Dave Lundquist is showing some of the lumber that is stocked at the Hardware Hawaii store in Kailua.
Hardware Hawaii
is celebrating 50 years
of personalized serviceThe family business has grown to three
stores and a lumber distribution center
Smiling, helpful salespeople show that Hardware Hawaii's No. 1 rule of "customers first" hasn't changed in the 50 years since Dana and Mary Lundquist opened the mom-and-pop store in the Kailua Shopping Center.
"My husband (Dana) knew everyone by their name, and they were like friends. He said pleasing a customer will always bring them back to you," Mary Lundquist said.
Hardware Hawaii Ace celebrated its anniversary yesterday, maintaining a down-home charm in an era when personal service is giving way to self-service at big-box discount stores.
Since those early days, the flagship store has moved to Kihapai Street in Kailua and two more stores have been added in Kaneohe and Mapunapuna. There's also a seven-acre lumber distribution center at Kapaa Quarry.
The business has remained in the family.
President Dave Lundquist, 54, started working as a laborer during summers for the store's contracting division when he was a teenager. He took over the helm from his father in 1982.
His father died in 1999 and his mom, although semi-retired for three years, is "still a beacon" for the company, he said.
Hardware Hawaii founders Mary, second from left, and Dana Lundquist, center, helped their first customers ring up a purchase 50 years ago.
Mary Lundquist said, "I'm still the vice president, secretary and treasurer," and "am extremely interested in everything" about the company.
She credited the success of their business to the fact that "we feel we have the best employees in the world. We try not to hire an old grouch. If an employee has the right attitude, even if he doesn't know beans about hardware, we hire him, because we can always teach him."
Dave Lundquist said his employees eagerly volunteer to escort customers to their cars under big umbrellas when it rains because the customers are so appreciative and it makes his staff feel good.
He added, "We are known for not being afraid to overstaff the business." His father told him, "Make sure we have plenty of people here to wait on customers. We are not about the almighty dollar. We're here to provide a service. If we do things right, we'll make money."
The store started out with only a handful of employees; now there are 260. While many companies avoid paying for full employee benefits holding their staff to part-time hours, 95 percent of Lundquist's employees are full-time. And "a lot of them are 20-year and 15-year employees," he added.
Also working "shoulder to shoulder" with him is his brother, Barry Lundquist, the chief operating officer of the company for 15 years.
Dave started helping full-time in 1971 in the store's small lumber department, but started his climb up the ladder when the lumber manager died suddenly.
"I kinda slipped in there ... I very quickly loved it. I took like a duck to water to this business. I loved working with my dad. My dad was my mentor, a really unique man. He gave me all the opportunities to make mistakes and learn."
With his "love" for wood, he has made the enterprise one of the top three lumber companies in Hawaii, with lumber making up 60 percent of its business.
In 1973, Lundquist was able to run the store so well that "we had the biggest month in our history" and his parents felt comfortable enough to take a long vacation for the first time in their lives.
Two of the biggest changes Hardware Hawaii has seen in 50 years is that women customers now make up almost 50 percent of its customer base; and people know that buying quality, long-lasting merchandise is worth the money, Lundquist said.
"We've made a real effort to make the store clean and not a macho place so that it's very welcoming to women."
A lot of women, including his wife, Ely, come to Hardware Hawaii to get advice on how to install plumbing or electrical parts, "and no one makes them feel they're a dummy," he said.
Trophy chest
Hardware Hawaii Ace honors:>> 1992 Hawaii Outstanding Business Award from the Better Business Bureau of Hawaii
>> 1993 and 1997 Oahu Retailer of the Year Awards from the Retail Merchants Association
>>1999 State Retailer of the Year Award from the Better Business Bureau of Hawaii
