Robbinsville Hardware to phase out retail sales

The business will continue providing services such as screen and window repair, pipe cutting and threading, and key duplicating.

By: Mark Moffa
   WASHINGTON — It looks as if "big box" retail has notched another victory.
   Small, family-owned businesses nationwide are having difficulty competing with large, chain superstores.
   Now, after 17 years, Robbinsville Hardware owners said they’ve become the latest victim.
   The store announced last month it is phasing out the retail portion of its business.
   "It’s just not making a profit now," said Doug Conkling, owner of Robbinsville Hardware. He said the business will continue its service division, which includes aspects such as screen and window repair, pipe cutting and threading, and key duplicating.
   Mr. Conkling said the addition of a Home Depot in East Windsor and a Lowe’s Home Improvement Warehouse in Hamilton would drive his retail establishment into debt. There already is a Home Depot on Route 130 in Hamilton, just several miles south of Robbinsville.
   He said he made the decision three months ago and mailed a letter to his charge customers.
   Mr. Conkling, a Washington resident, said the business began as something his father wanted to do. His dad, Hamilton resident Cook Conkling, began an import plastics company in 1973. In the mid-1980s he saw an opportunity for a hardware store in Robbinsville. The Foxmoor housing development was in the planning stages at that time.
   "He knew there was going to be a heavy influx of people," Mr. Conkling said. "We pretty much moved into an untapped market. It worked — until everybody else honed in on the action."
   In the mid-1990s, the plastics company merged with Robbinsville Hardware.
   The switch to a strictly service business should occur by the end of the year. The location still will be 17 Main St., but the business will operate out of the rear of the building. Mr. Conkling rents the storefront; that portion now will be leased by the landlord to someone else.
   The new hours will be 8 a.m. to noon, Tuesdays through Saturdays. The rest of the day will be spent making deliveries and pickups.
   "We already have a fairly strong (service) department," Mr. Conkling said. "For the past couple of years I’ve tried to do more service."
   Services such as Kwikset lock rekeying and glass, mirror, lexan, and Plexiglas cutting and fabrication are offered.
   Mr. Conkling predicted doom for the plethora of hardware stores entering the local market.
   "I really don’t see how any store in this market will see a profit," he said. "They’ll cannibalize each other. There’s not enough for all these stores to make a profit."
   He said he sees himself in the business for another five or six years.
   "I love to fix things, it’s very satisfying to me," Mr. Conkling said. The 49-year-old added that he eventually may go back to school for a master’s degree. His bachelor’s degree is in psychology.
   "I don’t think I’ll ever go to work for the ‘big boxes,’ " he said.
Mr. Conkling said his customers are "shocked and dismayed." They seem to understand, though, he added.
   "It’s been a great social experience," he said. Mr. Conkling said he’s seen customers become friends and watched families grow.
   "I’d like to thank everybody for their loyalty and for the grand experience it’s been," he said.