Insights from the top stories of the year.

This was the year that was

Ken Clark Editor in Chief

The stories kept coming in 2022.

Through 401(k)-shrinking Wall Street charts; through distressing geopolitical events around the globe; through a never-ending barrage of mean-spirited tweets and counter tweets, and, conversely, through wildly cheerful and optimistic Linkedin posts, HBSDealer’s daily news machine kept its nose to the grindstone.

It’s a good time to look back. Here are the top pageview-generating stories from each quarter of the year that was.

Q1: “Woodgrain acquiring Huttig.” The $350 million all cash deal, reported on March 21, not only took the St. Louis-based building product distributor private, it opened a lot of eyes to the size, scope and ambitions of family-owned Woodgrain of Fruitland, Idaho (six divisions, 30-plus manufacturing and warehouse facilities).

HBSDealer keeps careful track of acquisitions. In 2022, we counted 74 that made the headlines. That’s up from 70 in the prior year. We expect even more in 2023.

Q2: “Five keys from Lowe’s fireside chat.”

This June 23 article is B2B at its best—sharing ideas with the potential to help make hardware stores, lumberyards, home centers and all those in the home improvement channel better at business.

When we capture comments from the braintrust of industry leaders, the door to business improvement opens a little wider. We’re not saying, “imitate.” But we are saying, “observe.” That concept is hard at work in this month’s cover story on Kodiak Building Partners. See page. 16.

Q3: “Meet the Top Women of 2022.”

The popularity of this July 31 article suggests that the lightning we caught in a bottle with our first live top women event in 2021 continues to flash in powerful bursts.

Amy Grant, associate publisher of HBSDealer commented on the record number of entries for our Top Women program. “We are thrilled that so many people participated in the process. The end result is a special group of high-performing leaders and rising stars who will shape this industry for years to come.”

And you can expect a better-than-ever Top Women event in Chicago Nov. 15-16, 2023.

And finally, Q4: “U.S. veterans to get housing payment assistance; The Home Depot Foundation will provide 1,000 military veterans with rent relief.”

Sometimes, a digital article will find its way into an express lane on the information superhighway that multiplies readership exponentially. This turbo-boost was at play here, along with the universal interest in veteran causes and the world’s largest home improvement retailer.

Regardless, we are proud that this worthy cause caught so many eyeballs.

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BRAND MANAGEMENT SENIOR VICE PRESIDENT John Kenlon (516) 650-2064 jkenlon@ensembleiq.com

EDITORIAL EDITOR-IN-CHIEF Ken Clark kclark@ensembleiq.com

LBM EDITOR Andy Carlo acarlo@ensembleiq.com

Hardware Editor Tim Burke tburke@ensembleiq.com

ADVERTISING SALES & BUSINESS ASSOCIATE PUBLISHER Amy Platter Grant MIDWEST & SOUTHERN STATES (773) 294-8598 agrant@ensembleiq.com

REGIONAL MANAGER Greg Cole NORTHEAST & GREAT LAKES STATES (317) 775-2206 gcole@ensembleiq.com

DESIGN/PRODUCTION/MARKETING SENIOR CREATIVE DIRECTOR Colette Magliaro cmagliaro@ensembleiq.com

ART DIRECTOR Bill Antkowiak bantkowiak@ensembleiq.com

PRODUCTION MANAGER Patricia Wisser pwisser@ensembleiq.com

MARKETING MANAGER Kathryn Abrahamsen kabrahamsen@ensembleiq.com

SUBSCRIPTION SERVICES LIST RENTAL mbriganti@anteriad.com SUBSCRIPTION QUESTIONS contact@HBSDealer.com

CORPORATE OFFICERS CHIEF EXECUTIVE OFFICER Jennifer Litterick CHIEF FINANCIAL OFFICER Jane Volland CHIEF PEOPLE OFFICER Ann Jadown EXECUTIVE VICE PRESIDENT, CONTENT & COMMUNICATIONS Joe Territo EXECUTIVE VICE PRESIDENT, OPERATIONS Derek Estey

EDITORIAL ADVISORY BOARD Levi Smith, CEO, Franklin Building Supply Cally Fromme, VP of communication and culture, Kodiak Building Partners Steve Sallah, CEO, LBM Advantage Wendy Whiteash, EVP of culture, US LBM Holdings Tom Cost, owner, Killingworth True Value Brad McDaniel, owner, McDaniel’s Do it Center Joe Kallen, CEO, Busy Beaver Building Centers

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