Published: June 11, 2008 09:50 am         

Hardware store making new home in Kosciusko

Five weeks have passed since Home Hardware, Kosciusko’s newest home improvement center, opened its doors. Owned by Jim Smith, based out of Natchez, and operated by former Scarborough Building employee Scott Coleman, the new hardware business has plugged itself in the former Discount Paneling location on Highway 12.

Coleman managed Discount Paneling six months before it closed in April 2007, has been in the hardware industry for fifteen years. He also was co-managing a home-based hardware business, Home Plus, with his father, Junior Coleman.

The 38-year-old self-motivated businessman now has focused his attention to making Home Hardware a great resource for the Kosciusko/Attala County area.

We carry a full line of dimensional lumber, all building grade supply woods, paneling for interior finishes, anything that you pretty much find in any of your big box stores, we pretty much carry,” explained Coleman.

Pricing, Coleman went on to say, would mostly be kept under the “big box stores,” like Lowe’s and Home Depot, so to keep themselves in “good competition.”

Home Hardware will also specialize in Benjamin Moore Paint, power tools, hand tools, basic plumbing, electrical, and builders’ hardware.

“We’re steadily increasing (business) everyday, we’ve been received well in the community but a lot of people still don’t know that we’re open cause we kinda opened quietly.”

Recent gas price increases have had its affect of shipping and freight for the growing company, “…all the products are changing, lumber is on the rise again, since we opened it has done nothing but steadily increase anywhere from five to ten percent every week.”

Home Hardware hosted their grand opening last Thursday with various sales promotions and discounts to draw in the crowds. This particular store location is store number 15 owned by Jim Smith. It is less than half the size of most other Home Hardware Centers, 15-16k square feet, and is also the smallest store throughout the region.