Perennial recipients of prestigious industry awards, Joyce’s Hardware & Home took to the winner’s podium once more last October to collect the Best Builders Merchant in Connacht/Donegal/Cavan/Monaghan prize at the 2022 Octabuild Builders Merchant Excellence Awards. Building Ireland travelled west to Headford in County Galway and interrupted store manager Dearbhaile Joyce’s busy schedule to get an update on this magnificent family business.
Celebrating excellence, innovation, leadership and sustainability within the builders merchant trade on the island of Ireland, the 2022 Octabuild Builders Merchant Excellence Awards were staged in The Mansion House, Dublin on Thursday October 13th last.
Not for the first time, Joyce’s Hardware & Home – an exceptional, ever-evolving, customer-focused third-generation family business operating out of Headford, County Galway – were among the major winners on the night, taking home the coveted Connacht Regional Award for Excellence.
In addition to being named as the Best Builders Merchant in Connacht/Donegal/Cavan/Monaghan, it was also the second year in succession that Joyce’s Hardware & Home were shortlisted for no fewer than three Octabuild Builders Merchant Excellence Awards, with staff member Patrick Burke competing for the Rising Star Award, which recognises up-and-coming talent in the industry, while the industry-leading Galway business – established by Patrick Colm Joyce in 1951 and trading from its current site in Headford since 1979 – was also recognised in the Excellence in Community Outreach category.
The latter is due recognition of the immeasurable contribution the business makes to the local community through regular sponsorships, fundraisers and various other initiatives.
The success of this outstanding independent builders and home providers at the 2022 Octabuild Awards – adding to their previous successes of 1993, 2001, 2005 – reflects their dedication on a daily basis to delivering the ultimate customer experience, prioritising value, quality, choice and service as they provide customers with a comprehensive range of high-quality products, comprising literally everything that’s needed to build and furnish a home from top to bottom and from start to finish.
As Dearbhaile Joyce, daughter of proprietor Jim Joyce, is quick to point out, this would not be possible without the dedication, professionalism, loyalty and team ethos of the wonderful staff at Joyce’s Hardware & Home – as well as the loyalty of the discerning customers from near and far who have continued to support the business down through the years and decades:
“It was brilliant to get the Connacht/Donegal/Cavan/Monaghan Regional Award for Excellence and this means a lot to our entire team,” confirms Dearbhaile. “We’re always striving to improve our business model, our product offerings and our levels of customer service.
“This was the first time the Octabuild Awards were staged since 2019 and ten of us went up to Dublin on the night. It was a brilliant experience and an outing like that is great for morale. To take home one of the awards was the icing on the cake.”
With another major award further consolidating Joyce’s Hardware & Home’s reputation as one of the best in the west, Jim and Dearbhaile and the rest of the team could be forgiven for resting on their laurels going forward and basking in the magnificent strides that have been made over the past seven decades plus.
However, there is no room for complacency in this progressive family business and, to the contrary, it’s very much a case of onwards and upwards at the Galway place of excellence, with a whole range of upgrades and improvements having been initiated in recent years, significantly bolstering the efficiency, diversity and sustainability of the business.
For example, a brand new warehouse has been built at the back of the store to hold overstock, while an electric car charging port has been added as well as a new air to air heating and air-conditioning system to reduce electricity bills. Furthermore, a new coffee shop, aptly named Devour, was opened on site during the course of 2022 and this has proven to be an invaluable asset to existing customers whilst simultaneously bringing a lot of additional footfall into Joyce’s Hardware & Home.
“The business is constantly growing, evolving, improving,” Dearbhaile continues. “We have a new waste recycling centre and a service whereby customers can collect old, unwanted timber from us for free and use it for firewood or any other purpose. This all ties in with our concerted efforts to boost our sustainability and lower our carbon footprint.
“Product-wise, we have a new composite decking centre and a new smart fencing centre, which again ties in with sustainability. In the current climate, the more sustainable the products, the better.”
As a modern, innovative and conscientious store, with a keen emphasis on sustainability and eco-friendliness, Joyce’s Hardware & Home has through hard work, determination, vision and forward-thinking evolved into the premier hardware and homeware provider in the region, operating from a modern, spacious, nine-acre, two-storey site and generating direct employment for a team of 48 highly-trained and experienced full-time personnel, serving an extensive customer base covering a wide area including Connemara, Clifden, Cong, Ballinrobe and the Aran Islands, with a full nationwide delivery service also provided.
Essentially a number of businesses rolled into one, Joyce’s Hardware & Home comprises a builders providers (with plumbing & heating supplies and all building materials) alongside an agri department (specialising in farm feeds, fertilizers and agri supplies) and a garden centre stocking a full range of plants, garden furniture, paving and decking, etc.
Also incorporating soft furnishings, a bathroom showroom, indoor and outdoor tiling and lighting, beds, paints, stoves and much, much more besides, Joyce’s Hardware & Home carry over 30,000 quality products in stock and are members of the Allied Merchants Buying Association (AMBA), which was established eleven years ago and offers them the buying power and support an independent family business needs to give its customers the optimal combination of value, quality and service.
No stone is left unturned in training and upskilling staff to ensure a working environment that is both productive and positive. “Our staff are the heartbeat of the business and a lot of them have been here for a long time. One is here coming up on 50 years and others have been with us for more than 30. They tend to stay long term, which is fantastic. They all have excellent product knowledge and are able to offer our customers the best possible advice and guidance.
“Ultimately, it’s a family-run business and that ethos has always been at the core of Joyce’s Hardware & Home,” Dearbhaile concludes. “The staff are treated like an extension of our family and we pride ourselves on providing a personal touch. As well as myself and my dad, my brother James is also here full time, while our sister Sinead and brother Colm work part time. Our mother, Brenda, is in the garden centre every morning from 5am.
“It’s a real traditional Irish family business and we’d know everybody in the community personally, which obviously helps. Our customers are extremely important and they are our No.1 focus because we wouldn’t be here without their ongoing support and loyalty.”
Joyce’s Hardware & Home,
Galway Road,
Headford,
County Galway.
Tel: 093 34201
Email: [email protected]
Web: joycehardware.com
Facebook: www.facebook.com/joyce.hardware.3
This article was published in Building Ireland Magazine, June 2023, Vol 9 No 6
