Exciting times for Fernie Home Hardware
The team at Home Hardware in Fernie is enjoying a lot more space
1 of 5Walter and Heather Ingram are proud of their new Home Hardware store. — Photo by Kim Shellborn
2 of 5Walter and Heather Ingram standing in front of their new Home Hardware building centre in Fernie. — Photo by Kim Shellborn
3 of 5The main enterance of Fernie's Home Hardware building centre. — Photo by Kim Shellborn
4 of 5Heather Ingram in Home Expressions, the decor section of Fernie Home Hardware. — Photo by Kim Shellborn
5 of 5Home decor section is a cheerful addition to Fernie Home Hardware's new store. — Photo by Kim Shellborn
The team at Home Hardware in Fernie is enjoying a lot more space. They moved into their new building on August 19 and will launch their store officially with a grand opening from October 3-5.
“The new building is a new retail space on the same property that we have always had,” said owner, Walter Ingram. “The existing building will be used as warehousing, but we have expanded from 6000 square feet to 20,000.”
Ingram said that it is an exciting time.
“Customers seem to be very positive, and we have been able to hire more staff,” he said.
Improvements all around
It has been a long road since Ingram started in the business in 1971, working part time for Beaver Lumber in Fort McMurray, Alberta. An opportunity with the company brought Ingram to Fernie in 1987 and he now calls the beautiful Elk Valley his home. He said plans for the new store began in 2008. And now that Home Hardware has opened its doors, customers can expect some nice changes.
“We have this 20,000 square feet of show area,” said Ingram, “and we have had a large expansion in Home Expressions—housewares, home appliances, pots and pans. My wife Heather has everything in there from scarves to pictures—everything you need to decorate your home.”
Ingram said they have great new display areas with kitchen cabinets, hardware and power tools, while the paint area has been increased and all the moldings brought inside.
Family business
Ingram with his wife Heather and son Ryan keep business running smoothly at the store. Ryan oversees the yard and the contractor sales, while Heather looks after Home Expressions and does pretty much all the running around, said Ingram.
Future plans? Ingram said they are not quite done yet, and a year away from his end plans.
“We still have to remodel the other building for the warehouse,” said Ingram. “It will be a drive-through warehouse with storage.”
He said he thinks they will finish off what they have before they think of anything else. “It is always nice to move ahead and make improvements,” said Ingram. “If you want to just stay still—well, that is where you are.”