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Ace Hardware says its year-old RedVest Media network has influenced more than $100 million in retail sales, with over 100 vendors participating. The vendor-funded program has added social, influencer, weather-triggered and DoorDash advertising, alongside tools to measure sales associated with campaigns.
Ace Hardware says its year-old RedVest Media network has influenced more than $100 million in retail sales, as the cooperative adds advertising options and measurement tools for its vendor-funded program. More than 100 vendors have joined since the network launched in 2025, according to Molly Hjelm, Ace’s corporate vice president and head of RedVest Media.
RedVest gives participating vendors a centralized way to advertise products sold through Ace and reach customers across the retailer’s digital ecosystem. Placements include Acehardware.com, email and push messages, as well as offsite display, video, connected TV and mobile advertising. The campaigns are funded by vendors; individual Ace retailers do not have to build campaigns or manage advertising purchases.
Ace expanded the network this summer after gathering feedback from participating vendors. Additions announced at its inaugural Upfront event in August include social and influencer marketing, weather-triggered programmatic ads and placements within Ace’s DoorDash storefront. The weather option can match advertising to local conditions such as rain or snow. DoorDash can expose Ace products to customers who may not have previously shopped at an Ace store, including people seeking items such as propane or firewood.
RedVest also includes RetailerReach, which lets eligible vendors send retailer-facing banners, emails and educational content to Ace and Emery Jensen retailers. For customer campaigns, Ace Rewards data helps connect ad exposure with later purchases. Hjelm said vendors and Ace have access to real-time reporting on sales from customers exposed to media. The network also offers measures including return on advertising spend, total sales impact and the share of converted customers who are new to a brand.
A Central Route Into Ace Stores
The reported sales figure gives Ace and vendors an early indicator of the network’s reach across the cooperative. RedVest offers brands a single way to market products to Ace customers across stores and digital channels, instead of relying only on separate retailer relationships, buying shows and corporate promotions. Hjelm described the challenge of reaching a cooperative of about 5,300 stores as one RedVest is intended to address.
For locally owned stores, the potential benefit is vendor-funded marketing that can raise awareness and bring customer interest to products available through Ace. The program’s purchase reporting may also help vendors decide which products, placements and creative approaches merit future spending. Ace has not provided in the supplied report a breakdown of the $100 million figure by store, product category or campaign.
From 2025 Launch to New Channels
Ace introduced RedVest to its vendor community at the 2025 Ace Fall Convention in Chicago and formally launched it days later. The company discussed the network’s first year after the 2026 Fall Convention in Orlando. Its design reflects Ace’s cooperative structure: independent stores operate locally, while vendors can use RedVest to reach Ace customers through centralized campaigns.
Ace Rewards underpins the network’s closed-loop measurement, which links advertising exposure with a subsequent purchase. RedVest has also added incrementality measurement for offsite ads. That method is intended to estimate whether a campaign generated additional sales that might not otherwise have occurred, rather than merely recording that an exposed customer later bought something.
““With RedVest, all of our retailers benefit from an influx of marketing, driving awareness and foot traffic to their stores as a result of vendors investing to message their products.””
— Molly Hjelm, Ace corporate vice president and head of RedVest Media
Sales Figure Lacks a Public Breakdown
The report does not specify the period or calculation behind the claim that RedVest has influenced more than $100 million in sales, or how much of that amount represents incremental sales attributable to advertising. The figure is attributed to Ace’s account of the network’s results; no independent audit or campaign-level data is provided in the source material.
Details of Hjelm’s stated three-year goal are incomplete in the available report, which ends mid-sentence after introducing that goal. Ace has not specified in the material provided how it will measure progress toward it.
Vendor Feedback Will Shape Expansion
Hjelm said RedVest’s expansion will continue to reflect vendor feedback and efforts to reach Ace customers where they spend time. The recently added advertising channels and measurement options give vendors more ways to test campaigns and assess results. Ace has not announced a further rollout schedule or detailed milestones in the available report.
Key Questions
What is Ace Hardware’s RedVest Media?
RedVest Media is Ace’s vendor-funded advertising network, which lets participating brands promote products across Ace’s digital channels and selected offsite placements.
How many vendors have joined RedVest?
Ace executive Molly Hjelm said more than 100 vendors had joined since the network launched in 2025.
What does the $100 million sales figure mean?
Ace says RedVest has influenced more than $100 million in Ace retail sales. The available report does not give a calculation method, detailed period or breakdown, and does not say how much was incremental sales.
What new advertising options did Ace add?
New options announced in August include social and influencer marketing, weather-triggered programmatic ads and advertising in Ace’s DoorDash storefront.
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