Independent retailers are coming into 2026 with a cooling renovation market and a cost-sensitive customer with a shift toward DIY. Dave King, executive director of the Home Improvement Research Institute (HIRI), says those pressures hit independent retailers differently than big-box …
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The Federal Reserve cut interest rates by a vote of 9-3, a smaller margin than typically seen. The Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC), the panel of Federal Reserve officials responsible for setting monetary policies, dropped the interest rate range to …
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Friedman’s Home Improvement, which operates four locations around Northern California, announced two new appointments to its leadership team. Sushil Singh has been appointed as vice president and Jake Wilson takes on the role of vice president of merchandising and replenishment. …
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Combining AI chat, task management and operations analytics—tied directly to a retailers POS inventory—FastQuery is an AI copilot built for independent home improvement retailers. FastQuery helps store associates quickly find product information like aisle numbers, price and comparable items using voice …
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The Home Depot recently discussed key priorities and a preliminary outlook for 2026 at its 2025 Investor and Analyst Conference, discussing financial and company goals for the upcoming year. The company reaffirmed its fiscal 2025 guidance, noting a forecasted sales …
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The number of open, unfilled positions in the construction industry was relatively unchanged in October, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics Job Openings and Labor Turnover Survey. The current level of open jobs is down from two years ago …
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Year-over-year declines in import cargo volume seen at the nation’s major container ports in recent months are expected to continue in 2026, according to the Global Port Tracker report recently released by the National Retail Federation (NRF) and Hackett Associates. …
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Costello’s Ace Hardware recently announced plans for a new retail location in Abington, Pennsylvania, continuing the store’s expansion in the Northeast and Mid-Atlantic. The nearly 12,000-square-foot retail space will feature one of Ace’s experiential store designs. “We are excited to …
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