(Kansas City) - Westlake Ace Hardware has hired Barkley as a new marketing partner. Barkley, one of the top 10 independent advertising agencies in the U.S., will work with Westlake on customer relationship management and database marketing.

Westlake is the largest Ace Hardware franchisee in the U.S., with 89 stores in Missouri, Kansas, Nebraska, Iowa, Oklahoma, Texas and New Mexico. Barkley has been tapped to further strengthen Westlake's direct marketing efforts, loyalty initiatives and database analytics.

"We are thrilled to be working with a strong retailer like Westlake Ace Hardware," said Jeff King, CEO, Barkley. "Westlake's leadership position as a full-service local hardware store makes CRM and database management an essential part of their marketing mix."

"Westlake was drawn to Barkley's depth of bench strength and strategic leadership capabilities. Chris Dickey has built a very strong and experienced direct and database team," said David Patrick, senior vice president and chief marketing officer for Westlake Ace Hardware. "Having worked with Barkley previously, I am excited about their enthusiasm and anticipate a tremendous amount of strategic leadership and database analytics from them."

About Westlake Ace Hardware:

Westlake Ace Hardware opened its first retail store in 1905 in Huntsville, Mo. and today operates 89 stores in seven states. Westlake Ace Hardware is headquartered in Lenexa, Kan. For more information visit www.westlakehardware.com.

About Barkley

Barkley is the largest employee-owned agency of its kind. Founded in 1964, the company has 325 partners offering a full range of marketing communications services including advertising, public relations, cause branding, sponsorships and events, relationship marketing, social media, design, media planning and buying, motion graphics, research and interactive marketing. Barkley has offices in Kansas City and Pittsburgh with additional field offices across the nation.