OLD ORCHARD BEACH — In an age of big box stores, big profits, and mind-numbing business analytics, Ron Hanson might appear to be adrift on a tiny boat, navigating his way through the treacherous sea of big business.

But he and his small vessel are doing just fine, thank you. And despite what many have written and said in recent years to the contrary, reports of the death of small, independent retail hardware stores are, in Mark Twain’s words, “greatly exaggerated.”

Hanson is the owner of an independent, hometown hardware store that is finding success in this seasonal seaside community, despite the ubiquitous chain retailers that loom over and literally surround him, constantly flexing their financial muscle.

Indeed Hanson’s Hometown Hardware, nestled in a modest-sized, but growing business plaza on Cascade Road here, is carving out a business presence in a community whose seasonal population swells and recedes as dramatically as the tides.

The secret? No surprise. “We put the customer first,” he says, “and take care of them until they leave the store — hopefully not empty-handed.”

It’s a simple formula; some might say an old-fashioned business model. But it is time-tested — and in a time when such simple formulas seem to have been discarded, if not forgotten, in the rush to grab a share of those limited consumer dollars.

But it’s not about big profits, says Hanson, though there is a bottom line that must be adhered to.

“In a business like this, you have to make adjustments,” he says. “For example, I employ two full-time people — myself and Jeff Wronski. Jeff is my right hand, with 30-plus years as a contractor. There’s nothing he can’t explain.”

And explaining is a big part of this small business. “People come here for help. They not only need something, but they also need help understanding how it works. I do my best, but Jeff is the guy who’s probably done it and can explain it.”

Hanson has spent most of his life learning the intricacies of managing a business. He worked for a big supermarket chain, rising from bag boy to store manager. When his store began to signal it might be downsizing several years ago, he became proactive and decided to pursue a long-held dream of running his own business.

“As the manager of a large store like that,” he says, “I gained experience in just about everything (related to retail).”

So when the time and opportunity came to buy the hardware store, Hanson was ready.

Hanson’s Hometown Hardware opened in 2013, in space that had been occupied by another hardware store that been closed for five months.

“They talk about location,” he says. “This store was yearning for a customer base; there’s nothing within 3 to 5 miles of this place, and it’s located next to one of the busiest post offices in the state, and an expanding grocery market next door.”

“I could see there was great potential for foot traffic,” he says. And it didn’t take long for the traffic — and the business — to materialize.

“When we opened,” he says, “people made a point of letting us know how happy they were to see us here.” And Hanson set out to make sure the store had what they needed. Hanson acknowledges that there’s been a widely held perception that small independent hardware stores have been struggling nationally, particularly as the big boxes and on-line retailers gobble up business at staggering rates.

The North American Retail Hardware Association recently sought to correct that perception by noting on its web site that independent retail hardware stores “have seen steady growth” nationally in the past several years. “Independent retailers around the U.S. have found many ways to excel and thrive in the shadows of big-box competition,” the NARHA wrote, including what it called “high [customer] service, focused selection [and] sharp pricing …”

Hanson agrees with that model.

“We need to remain competitive in our pricing,” he says. “And we especially need to provide our customers with strong personal service, like greeting and engaging everyone, so that they won’t leave empty handed.”

By balancing high service and competitive pricing, “We give them a reason to come to our store. We can’t oversell; Our snow blower has to be competitive with (the big box store). And we need to be willing to be flexible where it’s appropriate.”

Hanson acknowledges that the seasonal tourist business is a great boost to the store’s success, but adds: “It’s our local patrons — our year-round community — that insures we are able to stay open.”

“Without them,” he says, “The Big Box wins.”

As for profit margins, “the person who comes in and spends 11 cents on a washer helps us stay in business,” Hanson says. “Every one of those sales gets us through the year.”

Even 11 cents at a time.