Wellesley Home Centre changes ownership

07 Sep Wellesley Home Centre changes ownership

Veronica Reiner
Wellesley Home Centre has officially changed ownership – John and Miriam Kuepfer have sold it to Jamie Kuepfer, but are still involved in the organization.

Jamie explained that while he had been an owner of the hardware store, located at 2196 Gerber Road, he is now the majority shareholder of the organization as of May 1.
“We’re really excited to see the business grow from here,” said Jamie.

“We’re very excited to be involved and a part of this community – it’s a great place to do business and a great place to live. We’re really thankful for the community around us that has been so supportive of the business over the many years that we’ve been here.”

The store offers everything including building supplies, plumbing, hardware, electrical, paint and decor. They also have a design centre, where they sell materials as well as install kitchens, bathrooms, and flooring. In addition, they offer window repair, colour match, home and cottage design, screen repair, key cutting, and more.

A rental division also rents out power tools and small equipment to those who need it, as well as their pro contractor services. “We service contractors for a wide area around us, and we offer material takeoffs, and job site support to our contractor customers, as well as delivery. We have a delivery fleet of about 12 vehicles,” said Jamie.

“So we’re able to service contractors and homeowners with that.”

The store has about 70 employees total, broken up into specialized divisions.

Jamie has been working at Wellesley Home Centre since 2012. “I started as the lumber and building materials sales manager, and I was in that role until 2017, when I became an owner,” he said. “I’m pretty familiar with the construction industry, and all of the aspects of our business.”

Before that, he worked in sales support at Fastenal and in agriculture as a teenager.

Jamie studied marketing at Conestoga College from 2009 and 2012. “I actually started being involved with this business in college,” he explained. “I did a market research study for the store, and as a result of doing that, as a part of my college course, it turned into being offered a job after I graduated. And everything happened from there.”

John and Miriam have been running Wellesley Home Centre since 2001. Despite having the same last name, there is no relation between them and Jamie.

“The customer experience will remain the same,” said Jamie. “We’ve definitely built our reputation on providing exceptional customer service to our community, so nothing will change as far as that goes.

“We’ve been very blessed to have substantial growth in the last few years, and we are looking forward to growing the business further of course. But in the interim, it will be business as usual.”

The store sees a mix of regular customers who come in every day or every other day, as well as visitors who come in from the city.

A grand opening to celebrate will be held on Thursday, September 7, Friday, September 8 and Saturday, September 9. It will include lots of giveaways, door prizes, as well as a free barbecue lunch and a bouncy castle on Saturday September 9. The free barbecue is being put on by the Petersburg Optimist Club to support their programs.