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Hubbard�s Ace expands Steve Johnson photo Bill Wales checks out merchandise at the new Hubbard�s Ace Hardware store on Crater Lake Highway. The third Medford Hubbard�s store is in the north Medford building that for many years housed Pat & Mike�s Builders Service. Longtime local hardware store opens its third Medford outlet By David Preszler With the south end of Medford and downtown already covered, Hubbard�s Ace Hardware is now moving into north Medford. Hubbard�s opened its third Medford store last weekend � 20,000 square feet on Crater Lake Highway in the former home of Pat & Mike�s Builders Service. "This is the best traffic spot there is," says Bob Seus, who owns Hubbard�s with his four siblings. The other two stores, on Main Street downtown and South Pacific Highway, will continue to operate, he says. "Nothing is going to change as far as the other stores are concerned," he says. Hubbard�s had been fond of the new location from its Pat & Mike�s days and purchased the property a few years back, leasing it back to the business owners. When Pat and Mike�s moved to a smaller place on Jacksonville Highway, Hubbard�s gladly moved in. Hubbard�s dates to 1884 when the downtown Medford store opened. The Seuses bought the business in 1988, opening the South Pacific Highway store in 1990. With the third location, the company employs 50 people. The new site brings Hubbard close to the hardware game�s biggest national player, Lowe�s Home Improvement (formerly Eagle Hardware). But going head-to-head with the big boys isn�t anything new. The South Pacific Highway store faced a formidable national foe in Ernst Home and Garden. For the record, Ernst is gone and Hubbard�s remains. "We�ve heard �How are you going to compete with Ernst? How are you going to compete with Eagle, now Lowe�s?� " says Seus. "The truth is our sales have gone up every year." That�s because the area�s population has grown rapidly, as has its ability to draw customers from the coast, Northern California and other outlying areas. Seus says the big boxes deserve some credit for the latter, since their arrival draws even more people to Medford. And while many assume that big chains like Lowe�s can offer lower prices, Seus points out that Ace Hardware is a national co-op that offers volume discounts as well. "Our buying power is just as big as theirs is," Seus says of Lowe�s, adding that Hubbard�s overhead is lower. "They are not cheaper, that�s a misnomer." But price isn�t the biggest pitch Hubbard�s makes or plans to make in its battle for customers. Seus says many of Hubbard�s customers are disgruntled shoppers who couldn�t get the service and convenience they wanted from the big boxes. "We take the runoff" from the big boxes, he says. "Let�s face it. Local businesses are easier to deal with. You can come in here and talk to the owners." Among the "runoff" Wednesday afternoon was Central Point�s Bill Wales. He says he�s had trouble getting help at Lowe�s. "There ain�t nobody to talk to there," he says. It�s not "a real hardware store" without someone to tell you about the products. Aside from service, Seus touts the store�s convenience, saying the goal is to help people find the right stuff and get back to their projects. "We try to get them in and out as quickly as we can," he says. He also says the store will allow people to avoid the congestion around Lowe�s location at Crater Lake Plaza. While the new Hubbard�s faces busy Crater Lake Highway, Seus points out that eastsiders can slip in and out on Whittle Avenue to avoid the highway. Beyond logistics, Seus says the store�s layout and inventory are designed to compete with all hardware stores: Hubbard�s has 126 linear feet of fasteners and a large area for mowers and other power equipment, nicknamed "Seus� Power Alley." The new store features the same product lines, but a bigger selection in the bigger space. It also features a large outdoor lumber area and a contractors� entrance. "We think this store will be the best of the three," says Seus. Obituaries | Sports | Business | Classifieds | Tempo | Prime Times | So Oregon Sites | Outdoor Journal | Subscribe | Contact | Movies | Advertise | Real Estate Showcase | Archive | Editorials | Letters to the editor | Religion | Wake-up Call | NIE | Cyber Chef | Job Network | So Oregon Weather | WSJ Northwest | Forums | AP Wire | AP Money | F.A.Q. | Awards Ottaway Newspapers, Inc. The Community Newspaper Subsidiary of Dow Jones & Co, Inc Copyright �The Mail Tribune 2000, Medford, Oregon USA