Corporate Information

Throughout its 85-year history, Ace has been known as the helpful hardware place by both customers and communities. For its first 50 years in business, Ace was privately held. In 1976, Ace became a retailer-owned cooperative. Each store is independently owned and operated by local entrepreneurs who, many times, live in the communities they serve.

Today, Ace is the largest retailer-owned cooperative and clear leader in the convenience segment of the hardware industry in terms of wholesale and retail sales and strength of the brand. Ace’s 4,600 stores in all 50 states and more than 60 countries generate annual retail sales of approximately $12 billion.

Headquartered in Oak Brook, Ill., Ace currently operates 14 distribution centers in the U.S. and one in Shanghai, China. Ace employs approximately 4,500 corporate team members worldwide and has four regional offices, located in Raleigh, N.C; Atlanta, Ga.; Denver, Colo.; and Woodridge, Ill.

The following are some recent recognitions for Ace:

• In 2009, Ace ranked “Highest in Customer Satisfaction among Home Improvement Stores Three Years in a Row,” according to J.D. Power and Associates.
• For the second consecutive year, BusinessWeek magazine ranked Ace in the top 10 of “Customer Service Champs” in March 2009.
• For the past 13 consecutive quarters, Corporate Research International (CRI) ranked Ace number one in the home improvement retail category based on the results of its “Real People Ratings” consumer opinion survey.
• The January 2009 edition of Entrepreneur magazine ranked Ace #6 in the list of top 500 franchises. 
• Ace has received the #5 or #6 spot on the Franchise Times list of top 200 franchises since 2006.
• In April 2008, Ace ranked in the top 10 of Crain’s Chicago Business list of “Chicago’s Largest Privately Held Companies