DATATRAC: Home Center and Hardware Chains – February 2019

Personnel Updates

• ABC Supply (36) made a couple of promotions. Frank Marcoccio is now Southeast Region VP (taking over for the retiring Jim Kaufman) and Jonathan Shepard is Southwest Region VP (taking over for the retiring John Yonkin).

• Capital Lumber (6) named Scott Gaskin as its new President, taking over for Sam Sanregret who is now EVP.

• Tractor Supply (33) promoted Kurt Barton from SVP to EVP. Barton is also CFO and Treasurer.

Financial Focus

• Ace Hardware had a great 2018, with record revenues of $5.7 billion, up 6.1% from the previous year, and same store sale up 2.3%.

• Weyerhaeuser Co. reported 2018 net sales up 4.2% to $7.5 billion from a 2017 total of $7.2 billion.

Industry Insight

• Dubell Lumber Co. a 97-year-old New Jersey company went out of business with little warning this month, closing its 5 stores, distribution center and truss plant.

• Hancock Lumber of Main announced it will build a new lumberyard and kitchen design center, which will open in 2020.

• Home Depot is closing a number of its installed services programs including insulation, gutters, roofing and siding.

• Lowe’s is getting out of the connected device business, having announced that it would no longer operate the Iris smart home platform after the end of March.

• Lowe’s Canada opened a new prototype when it remodeled a Winnipeg RONA recently.

Mergers and Acquisitions

• BMC acquired Locust Lumber (Charlotte, NC). Locust operates 3 locations. BMC also recently acquired Barefoot & Company in the Charlotte market.

• Griffin Lumber (Georgia) acquired Blake Builders Supply and Specialty Structural Products, a manufacturing facility.

• Westlake Ace Hardware acquired a McKinney, TX store from Groom & Sons’.

Real Estate

• Busy Beaver will open its 4^th West Virginia location in April.