Membership

Retailer/Merchant (<5 Employees)

HAI is proud to represent smaller hardware, homeware, paint and DIY specialists, many of whom are family businesses through our suite of support services and offers. If you are looking for ways to cut costs and to improve workflow efficiencies we can provide you with advice and support in a number of areas including credit management, debt collection, business insurance and family business support, all provided by industry experts with sector-specific experience. Our job-board website, www.hardwarejobs.ie, is available at no cost to HAI members to share your vacancies and link up with experienced jobseekers looking for roles in the industry.

Retailer/Merchant (6-10 Employees)

• Regular email updates and phone support on key industry and policy announcements.
• Business Support services, including recruitment support via Hardware Jobs and our employment support partners.
• HAI offers a catalogue of virtual and classroom training opportunities for retailers and merchants to help new and existing staff develop in their role.
• Online training is also available to HAI members with the Hardware Education Hub offering a wide range of e-learning modules and support resources, which employees can access from anywhere and at any time.
• Business owners can also enjoy access to opportunities at annual networking events such as the Hardware Show and the Hardware Conference, along with advertising opportunities in the Association’s trade publication, The Hardware Journal.
• Annual networking opportunities to link up with suppliers, business support providers and other potential new contacts in the industry.

Retailer/Merchant (11+ Employees)

• HAI’s HR suite of support services and advice is available to all HAI members who are looking for legal and procedural advice on managing growing work-forces. Employment services are also available to help business owners and manager find the right fit for their team. Our job board website, Hardware Jobs, is also available to HAI members at a discounted rate.
• For any employees looking to move to the next level in their role, they can look at how our classroom training opportunities can progress them through their development journey.
• We continue to lobby for the best interests of the hardware sector through representation of its needs, particularly with topics such as the illicit trade of solid fuels, tax implications for businesses and development incentives to support businesses surviving in rural areas.

Retailer/Merchant (Multi-Branch)

For larger multi-branch retailer/merchant groups we ensure each branch can avail of training opportunities, our industry-specific magazine and monthly newsletters to keep informed about HAI services and industry news.

All retailers and merchants can participate in the HAI quarterly business index of net sales. Measure your business performance against the market. All  sales data is submitted to a trusted third party and never disclosed to HAI. Prepared each quarter, participants are asked to complete a short survey and in return once all data is gathered, are sent a detailed breakdown of sales increase/decrease month-on-month and year-on-year; further broken down by region, area, number of staff and number of branches.