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“Do the best you can do. Treat people the way you want to be treated and the rest will take care of itself. That was the best advice my dad ever gave me. He was right,” said Jim Ransdell, second generation owner of Burney True Value Hardware in Aberdeen.
“Do the best you can do. Treat people the way you want to be treated and the rest will take care of itself. That was the best advice my dad ever gave me. He was right,” said Jim Ransdell, second generation owner of Burney True Value Hardware in Aberdeen.
“Do the best you can do. Treat people the way you want to be treated and the rest will take care of itself. That was the best advice my dad ever gave me. He was right,” said Jim Ransdell, second generation owner of Burney True Value Hardware in Aberdeen.
Best known as purveyors of hard-to-find items, this year marks the 95th anniversary for this landmark institution.
“We want to be the traditional hardware store. We want to wait on our customers and we have so many niches. We pride ourselves in having the unfindable things,” he said.
The original shop was established by Gus Burney in 1921. He sold stoves in the downtown area before delving into the lumber and hardware market. In 1925, he built a new shop on a corner near the post office. Business was brisk enough to support Burney and a second hardware store located just one street over. Lumber and turpentine ensured Aberdeen was a booming little town.
In the 1950s, Burney retired and sold the business to his employees. Little-by-little those partners sold their interests to J.C. Robbins, who owned the lion’s share and would go on to become the town’s mayor. It was 1982, when Robbins sold the business to local tobacco farmer S. R. Ransdell.
“Growing up working on a farm, you learn how to work. I had worked in tobacco for years but went off to college and majored in business. When I came back to the farm, I had the ambition to do something. It was a big farm there and I was useful, but I wanted to do something on my own,” said Jim Ransdell.
He opened a little car lot while his wife, Kristy, taught art for the Moore County Schools system. The couple lived in a small tenant house beside the town’s truck terminal. A handyman and tinkerer, Ransdell enjoyed the work because he said he loves fixing things. However, he also quickly learned the car business was feast or famine.
His career plans shifted again when his brother purchased a small share from the Burney store partnership.
“It was just a 3,000-square-foot building in downtown that had been there forever. Not long after, my dad came to me and suggested buying the whole business. He said, ‘You’ll never be a millionaire but the store has survived the Depression. It has survived in good times and bad times. You will always have a job but you will have to work everyday,” Ransdell said.
“It was perfect for me. I had been looking for something I could dig into and do,” he said. “My dad said I’d never be a millionaire but, in a lot of ways, we are. We have met so many people. We are rich in life and that equates to sales. That is just sort of our philosophy.”
The Burney name stayed but the Ransdells made other significant changes in those early years. They brought the shop under the True Value Hardware banner and relocated to a new, larger property on the outskirts of town on U.S. 15-501. The visible highway location encouraged sales and Ransdell said staffing the larger shop was a key ingredient to success.
“In our little store downtown, we only had two parking spaces. When we moved, we had room to stock a lot more stuff. Our worst day here was better than our best day there,” said Ransdell. “What has helped keep us all these years is the people we hire. They want to work here. Many are part-timers and are not here for a paycheck. The money is fine but they want to help people and occupy their time. It’s meant the world for us because we have the best employees in the world. Everybody hustles.
“Our philosophy is to work hard. We are here day and night and weekends. We really want to help the community and knew when we got into this, we weren’t going to get rich. That wasn’t why we did it.
“Early on I was worried about competition. There always has been some but, back then, we knew Lowe’s was coming to town. My father said not to worry. He said if we treated people well that we would be alright,” he said. “I’ve found the big box stores may not have the means, time or desire to go past what they stock on their shelves. When they don’t have something, they usually send that person to us. And if I don’t have it, I will find out where to get it.”
“We have basic hardware but we’ve always tried to go further than that. We are deep into fasteners and bolts, sprockets, gears, chains and pulleys. We like being known for these hard to find items. If someone’s machine is broken down and you need a certain bearing, you don’t have to order it. We likely have it,” she said. “One of our challenges is trying to pay attention to what is out there and what we need to do to differentiate ourselves. There may be a reason the big box store doesn’t carry those odd fasteners. They may need to turn their inventory more quickly. But we are in it for the long haul. While we do want inventory turns, we also want to make sure we have what people need, when they need it.”
Now a third-generation operation, family patriarch S.R. still drops by daily to sign checks, Jim and Kristy manage the store, and more recently, their son brought his own vision to the fold. Three years ago the family embarked on strategic five-year plan to renovate and expand the business. The project pushed the store from 12,000 to 13,5000 square feet in the primary retail area, plus an addition connects the shop to a nearby 10,000-square-foot building.
“Sam graduated from college and decided he was interested in the business. He had grown up in the store since starting work here when he was 14 and a half,” Kristy said. “At that point True Value was offering a package deal for remodeling that was awesome. We were able to expand the shop and built a showroom for grills, patio furniture and rental equipment. Rental is the big new thing. We have everything from a pressure washer up to a mini-excavator. This area is new for us and it has been booming.”
It was Sam who encouraged adding a rental section and Stihl equipment dealership. An active reservist in the U.S. Army National Guard, he credits the military with providing him with the tools he’ll need to keep Burney’s successful far into the future.
“I have a degree in criminal justice and that is where I was always interested. Every Halloween, I was either a police officer or an Army man. After college I had a few job offers but nothing clicked for me. When I came back, we had just started the remodel and I had a strong sense about the shop,” he said. “I am real project-driven. Once the remodel was complete, we wanted to keep it as an old-fashioned hardware store but we also needed to shift and be relevant to Millennials.”
In 2015, Sam was recognized with a Young Retailer of the Year award by a national retail hardware association. That achievement offered him the opportunity to meet one-on-one with a True Value Hardware vice president who encouraged him to look at the rental business as an expansion opportunity.
“There were a lot of unknowns and it was a big investment. But we decided to take a chance on it,” Sam Ransdell said. “Not only did we have to remodel but we also transitioned. We are bigger now than ever before and we had to refine how we operate. We knew we had to do something to keep us organized and that has been a huge success. I can’t say how happy I am we did that. I think we are a safer organization and a more efficient organization now.
“But that stuff would have never occurred to me without the military background I have. There is a lot you can take away from the National Guard that you can apply to civilian life. It doesn’t matter what unit you are in — or whether you are a colonel or a private — you are learning stuff you can seriously apply to what your are doing in your civilian job. It has helped this hardware store, for sure.”
Burney True Value Hardware is located on N.C. 15-501, just south of Aberdeen. The store is open Monday to Friday, 8 a.m. to 5:30 p.m., and Saturdays from 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Visit them online at truevaluehardware.com/burneyhardware
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A few years ago I needed an unusual plumbing connection. Went to Lowes. No luck. Went to Burney. They didn't have it either. Rather than send me out the door disappointed, Jim himself spent at least half an hour fabricating what I needed. The cost ended up being about a buck and a half. That, my friends, is customer service! Customer for life.
This is one of my favorite stores in Moore County. Need an odd ball part? They will have it (or know where to get one).
Keep up the good work - I like the new upgrades inside the store, but I am having to learn where everything is all over again. (But there is plenty of help to assist)
My grandfather, Gus Burney, is surely smiling down on you! He would be thrilled that his philosophy of how to treat people and sell hardware is still being carried out. Thank you to all who work there. Carry on!!!!
This "farmboy" is grateful for those deep bins of washers, sprockets etc. Saved me a number of times on fix it jobs. If they don't have it...you don't need it!
Excellent article and that first sentence is certainly the way you are treated at Burney's by everyone. ...."“Do the best you can do. Treat people the way you want to be treated and the rest will take care of itself. That was the best advice my dad ever gave me. He was right,” said Jim Ransdell," Congratulations and thanks for having it all..!!
...congratulations you guys, I remember well shopping at burney hardware when you were located on south street in downtown aberdeen nex to the old provident finance company, that had to be around 1988-1990, its wonderful for such good people to have such a successful local small business...
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