From left: PDRA President Jeff Baggaley; Bernard Rossi, owner of Rossi Decorating Center Of Little Falls; Ed Several, Senior Vice President of the National Hardware Show®; Richard Russo, National Hardware Show® director; and Juliana Van Der Beek, National Hardware Show® Sales Manager

Posted by: Kim Groseclose

This year’s PDRA Scholarship was awarded to Christina Haberny of Little Falls, New Jersey after being sponsored by member Bernard Rossi, owner of Rossi Decorating Center Of Little Falls. Rossi nominated Christina for the $5000 award, which is very generously sponsored by the National Hardware Show®.

The scholarship was presented on the National Hardware Show® Main Stage on May 8th. Rossi, who accepted the award on Haberny’s behalf, was joined by Jeff Baggaley, PDRA President, Ed Several, Senior Vice President of the National Hardware Show®, Richard Russo, director of the National Hardware Show® and Juliana Van Der Beek, National Hardware Show® Sales Manager.

Christina, daughter of Stanislaw and Ludwika Haberny, is a high school senior at Passaic Valley High School who will be attending Montclair State University in the fall. She plans to study for a career in English education. She was chosen as this year’s winner by an impartial panel of judges after writing an essay which stressed the importance of education and hard work in achieving one’s goals.

PDRA would like to congratulate Christina, and wish her well in her future endeavors!

The most comprehensive single-largest buying opportunity in the U.S. for the independent paint dealer makes this a “must attend” event! It is shaping up to be an exciting and informative showcase for the industry’s top brands and trends, where over 250 manufacturers plan to display their wares in many new and expanded categories.

Join the PDRA in the Central Hall Lobby on the Main Stage with the National Hardware Show® and the NRHA – National American Retail Hardware Association for the Grand Opening Ceremony of the 68th National Hardware Show® and All-Industry Conference May 7th, 8:45 a.m. – 9:00 a.m.

Throughout the Show are a number of special events, seminars and key note addresses including presentations by industry leaders. This year’s added focus embraces the latest industry trends including “Made in the USA,”, “Energy Efficiency”, and “Outdoors, Tailgate & Recreations” as well as spotlighting the role of social media and emerging technology, which are both necessary components in today’s markets. There will also be a special highlight keynote appearance by actor, environmentalist, and author Ed Begley Jr.

One exciting event you won’t want to miss is the presentation of the annual PDRA Scholarship. Join PDRA President, Jeff Baggaley, at the Main Stage with Ed Several, Senior Vice President of the National Hardware Show® May 8th, 11:45 a.m. – 11:55 a.m. as they announce the winner of the 2013 PDRA Scholarship. This scholarship is made possible by the generous support of the National Hardware Show®.

Visit us at PDRA Booth #5826 for a wealth of information. Learn about the latest developments in social media including the PDRA sponsored webinar series, our new mobile app, and the affordable digital signage program for your store. See the demo of our online education courses. Discover member-only savings through PDRA’s industry-rich Value Pak Coupon program. Join PDRA today to get plugged into your industry network!

PDRA members attending the Show will receive exclusive VIP benefits. Reserve your place on the VIP Badge List by contacting Tina Sullivan by phone at (800) 737-0107, fax at (636) 229-4750, or email tina@pdra.org by May 1st.

For More Information about the Paint & Accessories Show, click here.

More information about registering for the National Hardware Show® can be found here.

You’ve heard it all before, just like us. Like us, follow us, pin it to win it, etc.

But whether or not you’re a fan of popular sites such as Facebook, Twitter or Pinterest, they have proven so effective for so many retailers that they are now almost a mandatory part of doing business.

In particular, social media contests are a great way to further customer engagement, increase followers and build awareness about your product.

So tune in to the PDRA’s next webinar where we’ll go through some successful online contest examples. We’ll also look at the rules and regulations surrounding online contests and what you need to know to keep your business in check. This webinar takes place Thursday, March 28, 2013. It begins promptly at 11:00 a.m. CDT, and lasts for an hour.

Class size is limited, so register soon by calling Tina at (800) 737-0107 or by emailing her at tina@pdra.org. The webinars are free to PDRA Members. If you’re not a PDRA member, they cost $50, but click here to join and receive this one for free.

If you missed any of our previous webinars, watch them at your convenience by visiting our PDRA webinars page for more information.

Posted by Diane Capuano

Independent paint and decorating retailers put a bow on 2012 with a positive fourth quarter that gave them an overall sales increase of 4.1 percent when compared to 2011.

The strongest sales came from the window coverings category, which was up 7.7 percent when comparing 2012 to 2011. Paint and sundries performed between 4 and 5 percent better than last year, while wallcoverings’ was the lone decliner with a 2.3 percent decrease in sales for the year.

Total sales for the fourth quarter were up 3.5 percent, led by a double-digit increase in window covering sales for the quarter. Paint and sundries did well, too, with fourth-quarter sales increases of 4 percent and 5.1 percent respectively.

The Northeast and South continued to post the best sales results (in the range of 5.2 to 6.2 percent) when looking at the fourth quarter and the year as a whole. The Midwest was just a couple percentage points off the pace, while the West was barely in positive territory for the fourth quarter and the year. Canada had a setback in the fourth quarter, posting a decline of 2.5 percent in comparison to fourth quarter 2011. However, Canada still ended on the up side for the year, with a 1.9 percent increase for 2012 over 2011.

New housing starts continue to be a positive barometer for sales, inching up to just below 1 million units for December 2012. If the current trend line continues, new housing starts will be back up to 2 million units in about three years, which will match the housing industry’s robust 2005 levels.

The Pulse Report is a product of PDRA Market Research. View the full report here.

The PDRA show floor in 2012.

Posted by Diane Capuano

There’s no better place in the industry to see big names than the PDRA-sponsored Paint & Accessories Show at the National Hardware Show®, which this year takes place May 7-9 at the Las Vegas Convention Center in Las Vegas, Nev.

Top names from the paint, coatings and paint sundries/tools category will be exhibiting at the show, making it a valuable experience for independent paint and decorating retailers to attend.

More than 200 exhibitors will be populating the Paint & Accessories section of the show. See the list to the right for a partial list of exhibitors. Of special note: The Lancaster Paint Show is co-located with the event to add even more value to the retailer’s show-going experience. You can view a complete list of exhibitors in the Paint & Accessories section here.

In addition to seeing new products and networking with your peers in the industry, the show will also provide you with an opportunity to attend educational and social events. Also, stop by the PDRA booth to find out the latest benefits from your trade association.

To register for the show, click on this link. Look to upcoming issues of PDR magazine and the PDRA website for additional information about the show.

Posted by Diane Capuano

Do you ever see posts and images on Facebook and wonder how they did that? In the next PDRA webinar, you’ll learn about some online tools that paint and decorating stores can use to enhance all forms of social media.

Best of all, these tools are free and simple to use. With such topics as adding text to images, creating photo collages and using custom color schemes, the webinar will look at a variety of options to keep your online communities entertained and engaged.

The webinar, entailed “Free Tools To Make Your Social Media POP,” will take place from 11 a.m. to noon CST on Tuesday, Jan. 22, 2013. The webinar is offered free to PDRA members and $50 for non-members.  Class size is limited to 100 participants, so please register soon by calling Tina at (800) 737-0107 or email: tina@pdra.org.

This is the fourth in a series of PDRA webinars on the subject of social media topics. If you missed any of the past webinars, view them at your convenience at the PDRA webinars page.

All regions of the U.S., with the exception of the Northeast, posted increases in the third quarter. However, for the first three quarters of 2012, the Northeast has experienced an increase of 6 percent when compared to the same period the year before.

In Canada, third-quarter sales were slightly lower in comparison to the third quarter of 2011. In contrast, Canada is still in positive territory for the first three quarters as a whole.

Factors in this mostly positive sales report include increasing consumer confidence and an improvement in housing starts. Existing home sales are still a bit sluggish at just below 5 million units.

Looking at the sales performance for specific product categories, paint, sundries and window coverings all enjoyed sales growth when comparing third-quarter and year-to-date performance to 2011. Wallcoverings is still in a slight decline of between 2 and 3 percent for both comparative periods. Paint is the most robust performer, with third-quarter sales growth of 3.8 percent and an even better year-to-date growth performance of 5.3 percent in comparison to 2011.

The Pulse Report is a product of PDRA Market Research. View the full report here.

The transaction has been approved by the boards of directors of both companies and is expected to close in early second quarter 2013, subject to regulatory approvals.

“This acquisition continues the accelerated pace of our business portfolio transformation through further expansion of our coatings businesses,” said Charles E. Bunch, PPG chairman and CEO. “It is also an attractive way to significantly increase our scale in the North American paint market, which we anticipate will benefit from a prolonged construction market recovery.”

AkzoNobel continues to have a strong presence in North America through its Performance Coatings and Specialty Chemicals businesses, with combined 2011 revenues of over $2.7 billion and close to 5,000 employees.

“Over the past four years, the team has done a great job in turning the North American Decorative Paints business around,” said Ton Büchner, CEO of AkzoNobel. “We are convinced that Decorative Paints can get better returns from our leading positions in Europe and high growth markets. I am pleased that we have found a respected company to take over the business. This agreement is a good outcome for all stakeholders.”

Bunch said the acquired business had 2011 revenues of about $1.5 billion and “notably expands our customer reach in all three major North American architectural paint distribution channels.

The acquisition includes the addition of about 600 AkzoNobel-owned paint stores, creating a combined network of about 1,000 company-owned stores serving the North American market.

“It also complements PPG’s national home center strategy by extending our branded paint product offerings to more than 8,000 retail outlets,” Bunch added, referencing AkzoNobel and PPG-branded retail paint products, “and finally, it enhances our already strong presence in the independent paint dealer channel.”

The acquisition includes all of AkzoNobel’s North American architectural coatings manufacturing distribution facilities, paint stores, product lines and employees related to the production, sale and distribution of architectural coatings in the U.S., Canada and the Caribbean.

Leading brands included are Glidden®, Flood®, Liquid Nails®, Sico® and CIL®. PPG also will license Dulux®, Devoe® architectural coatings and Sikkens® architectural wood products.

Read the complete release from PPG here.

Posted by Diane Capuano

If you want to come face-to-face with more customers, then you need to learn the ins and outs of Facebook. That was the topic of the latest PDRA webinar, called “A Paint & Decorating Retailers’ Cheat Sheet: Five Ways to Make Your Facebook Business Page Rock.”

Beth Trejo of Chatterkick conducted the webinar, providing nuggets of information and practical advice throughout. For instance, did you know that more than 90 percent of retail companies have acquired a customer through Facebook? It’s pretty hard to deny the power of this social media network when retailers are getting those kinds of results.

For those who are a little apprehensive about using social media to market themselves, Trejo suggested thinking of Facebook as a more high-tech version of word-of-mouth advertising. “It’s still relationship marketing,” she said. “It still relies on word of mouth. We’re just moving it online.”

And if you’ve had success with using coupons in the past, you can also put a coupon component into your Facebook marketing. Many retailers have had great success with that. As Trejo observed, “80 percent of people prefer to get coupons, promos and discounts from brands in social media.”

Fortunately, for paint and decorating retailers, Facebook and other social media platforms are right in the “sweet spot” of their key demographic. Trejo reported that 55 percent of Americans in the 45-to-54-year-old age bracket have a social media profile.  This may give retailers pause to think—not only about who they are reaching if they use social media sites such as Facebook but who they are missing if they don’t.

Many great tips for getting the most from Facebook were presented during the webinar. If you did not get the opportunity to see it live, it is now available at www.pdra.org/webinars. Past webinars on the subjects of Pinterest and YouTube are also available at that link. The replay of any of these webinars is free to PDRA members and $50 for non-members. Not a member? Join PDRA and view the webinars of your choice at no charge.

Via Press Release

The Sherwin-Williams Company announced on Nov. 12 that it has signed a definitive agreement to acquire Consorcio Comex, S.A. de C.V., a leader in the paint and coatings market in Mexico with headquarters in Mexico City.

Sherwin-Williams will pay approximately $2.34 billion, including assumed debt, in an all-cash transaction. Completion of the acquisition is subject to certain conditions and customary regulatory approvals.

The acquisition combines the operations of Sherwin-Williams and Comex; expands distribution in Mexico, the United States, Canada and other Latin American countries; and enhances Sherwin-Williams’ position as a supplier of premium architectural paints and related products to professional painting contractors in the Americas.

Founded in 1952, Comex is a privately held business with operations in Latin America, the U.S. and Canada. In 2011, Comex had total annual sales of U.S.$1.4 billion. The Company manufactures and sells architectural and industrial coatings in Mexico through 3,300 points of sale operated by 750 concessionaires. In the U.S., Comex sells paint and coatings products under a variety of brand names through 240 company-operated paint stores.  In Canada, the company markets multiple brands of paint and coatings through 78 company-operated paint stores and approximately 1,500 independent paint dealers.

Comex, like Sherwin-Williams, places heavy emphasis on supplying high-quality architectural paints and coatings. The company’s product assortment also includes various industrial, protective and specialty coatings. Comex operates eight manufacturing sites in Mexico, five in the U.S. and three in Canada and has more than 7,200 employees.

“Sherwin-Williams and Comex Group are an ideal fit in every respect—geographically, strategically and culturally,” said Christopher M. Connor, Chairman and CEO of Sherwin-Williams. “This transaction will significantly increase our presence in markets where our store count is low, it builds upon our strategy to grow our architectural paint business in the Americas and it brings a high-quality, dedicated team of employees to Sherwin-Williams. We are proud to welcome such a well-respected company and their employees into the Sherwin-Williams family.”

Marcos Achar Levy, CEO of Comex, commented, “We are very pleased and excited to join the Sherwin-Williams team and look forward to making a major contribution to the Company’s ongoing success across the Americas. We have respected Sherwin-Williams for years, and are delighted to now be a partner. Comex and its committed employees know Sherwin-Williams well, and I am confident that joining the Sherwin-Williams family will provide an outstanding future for our employees and customers.”

Founded in 1866, The Sherwin-Williams Company is a global leader in the manufacture, development, distribution, and sale of coatings and related products to professional, industrial, commercial, and retail customers. The company manufactures products under well-known brands such as Sherwin-Williams®, Dutch Boy®, Krylon®, Minwax®, Thompson’s® Water Seal®, Ronseal™, Becker Acroma™, Sayerlack®, Euronavy®, Altax™ and many more.