News Daily updates and news from around the hardware and home improvement industry from the editors of Hardware Retailing magazine. May 18, 2012 — Home improvement dollar sales and unit sales were up compared to 2011, and online sales gained share, according to reports on the home improvement industry conducted by the NPD Group, a market research company. Read more »Category: Headlines May 17, 2012 — Walmart today reported net sales for the first quarter of fiscal 2013 were $112.3 billion, an increase of 8.6 percent from $103.4 billion in the first quarter last year. Comparable store sales rose 2.6 percent, and Sam’s Club comparable sales increased 5.3 percent. Read more »Category: Headlines May 17, 2012 — Sears Holdings Corporation today reported net income of $189 million in its first quarter, compared with a loss of $165 million during the same period in 2011. Sears also announced that its board of directors approved plans to pursue a partial spin-off of its interest in Sears Canada, reducing its stake in the company from 95 percent to about 51 percent. Read more »Category: News May 16, 2012 — Unseasonably warm weather in February and March combined with an early Easter holiday shifted consumers’ spending appetite last month, though retailers in April still reported positive but modest growth, reports the National Retail Federation. Read more »Category: Headlines May 16, 2012 — Builder confidence in the market for newly built, single-family homes gained five points to reach 29 on the National Association of Home Builders/Wells Fargo Housing Market Index (HMI) in May, up from a downwardly revised reading in the previous month. This is the index’s strongest reading since May of 2007. Read more »Category: Headlines May 15, 2012 — Ace Hardware Corp. today reported total revenues of $908.2 million for the first quarter of 2012, an increase of $54.2 million or 6.3 percent from 2011. Net income was $10.2 million for the first quarter of 2012, an increase of $3.4 million or 49.3 percent, compared to $6.8 million in 2011. Merchandise sales to comparable domestic stores increased $34.7 million, or 4.8 percent, in the first quarter of 2012 compared to last year. Read more »Category: Headlines May 15, 2012 — Home Depot today reported sales of $17.8 billion for the first quarter of fiscal 2012, a 5.9 percent increase from the first quarter of fiscal 2011. Comparable store sales for the first quarter of fiscal 2012 were positive 5.8 percent, and comp sales for U.S. stores were positive 6.1 percent. Read more »Category: Headlines May 15, 2012 — Rocky’s Ace Hardware will have a grand-reopening for its Westfield, Mass., store this Saturday. The company has operated a store in the community since the 70s, but recently decided to recreate the store as part of efforts to revitalize the downtown. Read more »Category: Headlines May 14, 2012 — Target reported a 5.3 percent increase in same-store sales for the first quarter of 2011. Read more »Category: Headlines May 14, 2012 — Although Home Depot and Lowe’s have yet to announce their first quarter results, many news organizations are forecasting positive numbers for both big-boxes, partially driven by the improving housing industry. Read more »Category: Headlines |