Clark-Devon Hardware Co., Inc, Chicago’s largest independent hardware shop, has been sold after 99 years and three generations of family ownership. The 65 employees who work there are the new owners.
As the firm’s centennial approaches, co-owners and brothers Ken and Ed Walchak, who have led the company’s growth for the previous 50 years, decided to sell the company to its employees through an Employee Stock Ownership Plan (ESOP).
“We wanted the business that our father and grandfather built and nurtured to continue while maintaining the reputation, culture, and commitment to the community and our customers that they taught us,” Ed Walchak said in announcing the acquisition. “We discovered that the structure of an ESOP was the best way to reward the people who helped us build the business, thus helping to create personal wealth while ensuring the company’s long-term success.”
Clark-Devon Hardware is now 100% employee owned, with all of the perks that come with ownership going to its employees, many of whom have been with the company for decades. “We are grateful Ken and Ed considered an ESOP for passing the baton of this amazing business that has built its great reputation for decades,” said the incoming CEO, Xan Flink. “I sincerely hope that our stewardship honors them and their family.”
With this transformation, Clark-new Devon’s employee-owners will join almost 14 million employee-owners in 7,000 organizations nationally. Clark-Devon becomes one of only 300 ESOPs in Illinois, and one of only a few in the retail sector.
