Shelley E. Kohan (00:01.602)
Hi everybody and thanks for joining our weekly podcast. I’m Shelley Cohen and I am thrilled to welcome Molly Gelm. She is the corporate vice president of ACE Hardware’s newly launched retail media network called Red Vest Media. So Molly, you are a retail data personalization, monetization maven. That’s what I like to call you. And you have a lot of experience in the industry with looking at

Molly Hjelm (00:22.618)
You

Shelley E. Kohan (00:29.804)
retail media networks and driving personalization and all of that. You came from Dollar General where you ran the media network there. You worked for Kroger. And also my favorite part of your early career is you, I think you might’ve started or had your early career in Dunhumbi. Welcome.

Molly Hjelm (00:45.21)
That’s right. Yes, thank you.

Shelley E. Kohan (00:50.434)
We’re excited to have you here and I would love to start by, some of our listeners may not know this yet, so let’s talk about the Helpful Network and maybe start with how you named Red Vest Media and the Helpful Network. I don’t know if some listeners may not be familiar with the ACE brand. I know why you did it, but they may not know why you did it.

Molly Hjelm (01:10.826)
I love it. Well, Red Vest Media, it’s ACE Hardware’s retail media network we’ve just launched. And it truly is an extension of ACE’s mission to be the most helpful hardware store on the planet. And the symbol of ACE’s helpfulness to our customers is the red vest that our associates wear. Internally, we refer to our store associates as our red vested heroes. And truly, that experience of coming into

to our stores as a customer and really being guided to the section of the store that has what you need and being able to receive advice and guidance on how to complete your project is what we’re known for as a retailer. And so we’re translating that it felt only natural that as we launch a retail media network with a little bit of a different orientation and the ability to kind of start from a blank slate and kind of take it in a different direction.

that we stand up our media network as the helpful network with that vest as our symbol.

Shelley E. Kohan (02:17.792)
I love that and what I love about it is so you have a lot of partners in your business. mean you have a very complex business model and you have a lot of different partners. You have wholesalers, you have the store owners and what I love about the Helpful Network is you’ve created an actual toolkit. So tell us a little bit about this toolkit that is part of the Red Vest Media.

Molly Hjelm (02:37.338)
Thank you.

Yeah, the beautiful thing here is that we’re not the first to invent retail media. The tools are familiar. We’re not inventing, reinventing retail media, but we are recasting it and we’re building it better based off of a foundation of what we know matters to advertisers. And that is the scale and the reach of the advertising ecosystem. So many people know Ace as their local hardware store, but we’re 5,100

100 stores, growing by hundreds of stores annually. We have a huge e-commerce presence with 50 million monthly site visits and an e-commerce business that’s growing 30 % year over year. And so that reach and scale really matters as you’re thinking about where to invest your media dollars. And then we are launching the network with a full funnel portfolio from day one. And by that I mean we’ll have offsite programmatic solutions available. We’ll have in-store

media elements and we’ll have online search, on-site search and display and premium placements. So really that creates a lot of flexibility for advertisers in how they connect with our shopper along the path to purchase. And then the thing that matters most to me, I know you highlighted my background, it matters a lot to our advertisers as well and that is the ability to offer seamless and comprehensive measurement available across channels.

and in real time, those data signals are what’s gonna help us optimize mutually to grow their businesses, which is the true power of retail media.

Shelley E. Kohan (04:21.218)
That’s amazing. And I also know that when you talk about reach and I might, I might have this number off, but I believe you have 73 million ACE rewards members. So tell me a little bit about how Red Vest Media is actually going to trickle its way down to providing a better shopper journey for those 73 million ACE reward members, plus all your other shoppers.

Molly Hjelm (04:30.97)
That’s right.

Molly Hjelm (04:44.472)
Yep.

Well, what I love about retail media is that it’s inherently personalized and it’s comprehensively measurable. So we’re going to be able to personalize content to specific cohorts of ACE shoppers based off of their purchase behavior. And we’re going to be able to optimize and measure the impact of real time, in real time. And this is something that our ACE Rewards program has done for years through direct mail and through an app experience and through email. But the ability to enter

our customer, wherever they’re spending their time, and be able to provide them with a helpful message and drive awareness of the brands that sell through ACE, connect them to offers, this is gonna just enhance the ways in which we can be helpful to our customers. And it means more relevant experiences, more helpful messaging, and because we’re measuring in real time, we’ll be able to kind of flex and optimize into what works best.

Shelley E. Kohan (05:44.716)
What I think is really interesting, so I’ve been talking about retail media networks, think, about five years. I first heard about it when some of the major players started getting into it. It was really fascinating as a revenue stream for retailers. But you keep mentioning something which I think has evolved, and that’s this measurement, these KPIs, this ability, this real-time measurement. What has changed then to now, and why is that so important to you?

Molly Hjelm (06:11.534)
Yeah, I think you’re right. mean, this is an industry that’s been around now for the better part of a decade. And when I look at why is this the right time to launch a media network, there’s been so much evolution in the tech stack and partnerships in this industry that at this point, I see nothing but what I’m calling a late mover advantage for ACE to be launching a network right now.

We didn’t come to this build with any of the legacy org structure, investment or technical debt that some of the larger players are grappling with now five to 10 years later after their launch. We’re coming to this totally fresh. And that means that we compare the best of ACE, which is our shopper and our audiences and our sales data with the best technology and UI, UX and media buying capabilities in the industry through

our partnership with Epsilon.

So I think that’s been hugely helpful. then in addition to not needing to, you know, create the tech stack from scratch in-house or the work structure, you know, we’re also not creating a new market for our customers, for our vendors that will engage with us. We’re not trying to explain that retail media as a powerful lever. We’re really talking to people that understand these tools and how to wield them. And that’s exciting too, as the GM of the network

Shelley E. Kohan (07:21.645)
Ha!

Molly Hjelm (07:42.592)
I am anticipating that we will learn as much from our early partners as they will be learning about our ecosystem. And so that two-way dialogue of learning is what I’m really excited for at launch.

Shelley E. Kohan (07:57.698)
That is very exciting. I’m sure you’re right. You’re going to learn both ways. You’re going to learn. One of the things I love about ACE is this community-focused that you have in your strategies. And every time I go on vacation, I’m always looking for the local ACE hardware store, which my family thinks I’m crazy, because like, my god, there’s ACE, ACE. We got to go in. We got to go check it out. We got to go see what they have. But so how does this kind of local-focused community build help with?

the competition of maybe the big box competitors. Like what are you doing differently that like a Lowe’s or a Home Depot can’t do?

Molly Hjelm (08:34.874)
It’s a good question. think to the point I made earlier, which is just that our, I’m sorry. Do we have the ability to edit this after this or no? we do, okay. Sorry. Yeah.

Shelley E. Kohan (08:47.532)
Yeah, we sure do. Just stop, wait a second, now stop, take a moment, and then start again whenever you’re ready.

Molly Hjelm (08:57.124)
You know, what’s unique about ACE is that our independent store owners have a significant amount of say in control over their stores from the marketing they engage in to the assortment. And so you’ll see ACE Hardwares as you travel, as you were just saying, you’ll see ACE Hardwares that have lumber or that have, you know, gift sections that are just so different and unique and tailored to their exact community. And so in that sense, they’re really embedded within their

local neighborhoods and have a finger on the pulse of their community and can customize according to the needs in a way that’s a lot more flexible than some of the big box retailers. And the example that I’ll give you, Shelly, is that my local ace here in Cincinnati, Ohio, when the high school here in Marymont has science projects due, my local ace knows the due dates of those projects and starts cutting the materials to exact specs.

in advance. And I just love that. I love that because I think it’s the perfect, perfect example of how we can serve a different and more impactful role in our community than some other retailers are able to do.

Shelley E. Kohan (09:59.096)
That is insane! my god!

Shelley E. Kohan (10:12.788)
love that. What a great idea of that store owner.

Molly Hjelm (10:16.022)
I know, I know.

I think the other thing is when you’re working in media, know, media can bring someone to the door. They can bring someone to, especially if you’re a hybrid, brick and mortar and e-commerce retailer, you can drive awareness that’s going to drive foot traffic to the store. But that experience when they get to the store really determines whether they walk out with what they came there to get, whether they’re, you know, able to be connected with the things that matter most to

And that is what our red vested heroes embody for ACE. And it feels good to have that right hand off of, all right, we’re gonna drive people to our retailer and we’re gonna be really proud of the experience that those folks have when they come into the store.

Shelley E. Kohan (11:06.294)
You’re so right. I mean, you can have the best marketing initiatives out there. You can drive people to the store, but it can easily be lost once you enter a store. And so I love how you’re, you know, looking at this is more, you know, a whole shopping journey. doesn’t end when they get to the door. It ends when they, you know, after they leave the store, it probably doesn’t even end then, but that whole force full circle, the ethos of the company, the brand, it all kind of aligns.

What excites you most about what you’re going to be offering through Red Vest Media? Is it the on-site ads? Is it CTV? Is it programmatic displays?

Molly Hjelm (11:46.715)
Good question. my answer is all of it, honestly. The fact that we’re able to launch a full funnel portfolio of this size and breadth from day one is really novel and it’s really exciting. And it’s been great to hear our feedback from our advertiser partners who are just impressed by how many levers they’re going to have in their toolkit to be able to drive growth. Really what it means is that we’ll have a full menu

available to advertisers with options within every budget to drive their business forward. And that matters to be able to have that level of diversity and customization to engage our shopper.

Shelley E. Kohan (12:30.466)
Well, I’m going to ask you a question. don’t know if you the answer to this, but how many partners do you have at ACE? Like what’s the ballpark number?

Molly Hjelm (12:38.244)
Thousands, yeah, we have thousands of vendors that sell with an ace.

Shelley E. Kohan (12:43.596)
Yeah, I can imagine. So I’m also thinking that because you’ve created this toolkit, and I know vendors talk amongst each other, this might be a great platform for you to attract new partners into the ecosystem,

Molly Hjelm (12:57.946)
Yeah, that and I think as a retailer, we’re all about our brands. We have a nearly unhealthy obsession with what we call our best brands, which are brands that we’re known for, like Weber and Stanley Black and Decker, big brands that have some level of exclusivity with us and are really in it for the long haul. And so that’s been a beautiful part of our enterprise marketing strategy over the years, is helping them build their brands and grow

Shelley E. Kohan (13:07.099)
Ha!

Molly Hjelm (13:27.94)
their market share. But what Red Vest will enable is it will allow more of the amazing brands in our ecosystem to benefit from the ability to reach our shoppers and drive their business. And I would just like think about laundry detergent or lip balm brands. Those are brands that we carry in our store and we drive a ton of volume for them. But they might never organically make it to the top of the fold on our homepage during peak grilling season.

And so this allows them to have an outsized share of voice and more control and driving awareness and impact for their businesses at ACE with our shopper than they’ve ever had before.

Shelley E. Kohan (13:58.615)
Right.

Shelley E. Kohan (14:11.022)
How does this media, Red Vest Media, how does this help with your growth strategy? I know that you guys continue to open new stores. I actually took a tour of your store, I think it was last year, the newly unveiled store, Store Design, which I thought was fantastic. Elevate, yeah. Elevate Ace, I believe is the correct term, right? So how is this going to help you with everything that you’re doing moving forward in the future for your growth?

Molly Hjelm (14:25.82)
Yeah, yeah.

Molly Hjelm (14:31.055)
Yeah.

Molly Hjelm (14:38.201)
Yeah.

Retail media is marketing. so essentially, Red Vest will put more messaging in market to our shoppers. And it’s marketing that’s optimized to drive results, and it’s targeted precisely. so brands, as they invest to drive their businesses at ACE, it’s going to drive more foot traffic, sales and visits to ACE stores. It’s going to promote overarching growth. And it’s that dynamic of a rising tide lifts all ships.

next.

Shelley E. Kohan (15:10.936)
So you’ve been around the business for a long time, and you’ve had this core expertise for literally the entire time through the growth, through infancy to now of retail media networks. So tell me, how is this different, and what are you seeing differently in retail media networks?

Molly Hjelm (15:29.498)
So this has always been an exciting sector that’s experienced a lot of change and a lot of growth as you look at where we are a decade after some of the original networks have launched. There’s a lot more that’s possible. The portfolios are very broad, the connectivity offsite, in-store and on-site. And then I think what we’re experiencing is just the pace of change and the level of sophistication in the toolkits as AI has come on the scene.

I just we can take and supercharge some of the initial promises of retail media like precision targeting based off of purchase behavior and funnel it through the accelerator of AI and really optimize in real time on variables that otherwise are very challenging to manually optimize to. And so I’m excited for that because the thesis of retail media has always been about precision targeting and purchase.

signals being the most viable in order to predict future behavior. And now to kind of allow all those variables to coexist in these models and to optimize according to all of those correlated dynamics means that we’re going to see better performance outcomes. We’re going to be able to move in closer to real time. And so I just imagine now the pace of change is going to be blistering.

Shelley E. Kohan (16:56.398)
I can’t imagine. So tell me with the AI, are you excited about having AI as part of your building out the marketing strategies?

Molly Hjelm (17:06.304)
I am. And I think one example just to paint the picture of this, know, in working with Epsilon retail media, they have case studies that show that campaigns that are optimized with AI throughout the duration of the campaign deliver 7x return on ad spend versus those that are manually optimized. And so for me, it’s the best of all worlds. It’s taking those purchase based signals and it’s using AI to be able to deliver outsized outcomes for our advertisers.

And outsized outcomes for advertisers means outsized growth for our business.

Shelley E. Kohan (17:44.526)
That’s unbelievable, unbelievable statistic. I love that. So how does this reinforce ACE’s position as an innovative leader in the hardware retail space?

Molly Hjelm (17:55.599)
You know.

I think it allows us to tell our story a little differently. We are so relevant locally that sometimes people think that we’re just local or we’re just regional. The average person maybe has no idea that we have 5,100 stores and a huge e-commerce business and 50 million site visits monthly. so even with our vendor community, I don’t know that we’ve always taken the opportunity to really package up those stats so they understand just how viable we are as

as a digital ecosystem. And so it’s been fun to share how sizable we are, kind of the assets that we’ve built over time, and to have this grand reveal that your seemingly local hardware store is a huge growing valuable advertising ecosystem.

Shelley E. Kohan (18:46.498)
Well, Molly, I’m going share a little secret with you. You can’t say anything to anyone, even though this will be for everyone. But I jokingly tell my husband, say, you know, I came up in operations. So I spent my whole career in retail operations. So, you know, facilities and, you know, all that fun stuff. And I said to my husband, you know what I’m going to do when I retire? I’m going to buy an Ace Hardware store in a local community, and I’m going to run my own little hardware store. So that’s kind of my retirement dream.

Molly Hjelm (18:48.9)
Yes.

Molly Hjelm (19:01.924)
Yeah.

Molly Hjelm (19:12.762)
you

love that. You know what? I’ve been saying that to some of our retailers too. I’ve been talking, I’ve been asking all these questions like what is it like to run a business and it would be such a dream to be able to run a business like an ACE Hardware with our family and they’ll be quick to tell you Shelly that if you want to retire it might not be the best business for you because it’s very time intensive and you know it’s a lot of work but wow our Red Vested Heroes and our

2800 plus independent store owners. They work really hard with the right orientation and they have fun doing it.

Shelley E. Kohan (19:55.042)
That’s great. Well, Molly, anything else you want to say before we leave today? I was so happy to have you on the podcast today on a topic that I think is super relevant going into the next couple of years. So I really appreciate your time today.

Molly Hjelm (20:07.864)
Yeah, thank you so much. It’s been an absolute pleasure talking to you and I just appreciate the opportunity.

Shelley E. Kohan (20:14.83)
Great. Well, thank you. And thanks to our listeners for being part of the Retail Unwrapped and continuing to support us and our podcast.