Stronger Consumer Will Boost Spring Sales Says Ace Hardware CEO

The spring home selling season is almost here and a resilient consumer is lifting more than just the big-box players like Home Depot (HD) - Get Report and Lowe's (LOW) - Get Report , said John Venhuizen, CEO of Ace Hardware Corporation. 'We are more about home preservation than home renovation thus the housing cycle does not impact us as much, but I think it is steadily improving and that is good for all of us,' said Venhuizen. Home Depot (HD) shares were up 28% in 2015 while Lowe's (LOW) was up 12%. 'The big box players are doing very well at the 'stack it high, watch it fly' low price style of selling, but then the specialty, convenience, high-touch retailers are also doing very well, and we are fortunate to be in that latter space,' said Venhuizen.