Handy Andy Home Warehouse began in 1974 as Handy Andy Economy Products Company in Statesboro, Georgia as a joint effort of Mr. In February of the following year, Mr. Powell opened Handy Andy Economy Warehouse, a second location of Handy Andy Economy Products, in Vidalia, Georgia. Powell expanded his operations to Reidsville when he opened a third location of Handy Andy Economy Products Company. In
1977, Mr. Powell purchased Darrell Chapman's portion of the Statesboro location, becoming the sole owner of three stores: Handy Andy Economy Products Company of Statesboro, Handy Andy Economy Warehouse of Vidalia, and Handy Andy Economy Products Company of Reidsville. The home office was located in Vidalia. Powell closed the Statesboro location in 1979, and in 1980, the Reidsville location was also closed. That same year, Mr. Powell opened Handy Andy Discount Building Supply in Hazlehurst, Georgia. Powell also joined the Servistar Hardware Co-op that year, which later became TruServe then TruValue. Through the years, the various locations would change affiliations to accommodate the changing market. In 1984, Mr. Powell purchased Hoboken Building Supply in Hoboken, Georgia from Mr. Chesley Walker, once again making him the owner of three stores. Powell's fourth location opened in 1986 when he began operating Andy's Home Center in Lyons, Georgia. Powell changed the name of Handy Andy Economy Warehouse, in Vidalia, to Handy Andy Home Warehouse in 1990. In 1994, a second location baring the same name, Handy Andy Home Warehouse, was opened in Eastman, Georgia, making Mr. Powell the owner of five building supply centers in southeast Georgia. The home office remained located at Handy Andy Home Warehouse of Vidalia. In 2003, Mr. Powell began to explore the opportunities that opening a distribution center for his family of stores would create. Sales volume for the five locations had grown to over 30 million, and with this growth came the realization that five stores could not be run the same way as one store. In order to consolidate purchasing and management for all the stores, Mr. Powell created SMD, Inc., an acronym which stands for Service Management Distribution, the three-fold purpose behind its creation. SMD, Inc. currently represents the corporate management and accounting and the consolidated purchasing operation for all the Handy Andy locations. This has allowed for greater uniformity among the operating procedures for individual stores, and by consolidating purchasing, it has increased the buying power for Handy Andy family of stores. All of which increases the efficiency and effectiveness with which Handy Andy serves its customers. The SMD warehouse is located on Ward Street in Vidalia, with much of the corporate management at the Vidalia store location. Handy Andy family of stores: more than the sum of its parts.
