The first day of the 2025 Independent Home Improvement Conference kicked off with education, networking and celebrations of the industry.
During his State of the Industry address, NHPA COO Dan Tratensek shared that even though the pandemic was five years ago, the entire industry is still “shell shocked.”
“We are still facing challenges that were born from the ‘pandemic era’ like inflation, delayed purchases, economic uncertainty and social uncertainty,” Tratensek says.
“This has caused independent retailers to rethink and reframe the basic value proposition that they stood behind for decades,” Tratensek says. “Convenience, service and product knowledge now mean something completely different. Convenience is giving way to curation, service is evolving to relationship cultivation and product knowledge is transitioning to customer confirmation.”
During Top Guns Live: Leadership Lessons From the Industry’s Boldest Leaders, the 2025 Top Guns honorees—Jeff Grasty, Ryan Ringer and Hervey Wright—shared insights on leading their teams, leaders they admire and what the future of the industry looks like.
“Leadership is not just a title; you have to tailor your leadership to who you are leading,” Wright says. “Because of this, my role as a leader has changed over the years and involves more listening and empowering my team to lead.”
During his presentation, Macro-Economic Factors Impacting Home Improvement Behaviors, executive director of the Home Improvement Institute Dave King broke down the key economic factors—unemployment, inflation, interest rates and more—influencing home improvement behaviors in 2025.
“When it comes to unemployment, in reality, we’re moving back toward historical norms,” King says. “We’re going to be OK.”
For the first time ever, the NHPA Young Retailer of the Year Awards and the Beacon Awards came together to celebrate excellence in the industry during the All-Industry Awards Gala.
“This evening is a celebration of momentum, innovation and legacy,” says Cody Goeppner, NHPA director of education and training. “Tonight is about recognizing how far passion and purpose can take you. It’s about honoring the people who are building, growing and giving back at every level. We hope this evening inspires you as much as it humbles us.”
2025 Young Retailer of the Year Honorees
Jay Engler | Multistore
Busy Beaver Building Centers, Inc.
Jacqueline Fenton | Multistore
Hassett Ace Hardware
Ryan Leger | Multistore
Richibucto Home Hardware Building Centre, St. Louis Home Building Centre
Matthew Spinks | Multistore
Lumber King
Huong Luu | Under $3M
Luu Color Center, Inc.
Mitchell Stadtlander | Under $3M
Cedar Mountain True Value
Brookelyn McClellan | Over $3M
Hardware Sales
Skylar Stevenson | Over $3M
Stevenson’s Ace Hardware
Retail Beacon Award
Randy Andes
Randy’s Hardware
Peter Grebeck
Peter’s True Value
Theisen’s Family
Theisen’s
Beacon Award for Digital Excellence
Pat Sullivan
Sullivan’s Hardware and Garden
Beacon Award for Best New Store
Dave and Lori Ables
3 Sons Hardware
Kerry Higgins
Coulee Hardware
Isaac Smith
Matt’s Building Materials
In the Partner Pavilion, over 20 exhibitors engaged with attendees and shared their services that can help attendees take their business to the next level in a variety of operational areas.
Yesterday, Partner Events welcomed attendees to gain insights on a variety of topics. Do it Best and True Value, Orgill and Epicor offered educational sessions, seminars and networking opportunities.
