The grand opening celebration of Carlyle Home Hardware on May 6 and 7 was a real success. The event saw hundreds of patrons take part in the two-day celebration. Customers and friends filtered through the doors to congratulate Nancy and Gilles Matthewson on their new location, to take a good look at the new store and the abundance of products that are available, and to take advantage of some of the grand opening deals spread throughout the store.
The celebration began on May 6 at 9 a.m. with a representative from Home Hardware, Norm Demeulenaere, acting as the Master of Ceremonies and kicking off the event with some opening remarks. Mayor Don Shirley spoke on behalf of the community with a congratulatory message for the owners.
Area manager, Yvonne Grummett, presented Nancy and Gilles with a plaque commemorating the new location and grand opening event. Lance Shipley, Director of Retail Operations for Western Canada, followed with a message about how the dedication of owners such as Nancy and Gilles make businesses such as the one in Carlyle a real success.
Nancy Matthewson, with Gilles by her side, gave a heartfelt speech thanking all of the individuals that contributed to the day, their new location and their success thus far. She mentioned the hard work and dedication of her staff, along with the understanding and patience from her family. Moving to a new location means a lot of hard work, and Nancy and Gilles are the first to acknowledge that.
A ribbon cutting ceremony saw Home Hardware staff and representatives holding the ribbon, with Nancy Matthewson manning the scissors.
A number of customers lined the doors following the ribbon cutting to get a glimpse into what the new location has to offer. Home Hardware moved to their new location on Railway Avenue on April 4, which meant an increase of almost three times the size in space from the former location.
Upon entry, customers were treated to donuts and the opportunity to enter their name in a grand opening draw. In addition to all of the grand opening, Carlyle Home Hardware hosted a charity barbeque on both Friday and Saturday, with the proceeds going to support Manor and Gordon F. Kells High School grad classes.
When asked how the day went, Nancy was very happy. "It was truly amazing. I was blown away by the whole weekend. I just couldn't believe the amount of people. It was really overwhelming. There was a ton of people out Friday, and Saturday was steady all day. The response was just really great. It was really nice."
"We are really excited to be in our new location. There is just so much more room and the building is bright and spacious. We have the ability to carry a lot of product and display it nicely now. We had a lot in the old store, but we had it all stacked up and in the sheds. But now, it is all out there for people to see. We can display it a lot better because of the space and we are very excited about that."
Paul Straus, President and CEO of Home Hardware Stores Limited, said of the event "I would like to extend my congratulations to Nancy and Gilles on the growth of the business and the expansion of Carlyle Home Hardware. Moving into a new store is an exciting challenge for a dealer-owner, and we wish everyone at Carlyle Home Hardware continued success."
Home Hardware is 100 per cent Canadian-owned and operated with a presence in every Canadian province and territory. The cooperative, founded in 1964, now includes more than 1,080 stores across Canada.
