Rocky’s Ace Hardware Inducted into Retail Hall of Fame
SPRINGFIELD — Rocky’s Ace Hardware, one of the country’s largest family-owned Ace Hardware dealers, was recently awarded the Award of Excellence in Retail by the Retailers Assoc. of Massachusetts and inducted into the Retail Hall of Fame. Recipients are nominated by their industry peers and local chambers of commerce and are recognized for their overall excellence, innovation, and service within the retail industry.
“We’re really excited to be inducted into the Retail Hall of Fame,” Rocky’s Ace Hardware President Rocco Falcone said. “We thank all our associates who made this possible. We call them our ‘red-vested heroes.’ We’d also like to thank our customers for supporting us for the last 96 years.”
Falcone’s grandfather, also named Rocco but nicknamed Rocky, opened the first Rocky’s in 1926 in Springfield. In 1966, Rocky’s son James began running the business, eventually expanding to a successful seven-store chain before affiliating with the Ace Hardware Co-op. James’ son Rocco is the third generation of the family to serve as president. Rocky’s Ace Hardware now has 47 locations in nine states: Connecticut, Florida, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, New Jersey, Ohio, Pennsylvania, and Rhode Island.
Rocco’s son John represents the fourth generation to join the family business, currently serving as the company’s director of Merchandising. He attributes the success of the company to its three core values.
“We focus on service, convenience, and quality,” John Falcone said. “The customer’s expectation when coming into our store is that we’re going to have very helpful associates. It’s our team’s expectation that we will provide much better service here than you’ll get at any big-box store.”
The Retailers Assoc. of Massachusetts Awards of Excellence were created in 1998 as a way to acknowledge retail excellence in the Commonwealth. Throughout their history, these awards have honored small and large retailers, rookies and veterans, identifying hidden gems from all corners of the state.
