Transition

Sale of Kruse Hardware will allow owners to slow down

HARTINGTON — The recently announced sale of Kruse True Value is a win-win for all involved.

Gary and Lisa Kruse, who have owned and operated the store since 1990, announced earlier this month they have sold their store to Greg and Nikki Peters of Vermillion, S.D. The couple owns six other hardware stores in small towns across the region.

The sale is good for the community and good for their customers. It also fits in well with their plans to slowly begin to ease their workload and eventually retire some day, Gary said.

'We've built up a good business and we want to see it continue,' Gary said. 'With Greg and Nikki taking over, we know it will.'

The timing for this change 'worked out real well,' Gary said. 'We started talking with them back in April. It's been a good journey so far.'

Greg Peters agreed that the timing couldn't have been better.

The True Value company filed for bankruptcy last October and is now in the process of selling most of its assets to another firm.

With all the changes happening with True Value, the Kruses had been considering a switch to Ace Hardware, the brand the Peters utilize. That discussion led to a discussion about their workload and how they would like to start easing that workload back to at least a 40-hour week. That's when the talk of a possible sale of the business began.

Both Gary and Lisa said they plan to continue working at the store for at least another year or two, but just not working as many hours as they did as the store's owners.

Even though the name of the business is changing, and some of the products people have been able to purchase at Kruse's in the past will no longer be available, a lot will stay the same, Gary said.

'We're still going to sell and service appliances. That's not going away,' he said. Gary said Kruse Hardware has been expanding its trade area over the past several years and now sells and services appliances as far south as Wayne and as far west as Niobrara, as other dealers have left the market.

Peters said customers will eventually see some changes at the local store.

They want to add a small entryway to the front of the building to help keep out the cold January winds. Some new product lines will also be added, Peters said.