Home Hardware stores are getting a Hand. Christine Hand, owner/operator of the Conception Bay South location, has been elected chairwoman of the national retailer’s board of directors.
“I’ve been on the board for nine years; (the chair) is something I had in my mind as a goal,” Hand said Wednesday.
“I was asked this morning about why I wanted to take it on — because it is a big job with a lot of responsibility — and I said, ‘This red jacket, I wear with pride.’ I really, really do. I’m not trying to be corny.”
Hand has operated Handyman Home Hardware in C.B.S. since 1988 and became the owner four years after that.
The store has twice been honoured as the country’s top Home Hardware store.
Hand has also served on the company’s national audit and security committee since 2004. She has headed that panel for the past three years.
The chairwoman’s role is for a year, but can be extended.
At the end of her term, Hand said she’d like to be known as a person who facilitated a board where members contributed to the best of their ability and helped keep Home Hardware’s 1,080 dealers strong.
Home Hardware is a co-operative, with all dealer-owners holding shares in the company. Its collective, annual, sales exceeds $5 billion.
Hand said the biggest focus is growing that market share.
“We’re just starting our new five-year-strategic planning process, so I’ll sort of get to have my hand over that,” she said.
Paul Straus, the company’s president and CEO, looked forward to working with Hand on growing Home Hardware.
“Christine is a passionate entrepreneur who demonstrates a high level of business skill and understanding of our industry,” he said in a release.
“Like all Home Hardware dealers, she is dedicated to working with her fellow dealers to build sustained, successful and independent businesses while continuing to grow our company.”
Hand is a mother of five and also serves as chairwoman of the fund-raising campaign for Manuels River Hibernia Interpretation Centre.
Twitter: @SteveBartlett_
