Depault’s Ace Hardware, founded in 1985 by Ray and Marie Depault, will be rebranded as Aubuchon Ace Hardware.
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Seven months after establishing its first Rhode Island location, Westminster-based hardware store firm W.E. Aubuchon Co. has furthered its Ocean State expansion with the purchase of a hardware store in Cumberland.
Depault’s Ace Hardware, founded in 1985 by Ray and Marie Depault, will be rebranded as Aubuchon Ace Hardware, according to a Tuesday press release from Aubuchon.
With the purchase of Depault’s, Aubuchon will operate 136 stores across 11 states.
“For more than 40 years, the Depault and Gonsalves families have built a store rooted in relationships, service, and deep community pride,” William Aubuchon, IV, president & CEO of Aubuchon, said in the press release. “We have great respect for what they’ve created and are honored by the trust they’ve placed in us to carry that legacy forward.”
In 2019, Richard and Emily Depault, along with nephew and wife Morgan and Kaitlin Gonsalves, assumed ownership of Depault’s from Ray and Marie.
Aubuchon is now in its fourth generation of family ownership, having been founded by William Aubuchon Sr. in 1908, with members of the fifth generation also involved in the company.
Aubuchon is the oldest family-owned hardware chain in the United States, according to its website, and the largest family-owned company in Central Massachusetts, with 1,500 local employees, according to information provided to the WBJ Research Department.
The company has 11 locations in Central Massachusetts, with stores in Ayer, Clinton, Franklin, two in Fitchburg, Gardner, Littleton, Lunenburg, Southbridge, Stow, Sudbury, and Webster.
Eric Casey is the managing editor at Worcester Business Journal, who primarily covers the real estate and banking & finance industries.
