Locally owned family business Stratford ITM is celebrating 90 years

A lot has changed in Stratford over the past nine decades, but one thing has not.

Since Stratford ITM opened its doors in 1933, the locally owned building supplies and hardware business has been owned and operated by members of the Henry family.

Now owned by Kim and Mike Henry, the company was founded by Mike’s grandfather, Victor, making Mike the third generation owner.

While the opening date of the first store is unknown, the Henry family knows that Victor will be happy to see the store not only still in operation, but grow significantly over the years, always maintaining its reputation for excellent service and quality merchandise.

To celebrate the milestone, Kim says the team held a month-long celebration throughout August, offering special offers and plenty of giveaways.

“We gave away a bathroom counter and had different specials every week, including a week of free local delivery. We ran a coloring contest, a scavenger hunt where people had to find things in the store to be able to win a wheelbarrow.” Full of goodies and they had a travel voucher up for grabs at the Sheds.

She says giving back to the community was an excellent way to spread Christmas cheer.

“It’s good to support the people who support our business.”

In his 90 years of business, Kim says there have been a lot of changes.

“We became part of the ITM Co-op 31 years ago when it first started. The business has moved to four different locations over the years. When we settled into our current building eight years ago, we changed our name from Standard Timber to Stratford ITM.

Being a family-owned business is something to be proud of, she says.

“We’re third-generation owners which is special. Some of the customers are descendants of people who shopped here 90 years ago. That’s very unique.”

Kim says one thing that hasn’t changed is companies’ desire to provide excellent customer service.

“We strive to give our customers a great shopping experience. We offer a free service to help people design their bathrooms. It is a personal service to our customers and have specialized in sheds for many years. We also have a paint shop and serve the majority of builders in the area. It is important to us that our customers are happy with the product Final.”

Kim says there have been a lot of challenges over the 90 years, with the market downturn and the Covid-19 pandemic. She says the company had many customers buying products for DIY projects in the run-up to the first Covid-19 lockdown in 2020.

“It was very nice to see that instead of people sitting at home doing nothing, they used that time to do their projects at home.”

She says the period following the coronavirus lockdowns has been difficult, with supply shortages and increased demand.

“We are grateful to our employees who work hard to meet our customers’ requirements.”

Kim says a business is worthless without its employees.

“Our staff is amazing. It’s a tough team. We’re lucky to have a great team.”