Earlier this month Sherwin-Williams reported earnings for the third quarter of the year, the company failing to reach their own revenue forecasts while projecting demand for coatings which is “likely to stay choppy” through the first half of next year according to Sherwin-Williams CEO Heidi Petz.
Ms. Petz was mirroring pessimism implied in the earnings reports from Home Depot, Lowes, RPM International, Masco and PPG, each reporting lower than expected paint sales. And while the nation’s largest retailer Walmart does not report paint sales as a separate category, we all know how they’re going.
But as the mass merchants and national retailers struggle to sell paint independents continue to find their groove. Last week Ace Hardware reported that their third quarter revenue was up 2.8%, despite what CEO John Venhuizen concurred was a “challenging environment” for the retailer cooperative.
THE earnings report was good news for Benjamin Moore chief executive #DanCalkins who supplies paint to Ace and whose independent paint retailers with Ace continue to gain market share in the architectural coatings segment.
A trend observed by industry experts as far back as the pandemic’s early days.
As paint’s lone growing segment it’s likely Jaime Irick, the freshly minted chief executive of the Newco Paint Company, will feature dealers prominantly in his strategy to bring profits to his newly acquired brands.
Right after he picks a name!
Whatever that name, former PPG dealers seem among the likely benefactors of this divestiture. Unrestrained by PPG’s bias against independents Irick will find dealers his best bet when calculating returns on the investments he’ll make in his efforts to right this ship.
But until the ink is dry Irick is unable to communicate with his newly acquired dealers nor can he share any plans he has for the channel. Still, it’s clear Irick’s got independents on his mind having already taken the one step all who seek knowledge and understanding of the independent paint retailer segment must take.
Which is a great start!
We Still Fam, Right?
THE divestiture and heightened uncertainty during this quiet period has kept my LinkedIn profile popping as PPG nation and other paint geeks seek out news and information regarding our industry’s biggest story.
And Jaime Irick is not the only one who knows where to go for that news!
And while those numbers pale as compared to the early Kelly-Moore days, since I love the attention I plan to keep up my coverage of PPG–both the divestiture and upcoming transition to new ownership–perhaps adding a new podcast series once more information become available.
And if you're reading Jaime that was an invitation, because these events are likely to have significant impact on independent paint retailers; the OG readers of these scribbles.
Despite that ancestry, my coverage of the events at Kelly-Moore, the divestiture at PPG and even the changes in leadership at Sherwin-Williams have changed the demographics of my readership. With #Dan replaced by Gassenheimer, Petz and Irick my Ben Moore family must feel abandoned.
Dan Calkins perhaps forlorn?
But the change in coverage has more to do with my vain pursuits of attention than any change in my paint politics and so next week at Thanksgiving if you find me sitting at the corporate table hold your ire.
Because I still know where the rest of my family sits!
