Amory Hardware & Nettleton Hardware

Paladin Helps Amory, Nettleton Hardware Grow

When Shane Wells was looking to grow his business – Nettleton Hardware – he wanted a point-of-sale solution that would handle all his retail chores. After looking around, he says he chose Paladin because it fits that bill.

“You can turn a cash register into a glorified point of sale. We went with Paladin because we knew it was going to help us grow our business,” Shane says.

Shane founded Nettleton Hardware about four years ago in Nettleton, Mississippi, a small town in the northeast corner of the state that had nowhere to buy hardware and lumber. He built the store from the ground up. Now, the residents of Nettleton have a 5,000-square-foot hardware store with an 8,000-square-foot lumberyard and they no longer have to drive 20 minutes or more for their home and garden needs.

The store grew steadily that first year, and Shane says it “really kicked into gear” in its second year. That’s when he realized he needed a retail management system that would help his business grow.

With a new store already operating, the growth for Shane’s business happened about 17 miles away in the neighboring town of Amory.  Shane moved his Nettleton store to Paladin in July 2020 and when he got ready to expand to Amory a few months later, it was an easy decision to equip his new store with the same system.

Shane had a new 6,000-square-foot showroom built for the new Amory store and it has a 30,000-square-foot indoor lumberyard. Amory Hardware also serves as headquarters for both stores which employ 19 workers.

Paladin’s user-friendly point of sale is a big benefit for both Nettleton and Amory stores. It’s easy to learn and teach.

“We wanted something easy to learn. My wife has a full-time job, but she can come by and pick it up in a couple of minutes. My 9-year-old son has checked some customers out before, too. He physically scanned some products and checked them out. It was pretty neat,” Shane says. “Paladin is great. It’s simple, but it can be as detailed as you want it to be.”

Hardware is the bread and butter for both stores making up close to 70% of the business. Lumber and farm and ranch products, including feed, make up much of the rest of the sales.

Being able to keep track of both businesses is also huge for Shane. He uses Paladin’s multistore capabilities along with Paladin Pilot and mobile access to know exactly how his stores are doing.

“I’m in Amory most of the time and I’m on Paladin Pilot two or three times a day to check on Nettleton. Paladin mobile also gives you a good snapshot of your business. It really lets you know what you have at any given time,” he explains. “I can even, if I’m on a job site, look at my inventory and check my stock and prices.”

Shane takes pride in the ability of his stores and employees to provide the products and friendly service that keep his customers happy and his business moving forward.

“That’s what small businesses need to do. We can’t outbuy the big boxes. We can’t outprice them. We have to out-service them and that’s what we feel we do.”