Home Channel News NewsFax articles from May 2002

Home Channel News NewsFax archives from May 2002

Truserv, Chicago, the dealer-owned co-op. (Sales Report).(Brief Article)(Statistical Data Included)
May 27, 2002... TRUSERV, Chicago, the dealer-owned co-op, reported sales of $189 million for April, down from $207.4 million for the same month last year. Net income, however, was $600,000, a significant improvement over the $2 million net loss the group...

Home Depot. (Sales Report).(Brief Article)(Statistical Data Included)
May 27, 2002... HOME DEPOT, Atlanta, reported that net income for the first quarter ended May 5 jumped 35 percent to $856 million. Same-store sales rose 5 percent, while overall sales for the quarter increased 17 percent to $14.3 billion. The Atlanta-based...

Lowe's meanwhile reported. (Sales Report).(Brief Article)(Statistical Data Included)
May 27, 2002... LOWE'S, North Wilkesboro, N.C., meanwhile, reported that sales for the quarter ended May 3 climbed 22.6 percent to $6.47 billion. Net income for the quarter was $345.8 million, a 54 percent increase compared with the first quarter of 2001....

Restoration Hardware. (Sales Report).(Brief Article)(Statistical Data Included)
May 27, 2002... RESTORATION HARDWARE, Corte Madera, Calif., the hardware and home-decor chain, announced net sales for the first quarter ended May 4 were $69.4 million, a 1.8 percent decrease from net sales of $70.7 million in the same period a year ago. The...

Wickes chairman touts 'new direction'. (Breaking News).(Brief Article)(Statistical Data Included)
May 27, 2002... Steven Wilson, CEO, president and chairman of Wickes, the troubled 95-unit pro dealer, admitted to shareholders at their annual meeting that the company has not been performing up to expectations. "Over the last five years Wickes has had...

Liability issues to headline conference. (Breaking News).(Brief Article)
May 27, 2002... From asbestos to lead paint and defective housing products, liability cases made news last week. PPG Industries, the Pittsburgh-based paint and coatings manufacturer, announced it had signed a $2.7-billion settlement for all...

Menard, the Eau Claire, Wis.-based retailer. (Company Updates).(Brief Article)
May 27, 2002... MENARD, the Eau Claire, Wis.-based retailer, said it would continue with the rollout of its newest generation stores, while confining its expansion to the upper Midwest. The retailer, which opened 10 of its 161,000-square-foot prototype...

Anderson Lumber. (Company Updates).(Brief Article)
May 27, 2002... ANDERSON LUMBER, the Ogden, Utah-based division of Carolina Holdings, announced plans to close two of its 32 lumberyards. Its Bountiful, Utah, yard will close on May 31, while its yard in East Provo, Utah, will shut its doors on June 28. The...

Home Depot. (Company Updates).(Brief Article)
May 27, 2002... HOME DEPOT has named a replacement for Lynn Martineau, president-new-growth businesses, who resigned after more than two decades "to spend more time with family and pursue other personal interests." Jim Stoddart will now oversee Home Depot...

Do it best has announced the appointment of 23-year co-op employee Dave Heine to the post of vp-retail development. (Company Updates).(Brief Article)
May 27, 2002... DO IT BEST has announced the appointment of 23-year co-op employee Dave Heine to the post of vp-retail development. His previous position, vp-lumber and building materials, will be filled by Quent Ondricek, who most recently served as the...

Ace Hardware. (Company Updates).(Brief Article)
May 27, 2002... ACE HARDWARE opened its fifth cross-dock DC this month, a facility in Cuyahoga Heights, Ohio. The DC will consolidate vendor freight shipments and pass them on to Ace's retail support center in Toledo for distribution to stores. The...

Sherwin-Williams, the paint maker and retailer. (Company Updates).(Brief Article)
May 27, 2002... SHERWIN-WILLIAMS, the paint maker and retailer, will install new IBM retail systems in its 2,500 stores by mid-2003. Based on a Linux operating system, the technology will include point-of-sale systems, manager workstations and applications...

Shopping for new homes softens. (Market Updates).(Brief Article)
May 27, 2002... The number of Americans actively shopping for a new home in April decreased 2 percentage points from the previous month, while the number of household owners who said they "may" purchase a new home in the coming 12 months decreased 4...

Building slowdown leads to revised lumber forecast. (Market Updates).(Brief Article)(Statistical Data Included)
May 27, 2002... A lull in new-home construction, coupled with a slight decline in remodeling activity, has resulted in lowered forecasts from the Western Woods Products Association. Demand for lumber in the United States is projected to fall 1.7 percent from...

Stock watch.(Brief Article)(Statistical Data Included)
May 27, 2002... STOCK WATCH 5/24 5/17 % Chg. % Chg. Company Close Close In Week Yr. Ago BMHC 15.70 15.67 0.19 44.70 DIY Home Warehouse 0.95 0.95 0.00 (5.00)...

Industry hints at Wickes' financial woes. (News Briefs).(Brief Article)
May 20, 2002... Recent management departures are just the start of Wickes' financial troubles, according to rival dealers and industry sources. The 95-unit pro dealer, based in Vernon Hills, Ill., may also face severe financial problems including a...

CarpetsPlus acquires Color Tile. (News Briefs).(Brief Article)
May 20, 2002... Flooring franchise CarpetsPlus of America, based in Kennesaw, Ga., purchased the licensees to Color Tile from Jim Gould, chairman of MiscoShawnee, a Missouri-based hard-surfaces distributor. The deal should be completed by the end of May,...

Do it Best unveils new programs, products at spring market. (Breaking News).(retail industry)(Brief Article)
May 20, 2002... Fancy cookware, candles and gourmet-food items spruced up the Indianapolis Convention Center as Do it Best debuted its latest product line at the buying group's spring market held May 16 to 21. Retailer-members will also be able to purchase...

Kingfisher reveals shake-up and buying plan. (Breaking News).(Brief Article)
May 20, 2002... Just days after announcing plans to acquire all of French retailer Castorama, on May 15, British retail group Kingfisher said it's embarking on a wholesale restructuring that includes the spinoff of its electricals division and the departure...

Wolfe Nursery to close stores, cease operations. (Breaking News).(Brief Article)
May 20, 2002... Wolfe Nursery. an eight-unit San Antonio-based lawn and garden dealer that has been in bankruptcy since December 2001, hung "going-out-of-business" signs at its stores on May 16, claiming bad weather compounded its position, according to a...

Home Depot to expand appliance offerings. (Company Updates).
May 20, 2002... Home Depot is increasing the number of appliance skus it offers in about 350 stores this year as part of its strategy to capture more of the appliance market. The Atlanta-based home channel retailer, currently No. 4 in the appliance business,...

Canadian Tire plans to open 22 new-format stores by year's end. (Company Updates).(Brief Article)
May 20, 2002... Canadian Tire has announced it will open 22 new format stores throughout Canada by year's end. Canada's largest home channel retailer, based in Toronto, also plans 37 next-generation new-store retrofits and 32 new, renovated or relocated...

Scotty's develops business park. (Company Updates).(Scotty's Do It Best Hardware)(Florida chain)(Brief Article)
May 20, 2002... Scotty's Do it Best Hardware, a chain of 59 stores in Florida and Georgia, has announced the May 17 opening of the Central Florida Business Park at its headquarters in Winter Haven, Fla. The retailer recently developed its 52-acre parcel into...

Stanley Works to revote incorporation plan. (Company Updates).
May 20, 2002... Stanley Works, the hand-tool maker based in New Britain, Conn., has authorized a shareholder revote concerning its change of incorporation to Bermuda. The company said it believes the May 9 vote, in which 67.2 percent of all shares approved...

Hopes dashed for lumber treaty. (Industry Updates).(Canada-United States trade agreement)(Brief Article)
May 20, 2002... The White House failed on May 14 in its attempt to restore "fast-track" trade negotiations, a presidential power that could have relaxed lumber tariffs recently imposed on Canada by U.S. trade officials. President Bush's desire to cut his own...

Retail sales rise 1.2 percent for April. (Industry Updates).(building materials, garden supplies)(Brief Article)(Illustration)(Statistical Data Included)
May 20, 2002... Consumers opened their wallets a bit more in April, pushing retail sales up by 1.2 percent, the biggest rise in six months, according to the latest figures posted May 14 by the Commerce Department. Sales of building materials and garden...

Stock watch.(price changes)(building supply companies)(Brief Article)(Illustration)(Statistical Data Included)
May 20, 2002... STOCK WATCH 5/17 5/10 % Chg. % Chg. Company Close Close In Week Yr. Ago BMHC 15.67 15.65 0.13 44.42 DIY Home Warehouse 0.95 0.95 0.00 ...

Top executives leaving Wickes. (News Briefs).(Brief Article)
May 13, 2002... HCN has confirmed that Jim O'Grady, senior vp operations at Wickes, has left the Vernon Hills, Ill. -based pro dealer. O'Grady joined the company in 1977 and has held various management positions at Wickes. He was appointed senior...

Stanley Works delays plan to reincorporate in Bermuda. (News Briefs).(Brief Article)
May 13, 2002... Stanley Works is delaying its reincorporation in Bermuda because state attorney general Richard Blumenthal and state treasurer Denise Nappier filed a suit that challenges a May 9 shareholder vote, which approved the tool manufacturer's plan...

L-P looks to divest from businesses. (Breaking News).(Louisiana-Pacific)(Brief Article)
May 13, 2002... Louisiana-Pacific, the forest products giant based in Portland, Ore., is looking to divest its plywood, industrial panels and lumber businesses, along with 935,000 acres of timberlands, in order to reduce debt and reinvest capital in more...

Weyerhaeuser leaning toward wholesalers. (Breaking News).(Brief Article)
May 13, 2002... Wholesale lumber dealers who had dealt with Willamette may not get cut out of the loop once the company is fully integrated by Weyerhaeuser, the Federal Way, Wash., forest products company. At a May 8 Weyerhaeuser analyst meeting, held in...

Georgia-Pacific board approves split. (Breaking News).(Brief Article)
May 13, 2002... Georgia Pacific's board of directors has approved separating the corporation into two publicly traded companies -- a building products and distribution business and a consumer product and Atlanta-based G-P will begin to split off the consumer...

Canadian Tire 1Q up 9.4 percent. (Financial News).(Brief Article)(Statistical Data Included)
May 13, 2002... Canadian Tire, the 451-store DIY, auto and sporting goods retailer based in Toronto, has reported retail sales of 989 million Canadian dollars (US$631.7 million) for the first quarter ending March 30, 2002, up 9.4 percent from sales of CS904...

FormerTruServ CEO gets severance. (Financial News).(Brief Article)
May 13, 2002... TruServ, the Chicago-based hardware co-op, is paying former CEO Don Hoye a severance package worth more than $1.5 million. This comes after the co-op posted a, $50.7 million loss for 2001 Hoye served as CEO of the financially troubled co-op...

Sodisco-Howden reports 1Q results. (Financial News).(first quarter of 2002)(Brief Article)
May 13, 2002... Sedisco-Howden Group, the Montreal-based hardlines wholesaler that distributes to more than 1,500 dealers, reported revenues of 86.6 million Canadian dollars (US$55.2 million) for first quarter of 2002, up 19 percent from revenues of CS72.6...

Lanoga to acquire Hoida Lumber. (Financial News).(Brief Article)
May 13, 2002... Redmond, Wash.-based Lanoga Corp. has acquired Hoida Lumber and Components, which posted $36 million in sales for 2001. Financial terms were not disclosed. Hoida, based in Green Bay, Wis., operates a 200,000-square-foot lumber and component...

Retailers urged to take role in certification. (Industry Updates).(Brief Article)
May 13, 2002... Retailers and pro dealers need to be more assertive in the debate over certified wood, the author of a report on competing certification systems told attendees during a Sustainable Forestry and Certification Summit held from May 7 to 8 in...

Weyerhaeuser settles in products case. (Industry Updates).(Brief Article)
May 13, 2002... Weyerhaeuser, the forest products company based in Federal Way, Wash., reached a settlement with Wisconsin, Washington and Oregon for selling allegedly defective housing products, according to a report by the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel...

Stockwatch. (Industry Updates).(Brief Article)(Statistical Data Included)
May 13, 2002... STOCK WATCH 5/10 5/3 % Chg. % Chg. Company Close Close In Week Yr. Ago BMHC 15.65 17.34 (9.75) 44.24 DIY Home Warehouse 0.95 0.95 0.00 (5.00)...

TruServ sees first-quarter silver lining. (Financial News).(Brief Article)(Statistical Data Included)
May 6, 2002... TruServ, the member-owned coop, based in Chicago, reported sales of $553.2 million for the first quarter, down 15.5 percent from sales of $654.3 million for the same period a year ago. About half of the decline is the result of the co-op's...

Ace Hardware reports sales increase. (Financial News).(Brief Article)(Statistical Data Included)
May 6, 2002... Ace Hardware, the Oak Brook, Ill-based' coop reported that first-quarter wholesale-hardline sales increased 5.24 percent to $694.1 million compared to S659.6 million during the same period last year. David Hodnik, Ace president and CEO said...

Lowe's appliance sales increase. (Financial News).(Brief Article)(Statistical Data Included)
May 6, 2002... Lowe's, the Wilkesboro, N.C.-based home improvement retailer, announced that appliance sales rose 30 percent in 2001 to $2.5 billion and was the fastest-growing category for the company, according to Lowe's 10-K filing with the Securities and...

International Trade Commission upholds Canadian lumber tariffs. (Breaking News).(Brief Article)
May 6, 2002... On May 2, the U.S. government ruled that duties on softwood lumber imports from Canada will remain at 27 percent The International Trade Commission oversees decisions by the U.S. Commerce Department, which imposed tariffs and "anti-dumping"...

TruServ extends members' stock moratorium. (Breaking News).(Brief Article)
May 6, 2002... TruServ, the Chicago-based hardware coop, has extended its moratorium on members' stock redemption until at least June 2004. The extension was mandated by lenders as part of TruServ's long-term financing agreement, which extended the...

Rona may go public by 2004. (Company Updates).(Brief Article)
May 6, 2002... Rona, the dealer-owned buying group based in Boucherville, Quebec, intends to go public within two years, according to company president Robert Dutton. At Rona's May 1 annual meeting, Dutton said Rona is on track to make an initial $100...

United Kingdom's Focus-Wickes to go public. (Company Updates).(Brief Article)
May 6, 2002... Focus-Wickes, the United Kingdom-based home improvement chain, announced its plans to take the company public. The retailer plans to float on the London Stock Exchange by the end of the third quarter, potentially valuing the company at 1.4...

Mellor elected chairman of BMHC. (Company Updates).(Robert Mellor, Building Materials Holding Corp.)(Brief Article)
May 6, 2002... Building Materials Holding Corp., the 137-unit pro dealer and building services provider based in San Francisco, has announced that its board of directors has elected CEO and president Robert Mellor to the position of chairman. Mellor will...

ServiceMaster names Mrozek president/COO. (Company Updates).(Ernest Mrozek)(Brief Article)
May 6, 2002... ServiceMaster, the home services provider based in Downers Grove, Ill., has named Ernest Mrozek president and chief operating officer of the company. Mrozek had held the position of group president and chief operating officer of ServiceMaster...

Johnson Lumber to close after 92 years. (Company Updates).(Brief Article)
May 6, 2002... Johnson Lumber, a 92-year-old lumberyard in central California, closed its doors last week after holding a final "celebration sale." Owners Sylvia and Don Johnson, who have decided to retire, began liquidating last month after a year-long...

More than half of Americans plan to tackle home improvements. (Industry Updates).(according to Champion Mortgage survey)(Brief Article)(Statistical Data Included)
May 6, 2002... Many Americans are investing in home improvements, partly to increase the value of their homes, according to a recent survey conducted by International Communications Research for Champion Mortgage, a retail home-equity lender, based in...

Remodelers give Internet high marks. (Industry Updates).(Brief Article)
May 6, 2002... Almost two-thirds of the remodeling contractors surveyed in a recently released Home Improvement Research Institute (HIRI) study said they consider the Internet to be "extremely" or "very" important to their business, and 85 percent said they...

Stock watch. (Industry Updates).(lumber, home stores)(Brief Article)(Illustration)(Statistical Data Included)
May 6, 2002... STOCK WATCH 5/3 4/26 % Chg. % Chg. Company Close Close in Week Yr. Ago BMHC 17.34 14.70 17.96 59.82 DIY Home Warehouse 0.95 0.95 0.00 (5.00)...