Hardlines Acquires Outstanding Retailer Awards

Posted by on Jun 3, 2013 in Featured | 0 comments

TORONTO, June 3, 2013 — Canada’s premier awards program for home improvement dealers has a new home. The Outstanding Retailer Awards (ORAs) are now owned and managed by Hardlines Inc. Hardlines, which publishes the quarterly hardware/home improvement trade magazine Hardlines Home Improvement Quarterly (HHIQ) and the weekly e-newsletter HARDLINES, has purchased the awards from Hardware Merchandising.

The annual ORAs began in 1992 to recognize excellence in merchandising and retail performance. The ORA ceremony has been held during the Hardlines Conference for the past decade. This spring, Hardlines Inc. purchased the rights to the program from Hardware Merchandising, which inaugurated the program when Michael McLarney, now editor of HARDLINES, was editor of that magazine.

“Some of the greatest retailers in Canada are hardware and home improvement dealers. These awards are an important way to ensure they get the recognition they deserve,” said Michael McLarney, editor and president of Hardlines Inc.

“We are pleased to see the ORAs continue uninterrupted and to know that the integrity of the program will be maintained by its founder, Michael McLarney,” said Robert Koci, associate publisher, Hardware Merchandising.

The ORAs will be presented at the Annual Hardlines Conference, October 23-24 in Toronto. Hardlines’ purchase of the awards completes the Hardlines Conference program. The call for entries to the Outstanding Retailer Awards is effective immediately. For complete application information, please visit www.oras.ca.

About Hardlines
Now in its 18th year, Hardlines Inc. is a leading authority on the retail home improvement industry. Hardlines’ products and services include its weekly HARDLINES electronic newsletter; its hard-copy magazine, Hardlines Home Improvement Quarterly; a comprehensive and informative website; a free Daily News Service; and the Annual Hardlines Conference Series, a two-day symposium that gathers retail executives from all over the world. For more information, please contact Michael McLarney, Editor of Hardlines, at 416-489-3396 or mike@hardlines.ca.

Contact:
Robert Koci, 647-407-0754
Michael McLarney, 416-489-3396