I have a Gretsch Catalina Stealth kit and I love it. For the price it has turned out to be a very nice sounding and looking kit and the hardware is pretty decent.
The Gretsch drums have 30 degree bearing edges so they have a warmer more mellow sound, more like the drums of the 60's--but it's a full sound and sounds great live (big and punchy without lots of ring). All
The lugs seem just fine--never had any problems with any of them and the hoops are pretty standard. In fact, Gretsch lugs are used a lot by custom drum makers because of their easy availability and smaller size.
As for stands etc, Gretsch uses strictly Gibraltar for all of it. If you buy a Gretsch kit with a hardware bundle it will be all Gibraltar, and their website even refers you to Gibraltar's if you want to know anything about their hardware (Gretsch and Gibraltar are under the Kaman Music Group who also has a stake in Sabian cymbals-- so you will always see Gretsch drums with Gibraltar hardware and Sabian cymbals in all the ads)...
Here's a video clip about Gretsch and their Factory in North Carolina:
Enjoy!