Industry News

For the first time, the largest industry event for home improvement retailers around the world will feature an auction concept. The National Hardware Show® is hosting the auction, which will give May show attendees opportunities to bid on hundreds of different product lots …

To download a PDF of this story, click here. To download the Paint Selling Guide, visit hardwareretailing.com/paint-trends.  With the growing popularity of do-it-yourself TV shows, Pinterest projects, YouTube videos and other social sharing sites, today’s consumers are more fashion-forward than ever—devoting more time to testing …

To download a PDF of this story, click here. Visit hardwareretailing.com/2015pricing-study to view the NRHA’s 2015 State of Pricing Study.  Whether you like it or not, today’s consumers have access to detailed pricing information for every item in your store. In fact, in some cases, …

Buying two wholesale companies and growing same-store sales boosted revenue for Ace Hardware Corp. in 2014. The home improvement co-op reported 2014 fiscal-year revenue of $4.7  billion, for growth of 13.2 percent year over year. Fourth-quarter revenue also increased, up 13.6 percent …

Lowe’s reported sales increases for its fourth quarter of 2014, as well as for the fiscal year. The year’s sales were $56.2 billion, a 5.3-percent increase from 2013. Fourth-quarter sales totaled $12.5 billion, which was an increase of 7.3 percent from the …

An improving economy and recovering housing market helped The Home Depot grow sales in 2014. Today, Home Depot reported 2014 fourth-quarter sales of $19.2 billion, which equates to an 8.3 percent increase from the fourth quarter of fiscal 2013. Comparable store sales in the U.S. were …

During the recession, many families had to tighten their budgets in a variety of ways, including buying less expensive, generic products. The lifestyle changes have had lasting effects on consumers because people have learned to price shop and found that …

Construction started on more homes in January than in the same month a year ago. The U.S. saw 1.07 million new housing starts in January, an increase of about 19 percent from January 2014, according to data from the National Association …