Walking on the streets of the city, you must have seen a hardware store like this: it has a small front, and the shelves are piled with screws, water pipes, light bulbs, and tools. There are not many people entering the store from morning to night. It looks deserted, as if it is going to close down at any time.
But the strange thing is that these stores have been open for more than ten years. Not only do they not fail, many store owners can earn hundreds of thousands a year, and their lives are better than many Internet celebrity stores and busy shops.
Many people can’t figure out how to make money when there is no customer flow or popularity?
In fact, we have all been deceived by superficial appearances.
The money-making logic of hardware stores is completely different from that of supermarkets and clothing stores. They do not make money from retail sales by passers-by at all, and the desertedness is just an illusion to outsiders.
Today, I will use vernacular to dismantle the underlying logic, hidden income, and cost control of the street hardware store’s “make a fortune silently”. After reading this, you will understand why a small shop with no people can quietly earn hundreds of thousands a year.
Let’s first look at a set of the latest industry data for 2026 to break everyone’s inherent perceptions.
There are currently more than 1 million community hardware stores in China, and the average number of people entering the store every day is only 20-30, which is less than a fraction of the customer flow of community supermarkets.
However, a follow-up survey of 100 stores found that the annual net profit of a single store is generally between 150,000 and 500,000, and more than half can make a stable annual income of 300,000+.
What is even more contrasting is that the transaction rate of individual customers in hardware stores is as high as 85% – 90%. They almost buy when they enter the store, and no one hangs around. This is much higher than the 10% – 20% transaction rate of clothing stores.
To put it simply: the customer flow is small, but all of them are precise and urgent customers, with fast transactions and high profits.
1. Deserted appearance: “Invisible business” that passers-by cannot see
Why is there no one?
Because the core business of the hardware store does not do “face work” for passers-by at all, it is all “living orders” hidden behind the scenes.
First of all, the hardware store is a community emergency station. It is an “urgent business”, not a “casual business”.
No one would go to the hardware store for nothing. All the people who come into the store come with urgent needs: a water pipe bursts in the middle of the night, a light bulb suddenly burns out, the door lock is broken and the door cannot be entered, the socket tripped and shorted, and a small part of the decoration is missing.
You can’t delay these things. You have to wait for express delivery when buying online. The large building materials market is too far away, so you can only find the nearest hardware store. If you just need it, urgently, and don’t compare prices, just scan the QR code to get the goods and leave. It will be done in a few minutes. Naturally, you will not see the bustling customer flow.
Secondly, the impact of e-commerce seems to be big, but in fact the impact is very small.
Buying hardware accessories online may seem cheap, but there are three major drawbacks: the shipping cost for small items is more expensive than the goods, the model is wrong and you can’t afford to wait for urgent needs.
For example, a screw sells for 1 cent online, and the shipping fee is 5 yuan; the model of a water pipe fitting is wrong, and the return or exchange is delayed for several days.
The “last mile” advantage of hardware stores is irreplaceable. They can get goods immediately, match them on the spot, and can install them at your doorstep. This is something that e-commerce can never match.
Finally, when choosing a location, don’t pick a prosperous shop, but look for a “low-cost and good location”.
Hardware stores rarely open on commercial streets or main roads. Most of them choose to open at the entrance of communities, on the corners of old streets, at the bottom of communities, or even in converted garages.
Firstly, the rent is cheap, with the monthly rent generally ranging from 3,000 to 5,000 yuan, which is more than 70% lower than that in Wangpu. Secondly, it is close to residents, construction sites, and decoration teams, making it convenient for door-to-door delivery and maintenance. It relies on the circle of regular customers, not the flow of passers-by.
2. Core income: 70% of profits come from “invisible big customers”, individual customers are just a fraction
Hardware stores can earn hundreds of thousands a year, and the real ballast is B-side big customers, not retail retail.
Industry data shows that in the revenue structure of hardware stores, B-side business accounts for 70% – 90%, while individual retail sales only account for 10% – 30%.
To put it simply: passers-by see 10% of small businesses, but what they don’t see are 90% of large orders.
1. Decoration team and construction team: long-term stability of the “big granary”
This is the core source of income for hardware stores.
Most street hardware stores have been rooted in the community for many years, and are deeply tied to the surrounding 3-5 decoration teams and construction teams, becoming their “exclusive material warehouses.”
To decorate an ordinary house, water, electricity, hardware and consumables cost 3,000-5,000 yuan; a decoration team takes 2-3 orders every month, and the monthly purchase amount can easily exceed 10,000 yuan; with 3-5 teams, the annual turnover can reach 300,000-500,000 yuan, with a net profit of 150,000-250,000 yuan.
And this kind of cooperation is very stable. The decoration team is convenient and the billing period is flexible. The shop owner relies on long-term reputation and delivery speed. A single order can last for several years, and there is almost no shortage of business.
2. Community properties and units: “Stabilize orders” throughout the year
Surrounding community properties, factories, shops, and schools are all regular customers of the hardware store.
Routine maintenance of the community: replacing street lights, repairing water pipes, repairing door locks, maintaining fire protection facilities, and purchasing hardware accessories in bulk every month; daily losses in factories and shops: tool replacement, parts repair, water and electricity maintenance, with stable usage; the property management will also subcontract the on-site maintenance work of the owners of the community (opening sewers, changing faucets, and installing lamps) to the hardware store, which costs both materials and labor.
A medium-sized community + 2-3 surrounding units can bring in a stable income of 5,000-10,000 yuan per month, and a net profit of 60,000-120,000 yuan for the whole year.
3. Door-to-door repair service: pure cash “high profit”
Hardware stores have long been no longer small shops that only sell goods, but all-round community repair stations.
Most of the shopkeepers are old craftsmen who know technical skills such as water and electricity repair, pipe unblocking, lock opening and key matching, door and window installation, waterproofing and leak repair, etc.
Door-to-door services are all cash transactions, with no billing period, no invoicing, and extremely high profits.
For example, to replace a faucet, the material cost is 5 yuan, and the door-to-door fee + labor fee is 80-150 yuan; to connect the sewer once, the cost is negligible, and the fee is 100-200 yuan; to provide a key, the cost is a few cents, and the fee is 20-30 yuan.
The gross profit margin of this type of service is as high as over 90%, and you can easily earn 50,000 to 100,000 a year.
3. The truth about profits: Small commodities have huge profits and the costs are extremely low
Hardware stores may seem to be selling small items for a few or tens of yuan, but in fact the gross profit margin is frighteningly high and the cost is ridiculously low. This is the key to making money quietly.
1. The gross profit margin is generally 40% – 50%, and the profit for small items is higher
The profit from hardware accessories is far beyond everyone’s imagination.
Ordinary faucets, switches and sockets, and water pipe fittings have a gross profit margin of 35% – 45%; small parts such as screws, nuts, glue, and tape are purchased by the kilogram or package, and sold by the unit, with a gross profit margin as high as 80% – 200%; special model accessories and special tools, the profit margin can even reach 120% – 150%.
For example: a faucet costing 5 yuan retails for 12-15 yuan; self-tapping nails costing 1 cent are sold in bulk for 8 yuan a box; glue costing 3 yuan sells for 10 yuan.
One order may seem small, but the profit can cover half a day’s rent. If you add up, you can make a lot of money.
2. Cost control down to the bone, mom-and-pop stores have zero labor costs
90% of street hardware stores are mom-and-pop or father-son stores, which is the lowest-cost business model.
The wife of the shopkeeper keeps an eye on the goods, receives customers, and arranges the shelves; the boss goes out to deliver goods, visit customers, do maintenance, and contact the decoration team. There is no need to hire employees, pay wages, or pay social security, which saves 60,000 to 100,000 labor costs a year.
In contrast, labor costs in community supermarkets account for 20% – 30% of the total costs. In comparison, the gap is huge.
At the same time, hardware products have no shelf life, are not easy to be lost, and are not afraid of backlog. The screws, water pipes, and tools on the shelves will not break down for ten years. There is almost no inventory loss and minimal financial pressure.
Even if you don’t want to do it anymore, you can sell your inventory to peers without too much discount, and you have a strong ability to resist risks.
4. Hidden advantages of the industry: low threshold, good cash flow, and strong risk resistance
In addition to high profits and low costs, hardware stores have three hidden advantages that make them easier to operate and more profitable than many industries.
First, the cash flow is excellent and there is almost no debt.
Individual customers are all paid in cash, WeChat, and Alipay instantly; decoration teams and property management cooperation mostly require monthly settlements or short payment periods, and there are few long-term arrears; door-to-door repairs are paid on the spot, with fast capital turnover and no risk of bad debts.
Second, the threshold is low and easy to get started.
You don’t need a high degree of education or complicated skills to open a hardware store. As long as you understand basic hardware knowledge, know the parts models, and know how to make simple repairs, you can open a store. The purchase channels are mature, and you can get goods from wholesale markets and direct shipments from manufacturers. You can start with an investment of 100,000 to 200,000 yuan, with low risk and quick return on investment.
Third, there is always no shortage of business in industries that are in urgent need.
As long as there are people living there, houses, renovations, and maintenance needs, hardware stores will have business.
Aging, renovating second-hand houses, and renovating old communities are all continuing to generate demand. The industry has a long life cycle and will not be eliminated.
5. Tips to avoid pitfalls: Not all hardware stores can make money
Of course, it is not possible to make hundreds of thousands a year by opening a hardware store. There are also many small shops that are struggling to operate and can barely survive.
The core gap lies in three points: First, it does not bind large B-side customers and relies only on individual retail sales, which makes it difficult to earn a few thousand a month; second, it chooses the wrong location and opens in a place with no traffic, no construction site, and no community; third, it does not understand maintenance, only sells goods but does not provide services, and has a single income.
The truly profitable hardware stores are the trinity of “retail + wholesale + repair”. They have individual retail sales, large B-side customers to support them, and door-to-door services to increase profits. The combination of the three can achieve a stable annual income of hundreds of thousands.
6. Summary: Behind the deserted appearance is the great wisdom of making money in silence
The survival logic of street hardware stores is completely opposite to the current shops that pursue traffic and Internet celebrity check-ins: they do not make money from the excitement of passers-by, but only make stable money from regular customers; they do not do superficial business, but only make solid orders behind them; they do not make money from high customer flow, but from high profits, low costs, and stable customer sources.
Many people look down on hardware stores and feel that selling screws and water pipes is shameful, but they don’t know that these small shop owners have already quietly earned hundreds of thousands a year, making them better off than many office building white-collar workers and Internet celebrity shop owners.
An inconspicuous industry hides the most practical way to make money; under the deserted appearance, there is great wisdom to make a fortune silently.
Topic Discussion
Is there such a deserted but still surviving hardware store near your home?
Have you ever bought emergency supplies or found repair services at a hardware store?
Do you think hardware stores can continue to make money in the future?
Feel free to share your experiences and opinions in the comment area.
