Tag Archives: economy

Independent We Stand, an organization that supports locally owned businesses, is taking to the road today to visit independents from Detroit to Boston – and the North American Retail Hardware Association (NRHA) is along for the ride. During the trip, Independent We Stand and NRHA …

Existing-home sales were up in May, increasing by 5.1 percent from April and jumping 9.2 percent year over year. About 5.35 million existing single-family, townhouses, condominiums and co-ops sold in the U.S. in May, according to the National Association of …

U.S. retail and food services sales increased in May, up an estimated 2.7  percent from May 2014 — but the home improvement industry’s numbers were even better. Building materials and gardening supplies sellers saw retail sales go up by 4.8 percent year over year, and …

Home builder confidence increased in June, hitting its highest point since September, according to survey data from the National Association of Home Builders (NAHB). “Builders are reporting more serious and committed buyers at their job sites and this is reflected in …

Recently, a local newspaper in Indianapolis, where the North American Retail Hardware Association is headquartered, published a story about an independent hardware store that’s closing its doors. The story also talked about the tough times the independent hardware retailing industry …

Existing-home sales surged in March to the highest annual rate since September 2013, with the midwest snagging the largest gains, according to Realtor Magazine. The rest of the U.S. also experienced growth in existing-home sales. “The combination of low interest rates …

New home construction isn’t back to pre-recession highs, but spending money on home upgrades and repairs is. “Commerce Department figures show that in real, or inflation-adjusted terms, people are spending as much on home and garden tools and supplies as …

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 …