Johnson Lumber Ace Hardware

What Johnson Lumber Ace Hardware does

Johnson Lumber Ace Hardware is a family-owned hardware and lumber retail chain founded in January 1980 by Keith D. Johnson, operating as an Ace Hardware franchise with four storefronts across California's Bay Area and Monterey Bay regions. The flagship store at 600 Tennant Ave in Morgan Hill (opened 1992) anchors a footprint that also includes Johnson Garden Center in Morgan Hill (2006), Hollister Ace Hardware (1997), and Salinas Ace Hardware (2001). The company sells hardware, paint (Benjamin Moore, Clark & Kensington, Minwax, Cabot), power and hand tools (Craftsman, Dewalt, Milwaukee, Senco), plumbing, electrical, fasteners, outdoor power equipment (Stihl, Ego, Toro), and a full-service lumber yard carrying Douglas fir, engineered lumber (PSL, LSL, LVL), Simpson Strong-Tie hardware, sheet products (CDX, ACX, MDF, OSB), Trex/Ipe decking, moulding, fencing, and siding (James Hardie, Boral).

The go-to-market is a hybrid of consumer DIY/homeowner walk-in traffic, contractor account relationships with commercial credit terms, and site-direct lumber delivery. Services include custom cutting, re-saw work, paint matching, key cutting, knife sharpening, propane exchange, rescreening, and Stihl repair. Customer acquisition relies on local storefront presence, the Ace Rewards loyalty program, customer reviews/testimonials, and bilingual (English/Spanish) staff, with online browse-and-pickup supporting the physical stores. Revenue is generated through one-time-purchase retail sales across two principal streams — general hardware/home improvement and lumber/building materials — at competitive retail pricing, with commercial credit terms for contractors. No proprietary technology, app, AI/ML capability, patents, or differentiated platform architecture is disclosed; operations run on standard retail and lumber-yard infrastructure, and the firm is privately held with no external investors, funding rounds, M&A, or leadership changes recorded in the available data.

Name

Johnson Lumber Ace Hardware

Legal name

Johnson Lumber Ace Hardware

Website

https://johnson-lumber.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

1980

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Johnson Lumber Ace Hardware is a family-owned Bay Area hardware and lumber retailer operating four storefronts across Morgan Hill, Hollister, and Salinas as an Ace Hardware franchise, serving homeowners, contractors, and DIYers with brand-name tools, building materials, lumber, and garden supplies.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Hardware and Lumber Retail

NAICS

Hardware Retailers (44414), Wood Product Manufacturing (321)

SIC

Retail-Lumber & Other Building Materials Dealers (5211), Wholesale-Lumber, Plywood, Millwork & Wood Panels (5031)

akta.pro primary industry

Construction, Hardware & MRO Supply Clubs (Trades/Contractors) (CRAEAEAG)

akta.pro secondary industries

Electrical Supplies Retail (Wiring, Switches, Breakers, Conduit) (CRAIADAE), Sawmilling & Lumber Production (IMADADAA)

Keywords

• Hardware retail stores
• Lumber supply yard
• Building materials supply
• Home improvement retail
• Garden center retail

Headquarters

HQ city

Morgan Hill

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices4 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Supply Chain, Operations, Infrastructure, Marketing or Sales

Revenue model

1. Hardware and Building Materials Retail: Retail sales of hardware products including tools, paint, plumbing, electrical, fasteners, outdoor power equipment, and home essentials. Products sold at one-time purchase prices to walk-in customers and contractors.
2. Lumber and Building Materials Sales: Sales of lumber products including framing materials, sheet products, decking, moulding, fencing materials, and sidings. Services include custom cutting, delivery, and special orders for contractors and homeowners.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels4 records

Core offering

Johnson Lumber Ace Hardware is a family-owned Ace Hardware franchise operating four retail locations in the California Bay Area, selling brand-name hardware (paint, tools, plumbing, electrical, fasteners, garden and outdoor supplies) and a full line of lumber and building materials (framing lumber, engineered lumber, sheet goods, decking, moulding, fencing, siding). The company delivers lumber to contractor job sites, offers in-store services such as key cutting, paint matching, knife sharpening, and screen repair, and enrolls customers in the Ace Rewards loyalty program.

Product overview

Johnson Lumber Ace Hardware operates as a multi-location hardware retail chain offering a comprehensive range of home improvement products and services. The company consists of Johnson Lumber Ace Hardware (main hardware store and lumber yard), Johnson Garden Center, and two additional Ace Hardware locations in Hollister and Salinas. Product offerings span painting supplies, hand and power tools, plumbing materials, electrical supplies, garden equipment, outdoor living products, and extensive lumber and building materials including engineered lumber, sheet products, decking, moulding, fencing, and siding. The company also provides services such as key cutting, paint matching, rescreening, knife sharpening, propane exchange, and lumber delivery. Products come from major brands including Benjamin Moore, Dewalt, Milwaukee, Trex, Weber, Traeger, Stihl, and James Hardie. The Ace Rewards loyalty program offers exclusive member benefits.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Hardware Products Retail hardware merchandise including interior and exterior paint and stains, paint sundries, caulking and adhesives, sheetrock supplies, ladders, power and pneumatic tools, hand tools, welding supplies, safety and workwear products, electrical wire, conduit and fittings, breakers and fuses, lighting and batteries, PVC/CPVC/ABS and copper plumbing pipe and fittings, drainage pipes, toilet and sink repair parts, faucets, water filtration, fasteners, builders hardware, window and door hardware, and home safety items from brands such as Benjamin Moore, Clark & Kensington, Minwax, Cabot, Werner, Craftsman, Dewalt, Milwaukee, Senco, Occidental, and Carhartt.
• Lumber and Building Materials Lumber and structural building materials including Douglas fir pressure-treated lumber, engineered lumber (PSL, LSL, LVL, Glu-lam), primed fascia, Simpson Strong-Tie hardware, rebar, Hardy frames, Tyvek home wrap, foundation wire, insulation, sheet products (CDX, ACX, MDF, OSB, fire-treated and pressure-treated CDX, T1-11 panels), decking (redwood select heart S4S, Fortress railing, Trex composite, Ipe, Timbertech/Aztek), MDF and finger-joint pine moulding, redwood and corral fencing, lattice panels, concrete products, and sidings (Advantage plus patterns, Cedar, James Hardie Cedar, Valley Dolly Varden, Boral).
• Hardware Store Services In-store services at the main hardware store including rescreen service, key cutting and re-keying, custom paint mixing and paint matching, knife sharpening, propane tank exchange, and Stihl repair, available to walk-in retail customers.
• Lumber Services Value-added lumber services including delivery truck drop-offs straight to construction sites, custom re-saw cuts, corbel cuts, pre-packaged cut packages, custom Simpson framing, and commercial credit account terms for contractors purchasing building materials for active projects.
• Ace Rewards Loyalty Program Loyalty program offered in partnership with Ace Hardware, available for enrollment in store, that provides members with exclusive benefits and savings on hardware and lumber purchases.
• Johnson Garden Center Separate retail store at 520 Tennant Ave, Morgan Hill, offering garden products, plants, and outdoor living supplies with seasonal operating hours, functioning as a dedicated garden-focused location alongside the main hardware and lumber store.

Named customers5 records

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Scale indicators2 records

Recent moves8 records

Expansion highlights3 records

Direct peers

• 84 Lumber: 84 Lumber is a national pro-focused lumber and building materials dealer serving professional contractors with framing, engineered wood, and trusses, comparable to Johnson Lumber's contractor-focused lumber sales and delivery offering.
• Do it Best Corp. Do it Best is a member-owned hardware cooperative serving thousands of independent hardware, lumber, and building materials retailers across North America, directly comparable to the Ace Hardware franchise model that Johnson Lumber operates under.
• Westlake Ace Hardware: Westlake Ace Hardware is the largest Ace Hardware franchisee in the U.S., operating 200+ stores across multiple states with the same multi-location hardware retail and lumber-adjacent assortment model as Johnson Lumber, making it the closest publicly comparable franchise operator.
• Aubuchon Hardware: Aubuchon Hardware is a family-owned regional hardware chain operating ~100 stores across the Northeast, sharing the same family-operated, multi-store independent hardware retailer profile as Johnson Lumber Ace Hardware.
• True Value Company: True Value is a competing hardware retailer cooperative/franchise network with a similar model of independent store operators serving hardware, lumber, and building materials needs of contractors and DIY customers, providing direct franchise-based comparability.
• Carter Lumber: Carter Lumber is a regional chain of lumber yards and building materials dealers with pro-contractor focus, delivery capability, and engineered-wood offerings — directly comparable to Johnson Lumber's drive-in lumber yard and contractor services business.

Broad incumbents

• Home Depot: The Home Depot is the largest broad-line home improvement retailer in the U.S., operating big-box stores across the same Bay Area geography as Johnson Lumber with overlapping hardware, lumber, and building materials categories.
• Lowe's: Lowe's is the second-largest broad-line U.S. home improvement retailer with overlapping SKUs in hardware, tools, lumber, and building materials, competing with Johnson Lumber for both DIY and contractor customers in the Bay Area.

Others

• Habitat for Humanity ReStore: Habitat ReStore is a nonprofit retail channel selling donated new and used furniture, appliances, and building materials at discounted prices; relevant adjacent/competitive channel in the regional building materials and hardware resale space.
• Orgill: Orgill is one of the largest hardware and lumber wholesalers serving independent retailers and Ace competitors, directly comparable as an upstream supplier ecosystem comparable to the wholesale-side of Johnson Lumber's stack.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles1 record

Subsidiaries3 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Johnson Lumber Ace Hardware