By Mike Scarcella

WASHINGTON, May 8 (Reuters) - Retail giant Ace Hardware has been accused in a new lawsuit in federal court of running an illegal nationwide scheme with thousands of its affiliated member stores to fix prices, driving up costs for consumers.

The lawsuit, filed on Thursday in federal court in Chicago, alleges Ace and its members have for years violated U.S. antitrust law by coordinating on retail prices and limiting where stores can operate. The lawsuit said shared pricing moved in lockstep with nearby stores, eliminating competition.

An Illinois resident filed the proposed class action on behalf of more than 5 million people who have bought goods from Ace since 2022.

Ace has “abandoned its commitment to local ownership, favoring ownership by multi-store chains, private equity firms, and Ace Hardware Corporation itself,” the lawsuit said. In addition to Ace, the complaint names Ace subsidiaries and the company’s software provider Epicor as defendants.

In a statement, lawyers for the plaintiff said “many hardworking Americans have been overcharged for essential home items for years. We want to put a stop to that.”

Ace and Texas-based Epicor did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

Illinois-based Ace, founded in 1924, is owned by a cooperative of local Ace retail operators across the country. Ace reported a record $10 billion in revenue for 2025.

The lawsuit alleges the Ace cooperative, which includes thousands of independently owned and operated stores, has morphed into an illegal cartel through shared pricing data and restrictions on store locations.

Ace and Epicor use point-of-sale software and internal reports to collect detailed pricing and sales data from member stores, according to the lawsuit. Ace, its members and Epicor use that competitively sensitive data to fix prices, the lawsuit alleged.

The complaint alleges Ace’s goal is to “boost margins and present a more consistent pricing image to consumers.” Ace also limits competition by blocking new stores from opening near existing ones.

The lawsuit seeks unspecified damages and a court order stopping the alleged price-fixing scheme.

The case is Sean Twomey v Ace Hardware Corp et al, U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Illinois, No. 1:26-cv-05320.

For plaintiff: Steven Molo and Eric Posner of MoloLamken; Stephen Tillery and David Walchak of Korein Tillery.

For defendants: No appearances yet

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