HDW Revenue and Competitors

Hardware Distribution Warehouses, Inc. was formed from the merger of three companies in November 1994. The predecessor companies were South States, Inc of Shreveport, LA, Henderson & Baird Company, Greenwood, MS and Higginbotham-Pearlstone Hardware Company, Dallas, TX. South States acquired Henderson & Baird in 1984 and Higgenbotham-Pearlstone in 1994 and operated both as wholly owned subsidiaries until merging them on November 1, 1994, into South States. At the same time, South States changed its name to Hardware Distribution Warehouses, Inc., more commonly known as HDW, Inc. This merger and name change were a result of the parent company being purchased by an Employee Stock Ownership Plan. The ESOP funded the purchase with loans through local banking institutions. As the loans were repaid, employees earned stock shares as part of an employee benefit plan. An ESOP is a great employee benefit tool that allows growth in both shares of stock and in the stocks underlying value to be a motivator toward increased company performance. To date some 175,000 number of shares have been distributed to over 150 employees. As employees retire from the company, they receive cash for the stock they have accumulated during their years of employment.