters in Q2, lowers outlook
• Retail sales soar over 11% in June
• Penny’s end poses rounding challenge
• Retailers stock up ahead of expected tariff changes
• CEOs fear they’re underinvesting in AI
• Retailers plan to invest deeper in AI, cybersecurity this year
• Home Depot adds 7-Eleven, Jimmy John’s as pro loyalty partners
• Amazon’s Prime Day drives online sales in the US up 9.3%