Hardware Retailing The Industry's Source for Insights and Information
The 2021 Cost of Doing Business Study presents the North American Hardware and Paint Association’s (NHPA) annual financial and operational profile of independent hardware stores, home centers, lumber and building materials outlets and paint and decorating outlets.
This study assesses the financial performance of home improvement retailers who graciously submitted confidential financial reports for fiscal year 2020 to NHPA. The study presents composite income statements and balance sheets plus averages for key financial performance ratios.
Retailers can use this data to measure their own performance against industry averages and establish financial plans to improve profitability. See key business indicators and sales per customer for paint and decorating outlets below, and click here for highlights from the study. Click here to see data for hardware stores, home centers and lumber outlets in the digital edition of Hardware Retailing.
Paint and Decorating Outlet Overview
Comparable paint store sales were up 10.8 percent over 2019, which lagged far behind the rest of the home improvement industry. While customer count rose to the highest level in the three years the study has tracked paint performance, sales per customer stood at $106, dropping to the lowest level in the three years of analysis. Notably, consumer/retail sales dropped to 10 percent in 2020, indicating paint stores may be losing business to other industry segments.
