Home Channel News NewsFax articles from December 2007

Home Channel News NewsFax archives from December 2007

Restoration hardware sees losses in Q3.(IN BRIEF)(Financial report)
December 17, 2007... On the heels of a takeover bid by Sears Holdings, Restoration Hardware released third-quarter results showing that while revenue rose 10.6 percent to $173.7 million, compared with $157.1 million in the same period last year, the company saw a...

Benjamin Moore to acquire Insl-x assets.(IN BRIEF)
December 17, 2007... Benjamin Moore will purchase select assets and brands of Insl-x Products, a coatings manufacturer based in Stony Point, N.Y. Terms of the deal were not disclosed. According to Denis Abrams, president and CEO of Benjamin Moore, the acquisition...

Home Depot, Stanley liable in suit.(IN BRIEF)
December 17, 2007... A Hartford, Conn., jury has awarded a construction worker $3.4 million in a civil lawsuit against Stanley Works and Home Depot. Carpenter Jerry Crutchfield was working on a church project when an accident caused a 3.5-inch nail to go through...

Lowe's opens first Canada stores.(NEWSMAKERS)
December 17, 2007... TORONTO--Lowe's emergence into the Canadian market has been two years in the works. But in a market that's showing tremendous growth opportunities for American investment, Lowe's is moving slowly and cautiously. Don Stallings, president...

Pro-Build to acquire New Mexico-based dealer.(NEWSMAKERS)
December 17, 2007... Denver-based Pro-Build Holdings has announced another acquisition--of Lumber Inc., a distributor of lumber, flooring and roof trusses based in Albuquerque, N.M. Terms of the deal were not disclosed. In a news release, Pro-Build...

PPG makes big international acquisition.(NEWSMAKERS)
December 17, 2007... PPG Industries will sharply expand its worldwide offerings when it acquires SigmaKalon Group, a Netherlands-based producer of architectural, decorative and protective coatings, as well as coatings for the marine and industrial markets. ...

Pro-Build West names new president.(EXECUTIVE NEWS)(Joe Lawrence)(Brief article)
December 17, 2007... Joe Lawrence, the president of Dixieline Lumber in San Diego, has been named the new president of Pro-Build West, where he will oversee operations in Washington, Oregon, Alaska, California and Arizona. Lawrence will replace Dave Dittmer, a...

Chase Lumber names Gill president.(EXECUTIVE NEWS)
December 17, 2007... Pro dealer Chase Lumber of Aurora, Colo., promoted Garrett Gill to president and general manager. Gill will oversee all operations at Chase's Aurora facilities, which include a lumberyard and truss plant, as well as the Chase Lumber branch...

CEO of Wal-Mart Canada will depart.(EXECUTIVE NEWS)
December 17, 2007... Wal-Mart Canada president and CEO Mario Pilozzi will retire effective Jan. 31. Pilozzi spent seven years as head of the company's Canadian division. He will be replaced by David Cheesewright, who currently serves as chief operating officer of...

BMD appoints new sales director.(EXECUTIVE NEWS)
December 17, 2007... Galt, Calif.-based Building Materials Distributors (BMD) has appointed Jim Mackall to the post of director of sales for building products. Mackall joined BMD in 2005 and brings with him more than 20 years of sales experience. "Jim Mackall is...

Pending home sales on the rise.(INDUSTRY NEWS)
December 17, 2007... Pending home sales, a measurement of homes on which contracts have been signed, rose 0.6 in October to a reading of 87.2 from an upwardly revised reading of 86.7 in September, according to the National Association of Realtors (NAR). It...

Oregon storms leave glut of timber.(INDUSTRY NEWS)
December 17, 2007... Storms that ripped through Oregon's coastal forests on Dec. 2 have left public and private forest owners with a glut of logs of negligible worth, in an already difficult time for the lumber industry there. The number of snapped and...

Stock watch.(INDUSTRY NEWS)(Statistical table)(Brief article)
December 17, 2007... STOCK WATCH 12/14 12/7 % Chg. % Chg. Company Close Close in Week Yr. Ago Andersons 42.83 40.61 5.47 7.88 Bed Bath & Beyond 29.51 32.34...

Group of Ace owners to challenge board.(IN BRIEF)
December 10, 2007... A group of Ace Hardware member-owners have decided to challenge the co-op's board of directors at its upcoming annual meeting. In a letter, the group outlines a list of four nominees it will promote at the co-op's June 3, 2008, annual meeting...

Great Southern buys two lumber plants.(IN BRIEF)(Curt Bean Lumber)(Brief article)
December 10, 2007... Great Southern Wood Preserving has announced two of its subsidiaries have purchased Curt Bean Lumber plants. The wood treating plants are located in Glenwood, Ark., and Buckner, Mo. The agreement calls for Curt Bean Lumber's remaining Amity,...

BlueLinx announces consolidation.(IN BRIEF)
December 10, 2007... BlueLinx Holdings, a nationwide distributor of building materials, has announced plans to eliminate underperforming skus from its assortment as part of a cost-cutting effort. The company plans to "aggressively sell through its inventory in...

Wolseley cuts 1,300 positions.(NEWSMAKERS)
December 10, 2007... Wolseley said in late November it would eliminate 1,300 more positions at Stock Building Supply and plumbing supply company Ferguson, following a round of 1,500 layoffs in the prior fiscal quarter. Wolseley noted it already had made a...

84 Lumber cuts positions at headquarters.(NEWSMAKERS)(Brief article)
December 10, 2007... 84 Lumber said early this month it has cut about 40 positions at its Eighty Four, Pa.-based headquarters due to the slumping housing market. The company has seen the number of employees at its corporate headquarters fall in the past year...

Home Depot closes call centers.(NEWSMAKERS)
December 10, 2007... Home Depot said Dec. 4 it will close call centers in Chicago, Dallas and Tampa, a move that will affect 950 employees. According to Stephen Holmes, a spokesman for Home Depot, the cuts are to the retailer's Home Services installation...

Aubuchon Hardware patriarch passes.(EXECUTIVE NEWS)
December 10, 2007... William Aubuchon Jr., who grew a family business into a chain of 136 hardware stores, has died. He was 91 years old. Aubuchon joined W.E. Aubuchon, his father's hardware store business, in 1938. Founded in Fitchburg, Mass., in 1908, the...

RONA names head of new division.(EXECUTIVE NEWS)
December 10, 2007... Canadian retailer RONA has named Michael Storfer, a veteran of plumbing specialist Noble Trade, to head the company's new commercial and professional division. Storfer formerly served as president of plumbing specialist Noble Trade, which was...

Weyerhaeuser names new vp at Realty Investors.(EXECUTIVE NEWS)
December 10, 2007... Seattle-based Weyerhaeuser Realty Investors announced the appointment of Ben Conwell as vp-investor capital on Dec. 5. Weyerhaeuser Realty Investors is a division of Weyerhaeuser Real Estate, one of the country's largest home builders and a...

Freeze plan for subprime loans unveiled.(INDUSTRY NEWS)(Brief article)
December 10, 2007... President George W. Bush and U.S. Treasury Secretary Robert Paulson unveiled a plan last week to aid financially strapped borrowers in danger of foreclosure when mortgage rates reset in January. The plan calls for a five-year freeze on...

November chain store sales up.(INDUSTRY NEWS)(Financial report)
December 10, 2007... U.S. chain store sales increased 3.5 percent on a year-over-year basis, according to the International Council of Shopping Centers (ICSC). The gain was the strongest since March, when sales grew 5.9 percent. However, the ICSC attributed...

Stock watch.(INDUSTRY NEWS)(Statistical table)(Brief article)
December 10, 2007... STOCK WATCH Company 12/7 Close 12/28 Close % Chg. % Chg. In Week Yr. Ago Andersons 40.61 42.42 (4.27) 6.73 Bed Bath...

Sears Holdings reports Q3 declines.(IN BRIEF)
December 3, 2007... Sears Holdings reported net income of $2 million for its third quarter ended Nov. 3, down from $196 million in the same quarter last year. The company reported net sales of $11.55 billion, a 3.2 percent decrease from $11.94 billion for last...

Menards stores set for Iowa, Michigan.(IN BRIEF)
December 3, 2007... Menards continues its expansion in the midwestern United States with a new store, offering groceries in far-eastern Iowa, and another supersized location planned in central Michigan. The Menards store in Muscatine, Iowa, opened earlier this...

Pulte reaffirms outlook for fourth quarter.(IN BRIEF)
December 3, 2007... Michigan-based home builder Pulte Homes said that in spite of a major downturn in the housing market, it expects fourth-quarter sales and earnings to remain on track for 2007. Recent efforts to sell homes, to lower land investment levels and...

Pro-Build to purchase HD Supply unit.(NEWSMAKERS)
December 3, 2007... Pro-Build Holdings, the industry's largest pro dealer, has agreed to purchase the LBM division of HD Supply. A spokeswoman for HD Supply, Lauren Falcone, confirmed that a letter of intent has been signed "to acquire substantially all of the...

Wolseley plans reductions in United States.(NEWSMAKERS)(Brief article)
December 3, 2007... Wolseley, the United Kingdom-based parent of Stock Building Supply, said 1,300 more positions would be eliminated at Stock and the company's U.S.-based Ferguson division, following a round of 1,500 layoffs in the prior fiscal quarter. ...

84 Lumber holds grand opening of facilities.(NEWSMAKERS)
December 3, 2007... 84 Lumber held grand opening celebrations of four new locations across the country Nov. 27, with simultaneous events in Oregon, Louisiana, Florida and Utah. West Jordan, Utah, hosted a new 84 Lumber building materials supply yard as well...

Kingfisher profit down slightly in third quarter.(INTERNATIONAL NEWS)
December 3, 2007... Kingfisher, parent of European and Asian DIY chains including B&Q, Trade Depot and Castorama, reported stronger thirdquarter sales, particularly in Eastern Europe and Asia. Companywide, profit was off slightly, falling 1.9 percent to 171.7...

Wal-Mart eyes investment in Brazilian market.(INTERNATIONAL NEWS)
December 3, 2007... Retail giant Wal-Mart has announced a planned increased investment in the Brazilian market, to the tune of $649 million. In a news conference held last week in Brasilia, Brazil, Vincente Trius, CEO of Wal-Mart's Brazilian unit, said, "We are...

IKEA opens new store in Russia.(INTERNATIONAL NEWS)
December 3, 2007... IKEA has opened its 19th store in Russia, a 290,000-squarefoot location in Novosibirsk. The store is the company's first location west of Ural Mountains in R ussia. The project, which includes room for a large shopping complex with other...

New home sales see slight increase.(INDUSTRY NEWS)
December 3, 2007... The United States Department of Commerce reported new home sales for October at 728,000 units, up 1.7 percent from September's sales of 716,000 but down 23.5 percent from the October 2006 figure of 952,000. "The progressive tightening of...

NHS hosts preview show in NYC.(INDUSTRY NEWS)
December 3, 2007... NEW YORK -- The National Hardware Show held its preview party Nov. 29 in New York City. The event, which hosted about 22 vendors, was a chance for members of the media to get a small taste of what the 2008 show has in store. "It's a...

Stock watch.(INDUSTRY NEWS)(Statistical table)(Brief article)
December 3, 2007... STOCK WATCH Company 11/30 Close 11/23 Close % Chg. % Chg. In Week Yr. Ago Andersons 42.42 42.0s0 1.00 3.46 Bed Bath &...