John Folan introduced speakers Harry Adler of Alder’s Hardware and Ben Gaul of the Coffee Exchange.Harry has been involved in the family business for 50 years. His remarks were a lesson on the ability of small businesses to be successful competitors by focusing on staying current with industry trends, responding to local market needs and showing respect for the community.
Harry gave several examples to illustrate these points. In 1978 he read an eye-opening article on Home Depot, a mega hardware chain with locations from Atlanta to Florida, with plans to enter the New England market. The thing that gave Harry a real chill was that when Home Depot entered a market within two years 61% of small local hardware stores went out of business. Despite this sobering news, there was one point in the article that Alder’s leveraged for future success - women didn’t like these huge warehouses. This knowledge eventually moved Alder’s from a hardware store with a paint department to a hardware store with an expanded paint department offering C2 paint designed for higher quality and a decorating department staffed with a team of interior designers. Adler’s brand remains strong for women, architects and designers.
Adler’s remains closely connected to its community roots on Wickenden Street. Harry said he passed on an offer from Benjamin Moore (BM) to carry their brand because they required an outdoor sign with 75% BM logo and 25% Adler’s. Harry recognized that this was not in keeping with the neighborhood and declined the opportunity out of respect to the community and recognizing that Adler’s sign was an important sense of place on Wickenden Street.
Ben Gaul is the main coffee roaster at the Coffee Exchange café well-known on Wickenden Street since it opened in the late 1980’s when Starbucks was small and Dunkin’ Donuts was a regional chain. Ben credits Starbucks as a great marketing entity because of its ability to provide a consistent product and customer experience all over the country.
Ben is a chef who started roasting coffee in Western Massachusetts. The Coffee Exchange continues to thrive by responding to the market and providing customers with excellent coffee and a warm café experience. They are dedicated to using organic sustainable fair trade coffee and supporting the farmers who grow the coffee.
The challenges faced by the Coffee Exchange and farmers are a moving target. Farmers are not being replaced because their children are moving to cities for better paying jobs and the coffee product is shrinking due to a fungus that is destroying crops. Planning for future sources of product is a constant challenge for businesses like the Coffee Exchange.
PP Bill DiBiasio was installed as a new Rotary board member. 
Erik Creamer was installed as a member of Providence Rotary. He transferred from the North Kingstown club where he was immediate Past President. He is the new executive director for MADD in Rhode Island and looks forward to supporting the Club’s programs and fundraising events.
