Readers will remember that we covered Gina Schaefer’s A Few Cool Hardware Stores from the USA in the March/April issue’s store profile. Gina and her husband Marc have just recently announced that they are transferring ownership of their 13 stores to their staff through an innovative employee ownership plan.

They are currently the largest locally owned hardware store chain in the Nation’s Capital, Washington, and are located in the DC and Baltimore metro areas.
Announcing the plan on LinkedIn Gina said “Well, I can finally announce to the world that the right thing for A Few Cool Hardware stores is employee ownership. Marc and I have begun the transfer of ownership to our teammates through an Employee Stock Ownership Plan (ESOP) and we cannot be more thrilled.”
Gina went on to explain “If the events of the past several years have taught us anything, it is that a strong company culture can help keep a business healthy and strong. And that businesses can create long term wealth and stability for their employees while growing the bottom line. We spent two years researching and planning our succession – all as we head into our 20th year of business ownership. Now we can proudly say that we are not just the owners of the 13 stores we love so much, but Co-Owners. I have always known that when businesses want to do the right thing they’ll figure out a way to do it.”