When you’re looking for an experienced hardware store liquidation company, trust Wingate Sales Solutions to help you get the best return possible. We’ve been in business since 1916 and we execute every sale with honesty, integrity and respect. As a result, we do more hardware store closing, retirement, and going out of business sales than all of our competition combined.
Our mission is to help store owners stimulate business with special promotions or get the most out of their inventory with store closing sales. The Wingate Sales Solutions organization is dedicated to providing effective and cost-efficient asset disposition and hardware store liquidation services.
If you’re facing the decision to close your hardware store, we’re here to help you every step of the way.
Our liquidation team will appraise the inventory, put the right sale plan together, and then work with you to execute the plan. Call us today at 1-888-480-7253 or request your FREE information packet using the form to the right to see how Wingate Sales Solutions can help you liquidate your hardware store with the best return possible. Contact us early to start the planning process.
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All information is confidential and tailored to your store.
Reasons to Choose Wingate Sales Solutions
Experience
We’ve helped close more hardware stores than anyone in the industry. We also manage liquidation sales for farm and ranch, feed and seed, home centers, lumber & building material stores as well as kitchen, bath, lighting, and garden center stores. We have a team of experienced liquidators who specialize in getting customers in the door and product off the shelves.
History
Wingate Sales Solutions has a long history with hardware, home center, and building material dealers throughout the United States and Canada. We maintain a good working relationship with the National Retail Hardware Association. We also sponsor the Hardware Retailing e-newsletter and regularly support the Hardware Retailer and Hardware Retailing with advertising.
Relationships
Our associate memberships include the North American Retail Hardware Association (NRHA), NRHA Canada, Michigan Retail Hardware Association, Pacific Northwest Hardware & Implement Association, SouthWestern Hardware Association and Mid-American Lumbermen’s Association.
Strategy
We use a copyright-protected strategy for our liquidation sales that encourages customers to keep coming back and buying more throughout the sale. This allows us to clear out inventory with minimal markdowns and advertising costs.
Customized Liquidation Sale Plan
Our liquidator will start by appraising your store’s inventory at no cost or obligation to you. He or she will take all provided information into consideration and provide you with a liquidation plan that includes the potential recovery value as well as our fees. Our proven going out of business sales plan will be tailored to fit your store and your situation and get the best possible return. If you decide to work with us, you’ll maintain complete control of your entire store, including the employees and the receipts from the sale.
Promotional Event Sales
We also help with high-impact business stimulation and special event sales. Hardware store owners must adapt to a rapidly changing retail environment which means moving to a better location or changing programs is often necessary. We can help with a high-impact special event sale that will sell out the old brand and other merchandise you no longer want to carry and help raise the money you need to make the change.
Included Extras
When you work with us, we will sell your fixtures and equipment at no additional charge. You’ll also receive free advertising copywriting and high-impact signage.
One of our experienced sale consultants will work with you every step of the way to help plan discounts and manage the sale. Your hardware store liquidator will be an expert partner. If an unexpected problem arises, he or she will be there with an immediate solution.
Case Studies & Testimonials
ACE Hardware of Warsaw – Warsaw, IL
This was a nice 20,000 sq ft well established ACE store. Sales had been declining for some time and the owner had been trying to sell it for 6 or 7 years. The inventory had been shrinking and when they inquired about our service the inventory was down to $500,000. By the time they decided to use our service the inventory had shrunk to $410,000. Our Rep convinced them it would be beneficial to buy some additional merchandise for the sale. They purchased another $25,000 in fast turning, long margin merchandise making the total inventory $435,000. Opening day of our Pre-Showing sales exceeded $52,000. “While we expected our opening day to be big, it was huge! And we still exceeded a 30% margin for the day!” Reported gross sales ran a little over $500,000 for a 128% return. Plus, fixtures sold for over $20,000 and a truck, trailer and fork lift sold for over $36,000. Due to our customer incentive program that had 3,400 customers involved, we were able to hold media advertising expenses $10,242. NOTE: We were recommended by our good friend Tom Chasteen owner and founder of The Hardware Conference and Hardware Connection Magazine.
Elwood Adams Hardware – Worester, MA
The store was established in 1782 and was located in the first brick building built in the town. The building was on the National Register of Historical Places. It was the only retail business left in the old downtown area. Our press release got articles (free publicity) in the local and area news papers, radio and TV stations. The Boston Globe ran a big article about the store’s history and its closing. CBS News Sunday Morning with Jane Pauley ran a full segment on the store and its closing!
Okemos Hardware – Okemos, MI
This was a long established ACE store with a $300,000 cost inventory. Another $30,000 in fast turning profitable selling merchandise was brought in making the total inventory to be sold $330,000 at cost. The first day of our Pre-Showing sales exceeded $27,000 making it the biggest volume day the store ever had. Reported volume for the sale was a few dollars short of $398,000! This was considerably more than Wingate’s projection (We like to make conservative projections that we expect to exceed). This was a 121% return on inventory cost. There were 1441 customers signed up to participate in our customer incentive program which gave them an incentive to buy more merchandise and helped generate more customer traffic. One customer only missed 3 days of shopping the store over the 9 week sale. This program helped us hold media advertising expenses to $3,751 or .00943% of gross sales. The owner told ACE that we are the only way to go.
Heritage ACE Hardware – Santa Paula, CA
This ACE store had a starting inventory of $210,000, including a lot of dated and obsolete merchandise. The first day of our Pre-Showing sales were $15,331. Total reported sales ran close to $193,000 plus the sales of fixtures and equipment. 1183 customers were involved with our customer incentive program. It helped generate customer traffic, stimulated additional sales and helped us sell obsolete merchandise. It also helped us hold media advertising to $1450 or .75 % of sales. The owner’s wife said she was “SHOCKED” with the first day’s sales. She also said they got their money back.
Tarpon True Value – Punta Gorda, FL
We felt that Wingate did a wonderful job in liquidating our inventory and helping getting rid of fixtures and equipment. This is the second time we have liquidated. The first time we sold our property in Illinois to move to Florida to start a new store. Our First experience with a liquidator (not Wingate) was terrible. The consultant was not there half the time and did not communicate with us. Our Wingate Consultant was with us the entire time and guided us each step of the way, unlike our first experience. We would, and will, recommend Wingate Sales Solutions for any business considering liquidation.” This store was heavy in fasteners and related hard to sell items. Due to our Consultants hard work and use of our variable pricing system, our Pre-Showing and our customer incentive program, we were able to generate a 90% return on inventory cost plus the sale of fixtures and equipment.
Newtown Square True Value – Newtown Square, PA
This was a high volume True Value store that had lost its lease and had to close. The starting inventory was $180,000 and reported sales ran over $223,000 for a 124% return. The first day our Pre-Showing produced sales of $34,300! This was more than three times bigger than the stores biggest day ever. Plus, 350 people signed up to participate in our customer incentive program that day. 1052 people eventually signed up helping us keep media advertising expenses to $6,000 or 2.6%. The owner stated that Wingate was the only sales company that would come to the store without charge to explain their services and the costs involved.
Ashland ACE Hardware – Ashland, WI
This was a marginally profitable store and the lease was about to expire. Consequently, the owner decided to liquidate it and concentrate on his other more profitable store. The sale was held during the winter; the slowest time of the year. Starting inventory was $200,000 and another $10,000, mostly merchandise the owner wanted to clear out of his other store, was brought in. He also transferred $5,000 in good merchandise to his other store. The opening day of our Pre-Showing sales ran well over $18,000. Reported merchandise sales ran $170,000 and we sold the fixtures and equipment for another $12,000. Media advertising expense ran 0.041%. The sale surpassed the owner’s goals and he was well pleased.