99-year-old Lowe’s and Home Depot rival closing its doors forever | Official Website of Louis Velazquez, entrepreneur, finance guy and tech innovator

Before Home Depot and Lowe’s took over the market, local hardware stores used to serve as the center of many communities. Yes, they sold hardware and building supplies, but they also acted as a sort of general store.

I remember visiting stores like this as a child, where you buy a shovel, a mailbox, or duct tape, but also paper towels, and maybe some barbecue grill supplies. Because these stores were local and locally operated, their owners had the option to stock what was needed.

Home Depot and Lowe’s, to be fair, stock every item named above, but they’re impersonal big-box stores, not community retailers where the owners know most customers by sight. That’s not a diss on the big chains, just the reality of how the market has changed.

Hardware stores in the United States facts:

As of 2025, there are roughly 12,906 businesses classified as “hardware stores” in the U.S., according to IBISWorld.
The number of hardware‑store businesses has had a slight negative growth rate over recent years, a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of -0.6% between 2020 and 2025, the same IBISWorld report shared.
The percentage of hardware stores that are truly independent (mom‑and‑pop style) has dropped over the decades, from 47% in 1992 down to 42% by 2018, reported The Handbuilt City.
According to a 2024/2025 survey of independent home‑improvement retailers, among respondents, 69% operated just one store, 47% were small stores (less than 10,000 sq. ft.), and nearly half were located in rural areas, according to Hardware Retailing .
Among independent retailers in Q2 2025, only 38% reported year‑over‑year sales increases versus 37% reporting declines, while 25% saw flat sales, indicating a broadly stagnant environment, the same study showed.

“The average independent hardware retail store owner — the neighborhood Joe making your keys or selling you paint — is turning 60 and his children are not rushing to take over the store, the North American Retail Hardware Association told the Las Vegas Review-Journal.

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That’s going to lead to more stores closing.

“It is a huge issue we are focused on,” said Scott Wright, executive director of the Leadership Institute for NRHA. “Many of those retailers don’t have a succession plan for passing that down to the next generation or someone within the company.“

Now, another family-owned local hardware store will soon close its doors forever.

Hardware stores used to be a significant part of the community.

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Tupelo Hardware closing after 100 years

“For nearly 100 years, Tupelo Hardware has been synonymous with the city’s downtown area. Its location has been a beacon for residents and tourists alike, its name in all capital letters, painted bright white atop the building at the corner of Main and Front streets,” shared the Northeast Mississippi Daily Journal.

That will change on New Year’s Eve, December 31, when the store closes its doors forever.

The company shared the news on its Facebook page.

It is with a heavy heart that we would like to announce the closing of our historic, downtown location at 114 W. Main Street. To all our loyal customers and dedicated team members throughout the years, we want to wish you a heartfelt “THANK YOU” for 100 memorable years in downtown Tupelo,” the company shared.

But unlike what has happened with so many family-owned hardware stores, this isn’t a sad ending; it’s a new beginning.

“Our final day of daily business will be December 31st. Rest assured that this space and its historic place in the downtown community will be preserved and improved. If you’ve not had the chance to visit our new location on McCullough Boulevard, we invite you to stop by,” Tupelo Hardware added.

Closing the historic location was a tough decision, according to George Booth III, the third generation of the family to work at the store.

“If you Google Tupelo, Mississippi, the dot lands on the corner of Front and Main,” the younger Booth told Northeast Mississippi Daily Journal. “This is the center hub of town. And it’s difficult to talk about; it’s difficult to think about. But unfortunately, we have to close this location. Things have changed. The world changes. And if you’re in retail, you have to make changes, and there’s no way around that.”

Booth’s great-grandfather opened Tupelo Hardware in 1926. His father, George Booth II, has been part of the business his entire life but recently had to step away because of health issues. That was the impetus for the difficult decision to close the store, he told the paper.

Tupelo Hardware changes with the times

“The city has an interest in making sure downtown provides opportunities to visitors and its residents, and those opportunities really fall in line with unique retail, hotel, bar, and restaurant,” Booth told the Daily Journal.

“For the type of retail we did, and for as many years as we did it, our customer base needs parking for large vehicles and trailers, and that’s something we can accommodate on McCullough.”

This closure is part of a greater trend of store closures and stores moving away from downtown areas.

From 1995 to 2021, more stores closed every year than opened. The trend became popularized as the “retail apocalypse,” according to Morgan Stanley.

Some of the change comes from population shifts and more people working from home.

The typical office worker is now spending about $2,000 to $4,600 less per year in city centers, according to research from Stanford University economist Nicholas Bloom.

Store closures are increasing, populations are shifting

“U.S. retailers have announced more than 7,100 store closures through the end of November 2024. That’s a 69% jump from the same time last year,” GlobalData Managing Director Neil Saunders shared on his LinkedIn page.

He does not blame the internet or economic conditions for this.

“It’s easy to blame the economy for this. And it’s easy to blame online. And neither of these things should be completely dismissed. However, when you get under the skin of the closures, it’s obvious that the primary cause is usually the age-old failure to align with demand,” he wrote.

Stanford Business School data shows that populations have shifted away from downtown, which forces moves such as the one Tupelo Hardware made.

“Using detailed household microdata from the United States, we show that three-fifths of households that left city centers in big cities moved to the suburbs of the same city. This is likely explained by the rise of hybrid work, in which employees still commute to the office a few days a week. The enduring popularity of hybrid work into 2024 suggests that the Donut Effect will persist while also leaving broader metropolitan areas intact,” the Stanford Business School’s How Working from Home Reshapes Cities report shows.