Industry News

A handful of employees at a Lowe’s store in Virginia have traded in their uniforms for something designed to help lighten the load—exoskeletons. The home improvement company and Virginia Tech joined forces to develop what they dubbed an “exosuit—a wearable robotic …

To view a PDF of this story, click here. And the Winner Is… The National Hardware Show® Awards Idaho Store $100K Through the First Reimagine Retail Program What would you do with $100,000 to improve your business? Perhaps you’d put …

Last Friday, federal regulators approved Sherwin-Williams’ acquisition of Valspar Corp. as both companies agreed to sell Valspar’s North American Industrial Wood Coatings Business, reports Reuters. Valspar sold its coatings business, which manufactures stains, sealants and other coatings products, to Axalta in …

Linda McMahon, new administrator for the U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA), believes entrepreneurship is making a comeback and the SBA can help. “I’m so optimistic about small business in America. I wouldn’t have taken this job if I wasn’t,” McMahon …

Target will pay $18.5 million to states throughout the U.S. as part of settling lawsuits connected with a 2013 data breach that exposed 60 million customers’ personal information. The May 23 settlement is one of the largest ever reached in …

J.C. Penney has once again hired a top executive from the home improvement industry with its appointment of Marci Grebstein to the role of executive vice president and chief marketing officer, according to the company. Grebstein, who will begin her new role …

This week, True Value Co. reported a decrease in both revenue and gross billings, citing unfavorable weather patterns that led to a decline in retail traffic for the first quarter. The co-op posted gross billings of $502 million through the …

Sears Holdings Corp. reported a 20 percent year-over-year revenue loss in its first-quarter financial results, which the company attributed to having fewer operational stores. The struggling retailer also noted an 11.9 percent decline in comparable store sales. Kmart stores lost sales in …