Industry News

Retail sales increased in the month of August but came in at a much slower pace than anticipated. August retail sales (excluding automobiles, gas stations and restaurants) increased 0.1 percent seasonally adjusted from last month, according to the National Retail …

Retailers and vendors gathered Tuesday at the Orange County Convention Center in Orlando for Ace’s Fall Convention and Exhibits. From the co-op’s executives at the general session on Tuesday morning to the retailers shopping the show floor, the message was …

Hardware Distribution Warehouses, Inc. CEO and President Kenneth R. Beauvais reports record sales increases during the recent Fall Market held Sept. 6-8 at the Shreveport Convention Complex in Shreveport, La. This year’s market theme was “Bonanza of Savings.”  HDW dealers, …

Home Depot CEO Frank Blake recently sat down for an interview with CNBC while he was in New York to promote Home Depot Foundation’s Celebration of Service campaign that runs from Sept. 11 through Veterans Day. In the interview he …

Disposing CFLs can be as hazardous as traditional fluorescents, and with millions sold each day, retailers who do their research can benefit from developing a recycling plan. But more independent retail operations are starting to look into recycling for not …

More than half (52 percent) of homeowners plan to make a home improvement or addition this fall, according to the Zillow® Digs™ Fall Home Improvement Trend and Spending Survey, compared with 60 percent in the summer; homeowners plan to spend …

Both the number of unemployed, at 11.3 million, and the unemployment rate, at 7.3 percent, changed little but decreased in August. The jobless rate is down from 8.1 percent a year ago, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported. Overall, …

Jay Bullock is the owner of Jay’s Ace Hardware in Wrens, Ga., and author of “So You Want A Hardware Store“. He also runs retail consultancy Bullock Retail Advisors with his son, Preston, and writes about his experiences running a …