Family-owned and operated since 1948, Parkrose Hardware has survived lean times and days of plenty, found its niche among megastores like Home Depot and Lowe's and held its own five years after the debut of its Vancouver location.
"When we purchased our Vancouver property, we knew exactly what we were getting into and exactly who we were competing with," said Chief Operating Officer Michael Nelson of Parkrose's location on E. 2nd Street in East Vancouver – not far from a Home Depot and a Wal-mart seemingly big enough to require its own ZIP code.
Though its competitors may be gigantic, Parkrose Hardware's Vancouver location is hardly a small mom-and-pop style operation. The store on E. 2nd Street occupies 30,000 square feet – a space slightly smaller than its flagship location in the Northeast Portland neighborhood that gives the business its name.
Starting as a small store on Sandy Boulevard, one fire and four moves later, Parkrose Hardware's Portland location now occupies a much bigger building four blocks away from its original location.
"We're very rare among family-owned hardware stores," Nelson said. "Usually it's 8,000 to 10,000 square feet in a not-so-good retail area. We're much different."
Despite the tough economy, Nelson reports stable year-to-year retail sales at its Vancouver store. And in at least one respect, the Vancouver market has outperformed its equivalent just across the I-205 Bridge.
"Our outside-sales division in Portland has been thumped," he said. "But in Vancouver, with new salespeople finding more customers, we've done better."
Other sectors, such as a rental business featuring nearly a half-million dollars in equipment, have suffered in both locations due to the slowdown in construction projects across the region.
Despite its Stumptown moniker, Parkrose co-owners Bryan and David Ableidinger, along with Nelson, all call Vancouver home. "We love this place, so we all saw Vancouver as a natural market to expand to," Nelson said. "There really is no easy way to grade one store over the other."
