Students in the 2025 Retail Management Certification Program (RMCP) recently completed the first site visit of the year in Fishers, Indiana.

Designed specifically for store owners, regional supervisors and managers, the program blends strategic leadership training, hands-on business improvement projects and real-world application to help retailers increase profitability, improve operations and build stronger teams.

This year’s class of students experienced three full days of insightful workshops, interactive experiences and networking with fellow retailers in the independent channel.

Day 1

Day 1 of RMCP started off strong with insightful sessions led by Dr. Rob Mathews, focusing on how to leverage human talent to creatively and effectively lead a team to success. Students learned how to use their natural talents and strengths to excel in their managerial roles and communicate effectively with their teams.

The workshop portion of the day wrapped up with key information from NHPA’s Cody Goeppner on how to design a world class training program and offered an operational toolbox for students to take back to their stores.

To end the day, the RMCP class swung some clubs at Top Golf while enjoying food, drinks and socializing.

Day 2

On Day 2, students heard from Gary Petz, vice president and co-founder of Discovery Retail Group, on raising the baseline through incremental improvements, store design and store setting. Petz delivered real-world examples of effective store layout strategies that boost sales and optimize the customer experience.

The students took a break from the classroom in the afternoon and participated in an engaging field trip to observe big-box store operations in real-time. During visits to both Home Depot and Menards, students were tasked with evaluating various customer service techniques and store design choices to compare operations of the independent channel’s biggest competitors to their own stores.

The second day ended with a delicious dinner and casual networking at 101 Beer Kitchen.

Day 3

Brian Landis, president of Ancrage Consulting, led the third day of sessions, beginning with a detailed view of a Harvard Business School case study on Home Depot. Students also participated in an inventory management workshop, offering the opportunity to collaborate focusing on the important aspects of supply chain management. 

Visit #1 wrapped up with a roundtable discussion centered around best practices in sales and marketing, and an update on the upcoming business improvement projects students are working on.

The North American Hardware and Paint Association (NHPA) is looking forward to welcoming retailers and their mentors back to Indianapolis in October for Visit 2 of the program. Before then, students will participate in virtual sessions to continue learning momentum through the program.

Thank you to our scholarship providers Ancra Cargo, Do it Best, True Value, Home Hardware, Midwest Fastener and Wooster.