Ace Hardware Spring Convention 2027

How it compares

An Ace retailer chooses between the co-op's own two conventions: this one and the Ace Hardware Fall Convention. The fall show is the bigger of the two, with more than 14,500 attendees and 6,100 retailers in Orlando in 2026, and it puts grilling and outdoor living front and center. Owners who can make only one trip pick spring when holiday and fourth-quarter assortments matter most to their stores, and fall when lawn, garden and grilling drive the year.

Suppliers weigh it differently. Do it Best Spring Market is the matching buying show for Do it Best and True Value member stores, now one group, and Orgill Dealer Market Spring reaches the independent dealers who buy through Orgill. A vendor that sells into all three channels works all three shows, because each one's buyers are that group's own members.

National Hardware Show in Las Vegas, a few days before the 2027 Ace show, is the open alternative. Any retailer, distributor or chain buyer can walk it, so it is the better place to find new accounts. The Ace convention is the better place for an existing Ace vendor to write orders with thousands of Ace stores in three days.

The right trip for Ace store owners and managers buying for the holiday season, and for Ace suppliers who want to write show orders with thousands of Ace retailers in three days.

Who exhibits

The floor is made up of Ace's own suppliers, from national brands such as STIHL, Weber, Traeger and Blackstone to first-time vendors in the New Vendor Market. Service companies take space too: Epicor ran on-floor sessions in 2026 and Bungii presented its big-and-bulky delivery service. Ace's own areas, Discovery Edge for new products and planograms and the Savings Showcase for show deals, sit beside the vendor aisles. Kohler, SodaStream and Weber were among the 2025 Vendors of the Year that Ace honored as the 2026 show opened.

This year's list is on its way. A HallBrief brief picks the exhibitors worth meeting for your goals and the people to talk to at each. Get a brief

Ace Hardware Spring Convention 2027

The 2027 show moves to the Georgia World Congress Center in Atlanta after one year at the Kentucky Exposition Center in Louisville, and returns to a mid-March slot after the late-February dates of 2026.

The General Session sets the agenda. In 2026 CEO John Venhuizen used it to push faster fulfillment and delivery through partners such as DoorDash, Instacart and Bungii, and Ace has since rolled out Hey ARMA, its AI assistant for store staff, so retailers can expect progress reports on both.

• Be in the hall for the opening General Session: Ace leadership announces programs and strategy there, and it drew more than 4,000 registrations in 2026.
• Start at Discovery Edge to see new planograms and the ELEVATE brand shops before walking the vendor aisles, then check the Savings Showcase for show-only buys.
• Bring store managers for the Retail Training Center, where 2026 sessions covered lawn and garden and paint sales, multistore ownership and B2B growth.