THE LEADERBOARD ISSUE
The Top 150 Hardware and Building Supply Dealers: a new reality for the industry leaders.
Cierra Calvacca of Southeast Building Supply Interests offers insights and advice.
There’s no room for “good ole boy behavior,” says guest columnist.
Tech takeaways for retailers
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The 2024 Industry Leaderboard is online
The fi rst fi fty leaders of the hardware and building supply industry are spelled out on pages 20 and 22. For the full list of one through 150, visit the online Leaderboard Report, sponsored by Epicor, at HBSDealer.com/ report
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From the Editor
Life in the Big Ten
Legendary college basketball coach Bob Knight said that to win in the Big Ten, you have to do the things that other people are unable or unwilling to do.
His statement dates back to when the Big Ten had a mere ten teams. I’ve lost count of how many teams are in the Big Ten now, but it’s close to 20. That means that to win in the Big Ten today, you have to do more things that other people are unable or unwilling to do.
As it is in the modern Big Ten , so it is in the lumber and building material industry.
Ken Clark Editor-in-Chief
matter) our 2024 honorees are expanding. Bliffert Lumber has grown like a power conference, with recent acquisitions including Fillinger Millwork, Milwaukee Cabinetry and Chase Lumber’s three Wisconsin locations.
Short & Paulk, too, is investing back in the business with an expansion — a “game-changer” says Owner Jay Short — in Sylvester, Georgia.
Another Big Ten/S.E.C. characteristic shared by our honorees—deep connection to the community. And no wonder: Bliffert Lumber has been at it since 1904. And through its Sylvester location, Short & Paulk goes back to 1922.
Each year, Hardware and Building Supply Dealer in cooperation with the National Lumber and Building Material Dealers Association bestows the title “ProDealer of the Year” on a pair of deserving honorees — a prodealer with fewer than six locations (“Independent”), and a prodealer with six or more.
We’ve announced the honorees, and the announcement deserves repeating here. Our 2024 Independent ProDealer of the Year is Short & Paulk Building Supply, based in Tifton, Georgia. Our ProDealer of the Year is 14-location Bliffert Lumber of Wisconsin.
The of cial criteria has remained constant over the years: high performance, innovation and a commitment to the best practices and best values of the lumber and building material industry. That criteria sounds increasingly synonymous with Bob Knight’s winning-inthe-Big-Ten strategy.
Like the Big Ten (and the S.E.C. for that
When asked for their thoughts on the recognition, leaders of both companies echoed the remarks of the coach of conference champion, emphasizing in equal parts humility and teamwork.
Jay Short: “Much of our success today is a direct result of networking with other dealers and bringing new ideas back from meetings, roundtables, and yard tours.”
Eli Bliffert, fifth-generation owner: “We are fortunate to have generations of great customers and dedicated team members that have made winning this award possible.”
More will be said about our honorees online, in future issues, and at the upcoming ProDealer Industry Summit, coming to Savannah, Georgia, Oct. 9-11. Hope to see you there.
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EDITORIAL ADVISORY BOARD
Levi Smith, CEO, Franklin Building Supply
Steve Sallah, CEO, LBM Advantage
Christi Powell, Women & Minority Business Enterprise Market Manager, 84 Lumber
Neal DeLowery, Store Projects and Merchandise Manager, Aubuchon Co. Brad McDaniel, Owner, McDaniel’s Do it Center
Joe Kallen, CEO, Busy Beaver Building Centers
Tom Cost, Owner, Killingworth True Value
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A more conservative Tractor Supply
Tractor Supply Company announced it will eliminate its Diversity Equity and Inclusion (DEI) roles, withdraw its carbon emission goals and stop submitting data to the Human Rights Campaign.
The announcement came after the company received complaints — including calls for boycotts—in an X thread that begins: “It’s time to expose Tractor Supply.” The post has generated 2.8 million views and generated 2.2 thousand comments, most of them critical to what is described in the post as a "woke" agenda at the giant retailer.
Product Knowledge
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Manufacturer: SK Professional Tools of Williamsport, Pennsylvania.
Knowledge: Drop forged blade with induction hardened cutting edge for superior power to cut through materials — including metal. Saddle Brook, N.J.-based Arrow Fastener will handle sales, marketing and distribution of SK products.
Fun fact: SK Tools dates back to the early 1900s as Sherman-Klove Company. It patented the rotating-head ratchet in 1961. Brand was acquired by GreatStar Industrial USA in 2021.
X post of a woke culture running rampant at Tractor Supply were photos of rainbow flags at warehouses, a photo of CEO Hal Lawton receiving a Covid-19 vaccination, and a comment on the company’s web site which embraced a commitment to “providing a diverse, equitable and inclusive culture where we foster different perspectives, ideas and innovative thinking.”
In a statement, the company said it has taken to heart feedback from customers.
“Going forward, we will ensure our activities and giving tie directly to our business,” the company said
As it withdraws its carbon-emission goals and eliminate its DEI roles and DEI goals, it will continue to focus on land and water conservation efforts, and also will ensure “a respectful environment,” the company said.
Q&A of the month, Lumber edition
HBSDealer reached out to lumber industry veterans Russ Kathrein, VP of lumber and building materials for Do it Best, as well as Tim Johnson, VP of forestry products at LBM Advantage with a simple question:
Q: What are you experiencing now with lumber prices?
Kathrein: Lumber and panel prices have defied expectations and actually dropped in Q2, which is typically when business picks up. Weather has played with demand, and both lumber and panel manufacturers are dealing with too much capacity.
Johnson: We are seeing lower prices in framing lumber driven by the lack of demand in both the repair and remodeling sector and the new home construction market. High mortgage interest rates and inflation are stifling the market in a normally busy season. We are generating footage gains year over year, bQut the associated dollars are just not there.
Q: What trends do you foresee in the coming months?
Kathrein: If we experience increased forest fires or additional mill curtailments, we would expect pricing to jump up as much as 20%. However, we have been saying this for the past few months, and prices have actually moved down at a slow but steady pace.
Johnson: There have been some recent production curtailment announcements, and we are approaching the scheduled summer downtime for many mills. But to this point, there has not been any impact on price or availability. With the Fed’s recent pivot to possibly only one rate reduction for 2024, a major change in production will be needed to bring supply and demand in balance for the remainder of this year.
(For more analysis, visit HBSDealer.com)
Manufacturers step up to the investment plate
A WIDE VARIETY OF INDUSTRY MANUFACTURERS BOLSTER PRODUCTION.
In the past few weeks, a diverse variety of manufacturers that serve the hardware and building supply space have been drawing up blueprints or cutting ribbons at the entry of new facilities.
This recent surge in the investment in facilities includes GAF Energy, which opened a Timberline Solar manufacturing facility in Georgetown, Texas on May 1. On top of that, the company plans to build a new state-of-the-art solar roofing testing facility in a to-be-determined location.
With demand rising for its core PVC building products, Versatex Building Products opened a new, 96,500-square-foot plant in Aliquippa, Pennsylvania, doubling the company’s production capacity.
And in Valley, Nebraska, 3M reported a new 90,000 square foot expansion at its facility in Valley, Nebraska, to increase the plant's manufacturing capacity.
Openings, closings and acquisitions
Recent updates to the HBSDealer News Map, powered by Epicor, include new acquisitions out West for Builders FirstSource; the opening of Buddy’s Ace Hardware in Corapolis, Pennsylvania; and the acquisition of Big Bear Hardware in La Vernia, Texas, by Dallas-based Nation’s Best. And also, a new Home Depot is spotted on the map in Wildwood, Florida. For more activity coast-to-coast, visit HBSDealer.com/map
More recent facility investments are either in the works or up-and-running at Zurn Elkay Water Solutions (Erie, Pennsylvania and Commerce, Texas); Eagle Materials (Laramie, Wyoming); and Roseburg Forest Products (Dillard, Oregon).
In the last two weeks, Metl-Span opened its insulated metal panel manufacturing facility in Brigham City, Utah; and Stimson Lumber Company said it would invest $50 million into a new high-speed sawmill line at its facility in Forest Grove, Oregon.
What’s behind all the investment?
"Recent manufacturing expansion are not just made in America capacity expansions, but strategic made-for-America investments,” said Matt Fish, managing director of Stax, a global consulting firm. “These investments come on the back of strong earnings and represent meaningful production modernization, a pivot to more advanced building material demand and confidence in continued infrastructure spending.”
At Versatex, the specific reason to expand was the desire to enter the siding market, said Rich Kapres, vice president of sales and marketing.
“I can’t really speak for all other manufactures but I do suspect that we are seeing folks reacting to what occurred during Covid when there were availability issues throughout the industry and the need for more capacity during spikes in demand.”
He added that now seems to be a good time to invest in the building product sector in general.
“Given that we have a very low supply of housing and a pent up demand being held up due to interest rates and infl ation, when a correction occurs and things loosen up I believe we will see a serious demand increase,” Kapres said. “If you are not investing now you will not be able to react when that occurs, which I think could be in the next 6-12 months.”
Inside Versatex Building Products’ new Aliquippa, Pa., facility.
Originally established as a building materials operation, Malone Home Center in Greenville, Kentucky, has expanded to include hardware, plumbing, electrical, painting, ooring, cabinets, home decor, and rental departments.
In 1989 the company opened in its present location, a 30,000-square-foot building, and joined HWI, now known as Do it Best.
Malone Home Center’s design showroom has been popular with customers since its inception nearly a decade ago.
The 2,500-square-foot area features displays of cabinets, countertops, replaces, ooring, tile, sinks, showers, and more. This includes a wide array of styles and brands for customers to choose from when selecting products.
Whether planning for a renovation or a new building project, visiting the showroom can help customers visualize their project,
according to Malone Home Center.
Angie Strader, Malone Home Center’s home decor specialist, has more than 20 years of experience and offers design advice and knowledgeable help for every project. Strader works with both contractors and homeowners.
The specialist partners with the client and visits the project site or home to get a better understanding of the customer’s needs and design ideas while obtaining speci cs such as measurements. Strader will then return to the showroom and home decor area to share design options and samples for the client, provide a quote for the customer, and create the order.
Once the product arrives, Strader follows through with a contractor to make sure the installation process goes smoothly.
If the client does not have a contractor, Strader recommends someone to
complete the job. This turnkey service, personal attention, and thorough follow-through are different from what other stores may offer their customers, Malone Home Center said.
Malone Home Center sells a variety of cabinet brands and styles: Kountry Wood, Bertch, Timberland, and BJ Tidwell are choices the customer can choose from to design their space.
Options for countertops include formica, solid surface, granite, and quartz, which is often the most requested material. Malone Home Center said Karran sinks are a practical and elegant choice, but other options are available depending on the customer’s budget and style.
Strader partners with CDC Distributors and Do it Best for most ooring needs. Hardwood, LVT, carpet, tile, and additional options are available from featured brands such as Mohawk, Shaw, AquaLok, Bruce, Timeless Design, Daltile, Tarkett, and Emser.
The retailer has served Muhlenberg County and the surrounding region since 1936. President and CEO Paul Gabbard is the third generation to operate the full-service lumber and hardware company.
The design center and showroom at Malone Home Center in Greenville, Kentucky, has been popular with customers since its inception
Exceeding Expectations. One Fastener Destination at a Time!
New reality for the Top 150
By HBSDealer Staff
What’s true for Newtonian physics at or near the surface of the earth, is true for the hardware and building supply industry.
What goes up, must come down.
After riding an incredible wave of growth, navigating supply chain challenges and reacting to throughthe-roof demand, the majority of companies appearing on the Top 150 list produced sales declines in the most recently completed fiscal year.
While the first 50 with each company’s recent business highlights are printed here on pages 20-22, the full Top 150 list is available at HBSDealer.com. Here are some statistical highlights.
Of theTop 150 companies, 118, or 78.7 percent, showed sales declines for their most recently completed fiscal year (typically the year 2023).
Of the Top 150 companies, 69, or 46 percent, showed double-digit percentage declines in sales.
Of the Top 150 companies, 8, or 5.3 percent, showed double-digit sales gains.
And heavily weighted by the giants at the top of the list, the combined sales of the Top 150 amounts to $417,168,000,000. That’s down 6.3 percent from 445,176,000,000 in the previous year.
Speaking of the giants, 2023 saw four straight quarters of sales declines for both Home Depot and Lowe’s. That dubious achievement hasn’t been recorded since the four-quarter stretch from Q4 of 2008 to Q3 of 2009.
After a 3 percent sales decline in 2023, number-one-on-the-list The Home Depot’s Ted Decker entered 2024 looking forward to strategic opportunities: creating the best interconnected experience, growing our Pro wallet share, and building new stores.
It was also looking to invest in its ability to serve the pro. In December 2023, the world’s largest home improvement retailer made a strategic acquisition of Construction Resources, a leading distributor of design-oriented surfaces, appliances in architectural specialty products for pro contractors focused on renovation, remodeling, and residential homebuilding.
Little did we know that a massive deal was soon to follow — the acquisition of SRS Distribution in an $18.25-billion deal.
At Lowe’s (no. 2), CEO Marvin Ellison, on looking back at an 11 percent decline in net sales, expressed a bullish outlook for the medium and long-term.
“The three core demand drivers of our business, disposable personal income, home price appreciation and the age of housing stock, remain supportive,” he said. “When you pair these factors with trends like chronic undersupply of homes, millennial household formation, baby boomers aging in place and a sustained number of people working from home, you can see why we are confident that home improvement demand will trend upwards over time across both homeowners and pros.”
More Highlights
No. 18 Carter Lumber — having fun Falling short of the 2022 performance metrics is nothing to be ashamed of.
Continued on page 24
NAICS 4441 continues to see declines in the first third of 2024 — down 2.2 percent compared to the same period in the prior year. Hardware stores (NAICS 44413) are up 4.1% through the first third of the year.
The massive sales surge of 2020 has been followed consecutive year of gains for hardware and building supply dealers. For hardware stores, those gains are continuing in 2023— up 6.3 percent through the first four months of the year.
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its R.P. Home & Harvest division to Runnings in April 2023. Since then, it has been one of the more active acquirers in the business.
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Kent, Ohio-based Carter Lumber CEO Jeff Donley explains it this way: “Everybody is comparing performances to the prior year,” he said. “Well, the last couple of years were unique. I don’t think we’re going to see a year like 2022 again in this industry — not for the rest of my career, at least.”
The negative numbers on the Top 150 obscure the feeling that the hardware and building supply industry is enjoying good times. And Donley feels that strongly.
“Given that interest rates are where they’re at, and given that housing prices have increased to the degree they have in the last three and a half years, I think the housing market is fairly strong. I think if rates come down, you’re going to see a boom. Because we as a nation have under-built for a lot of years and household formations continue to grow.
“There’s competition. I think we’re going to be fighting for everything,” he added. “But we’re in good times right now.”
In Carter lumber’s case, heavy investments in manufacturing in the past 10 years are paying off.
“I’m having fun,” Donley said. “I feel like these are very good times for housing, an I think they can get even better. I think we’ll be fighting for everything. It’s harder work today, but that’s OK. There’s nothing wrong with that. At the same time, we try to enjoy ourselves and have a little fun.”
No. 48 HPM Building Supply — investing in components
HPM Building Supply, a fifth-generation business started by two Japanese immigrants in 1921 in Hilo, recently acquired Maui’s leading building component manufacturer, Truss Systems Hawaii. As a result, the company has created a new division, Truss Systems by HPM.
ABOUT THE LIST
and developing the next generation of leaders.
We feel very fortunate at HPM Building Supply that we continue to be locally owned and operated, 103 years after my great-great-grandfather, Kametaro Fujimoto, started the company with his business partner, Sanzo Kawasaki. The building industry is experiencing the same pressures that are affecting many industries across the globe, post-COVID, and we are constantly refining our strategy in a highly competitive and challenging environment.
No 142 National Lumber — embracing multi-family
As demand for housing escalates, National Lumber finds itself “leaning into” the world of multifamily residential, a growing need in both Baltimore and D.C., where existing homes, warehouses, and commercial properties are beingconverted into condos and apartments.
“Multifamily is a huge trend in our immediate market and that’s a challenge for many LBM dealers because everyone has their own niche in terms of how they can supply product into that world,” said Neal Fruman, vice president. “We manufacture counter tops so we sell a lot of those products into the multifamily world.” National Lumber’s traditionally strong products — kitchen cabinetry and millwork — are also popular for multifamily projects.
The 2024 Top 150 Industry Leaderboard tracks hardware and building supply dealers by sales in their most recently completed fiscal year. To be included, the majority of a company’s sales must be in the home improvement or building supply space.
All 33 Truss Systems Hawaii team members have become HPM owner-employees (the company has been 100% employee-owned since 2006), and the company says operations are continuing to produce locally-made wood roof trusses, metal trusses, floor trusses, wall panels and custom sheds. According to Jason Fujimoto, HPM chairman and CEO, HPM plans to keep expanding the business to serve the Maui building industry and to help address the need for housing on the island. He was kind enough to answer a few more questions for us to shed more light and context on the acquisition—as well as offer keen insights on running a successful business amid no shortage of modern-day challenges.
He told HBSDealer:
Information is gathered from several sources: corporate statements, original research and published reports. HBSDealer also relies on estimates, which are noted in the listings by an asterisk.
“The Hawai‘i building industry is experiencing the same consolidation that is happening across the nation. There are many reasons why someone may decide to sell their company, and often a major factor is whether their descendants are in line to take over the business or have pursued other careers.
In Hawai‘i, we also see the next generation moving to the mainland due to the high cost of living. Succession planning is a major undertaking for any business, and our entire industry is navigating the challenge of identifying
“In the multifamily world, you’re selling similar products but the end user is different than our traditional customer, who is a builder or remodeler ordering materials for an addition or to build a house.”
By contrast, the multifamily customer entails a longer sales cycle, with projects that could take a couple of years to finalize, with an entirely different process, and sometimes with demand for a variety of products, like fire extinguishers or mailboxes.
“A typical project would be somebody in D.C. that would take two houses side-by-side, leave the outer four walls, and turn that into six condos,” he said. “We can do a very good job supplying lumber, cabinetry, windows, the doors — and we understand the delivery and distribution part of that business,” adding they’re also going for the bigger projects where a hundred or more apartments are being updated or created over a year.
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True Value Report Hardware meets LBM at Three Sons True Value
By Robby Brumberg
Spending about 30 years in the trucking industry, Dave Ables knows plenty about logistics, the movement of goods and delivering for customers. Today, he’s putting that knowledge to use to help build a growing portfolio of locally-owned hardware and lumber stores.
Ables opened his first store in 2013, Three Sons True Value in Minerva, Ohio. With his wife Lori at the helm (a recent honoree among HSB's Top Women in Hardware & Building Supply), the store quickly grew profits (from $1.1m to $1.65m in the first full year). After selling that location to Busy Beaver in 2019, Ables purchased a store in 2022 in Big Lake, Minnesota, once again partnering with True Value and creating a new iteration of Three Sons Hardware.
Ables’ latest move is the recent acquisition of Tri-County Lumber based in Clearwater, Minnesota–a business that started in 1941 and was under the same ownership from 1998 until Ables closed on the acquisition on Jan. 2, 2024.
Below, Ables shares more context regarding the acquisition, while offering up plenty of practical guidance and revealing what constitutes his family’s “Field of Dreams.”
Q: Generally speaking, why and when did you make the decision to expand into lumber?
A: This was the model we were looking for as I looked over the landscape of the small-town hardware stores in our target market of central and northern Minnesota, where we saw a gap and a need.
Many small hardware stores in commu -
nities that are too small for a big-box store have a golden opportunity to provide more than just hardware. So, Tri-County Lumber was the perfect addition to provide us with a platform to supply building materials to our retail store in Big Lake and to feed the other acquisitions we are working on in this region.
While at the same time, it opens us up to working with contractors who have been Tri-County's staple of success since the early 1940s. Tri-County and Three Sons sell “service,” whether you are a contractor sourcing building materials or a homeowner wanting to understand how to fix a toilet, we are experts at providing you with the products you need and the instruction to complete the task at hand. This will remain our core as we continue to grow our footprint.
Q: Is there more demand supplying a wider range of products these days? (How much hardware do you expect to sell vs. building and lumber?)
A: Sales will always be lopsided.
One lumber company will do the same revenue as 10 rural hardware stores, generally speaking. Where we plan on mixing this up a bit and synergizing off of one another, is for our builder contractors to now have access to our entire portfolio of tools, rental items, hardware and conveyance items, literally thousands of SKUs you can order and have jobsite delivered with your building material orders.
On the flip side, our retail hardware customers will soon be able to order lumber, decking, windows, millwork and all of our Tri-County Service & Material offerings right in the comfort of our retail store—and they will be delivered direct to your home or cabin. If the customer wants to build a custom deck, garage, pole building, shed, fence or entire home, we can assist with the design or utilize their plans, provide an estimate and even provide recommended installers.
Q: What's the biggest selling item or category in your hardware store now?
A: Biggest items for us today are hardware, plumbing and electrical. As far as addons at our Tri-County Showroom, that’s TBD, as I become more acclimated to our customers' needs.
Presently I am making it a point to speak with every contractor that comes into the showroom to better understand their needs. When I sent out our first monthly
Dave and Lori Ables in front of their store in Minnesota.
True Value Report
invoices early in 2024, they included a welcome letter and questionnaire on how we can service their needs better.
Q: Can you share your growth plans for your business? (Are these combo stores going to be redesigned? What's the thinking behind the floor plan, including loading docks and merchandising?)
A: The first two Three Sons True Value Hardware and Tri-County are separate facilities, and as we move forward with acquisitions, we are focusing on owned, free-standing facilities with enough acreage to build out mid-sized 25-40,000 sq. ft. combo stores.
That said, that's not our only focus. We are still interested in acquiring both hardware and building material locations that are self-supporting. The key for our future is a mix of individual hardware sores, lumber yards and then combo facilities where the fit is right.
Q: Are there any tips for readers about adjusting their own hardware store inventory, as the market demands, to serve customers with a selection of lumber and building products?
A: This is market-specific. We focus on rural communities where they most likely don't have solid options for hardware and/ or lumber. If you are in these areas, then I'd definitely suggest a nice mix of both. If you are down the street from a reputable building material dealer, not so much. Just stick with your core items, and of course have a limited selection on hand of lumber so when the contractor runs short on a Saturday and the building material dealer is closed, you can save the day. The contractor or homeowner in need will be forever grateful!
Q: Anything else you'd like to add on how hardware spreads into lumber?
A: There are multiple synergies. Start by understanding your market, your consumers or contractors, and build out what they and the community need. Think: "Build it, and they will come." As it turns out, hardware and lumber have become my family’s "Field of Dreams."
True Value fine tunes its supply chain
Chicago-based True Value Company is implementing changes across its distribution center network to better serve its independent retailers. In a nutshell, it’s out with the Northeast hub-and-spoke model, and in with a Northeast network centered on a strengthened Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania, facility.
The moves will streamline ordering and reduce complexity for retailers while leading to "optimized routes, deeper inventory and deeper product availability for our retailers,” according to Jennifer McNeill, True Value's SVP of supply chain operations. True Value plans to collapse its Northeast hub-and-spoke model, which means its Manchester, New Hampshire, regional distribution center will cease operations by the end of this year.
Additionally, there are changes out west, where the mission of the distributor’s Denver regional distribution center is changing. By Nov. 1, this Rapid Deployment Center (RDC) will no longer service retailers. It will transition to storing network inventory and facilitating inter-company (RDC to RDC) transfers. The facility will remain open with a streamlined staff to support these new activities. Retailers currently served by the Denver RDC will be serviced by one of four chosen distribution centers, based on what works best for that individual store. “True Value’s entire network will benefit from these moves, as inventory is balanced and as routes continue to be optimized,” per the company.
While there will be minor changes to order and delivery days in specific geographies, this move overall will result in:
Deeper inventory and improved availability
Increased access to MVP items
Optimized delivery routes
Reduction in operational complexities in the hub and spoke networks
Alignment with competitive distribution footprint across the industry
According to McNeill, these announcements represent years of continuous improvement and listening to feedback. " Our retailers have provided detailed and relevant feedback on this topic," she says, adding: "By transforming the True Value supply chain, participating in the FLOW data sharing portal to monitor global supply chain capacity, and being an easy partner to do business with in our vendor community, we continue to do the things that support our retailers’ continued success in their communities."
True Value's making big moves to streamline its logistics to better serve stores.
Top Women Profile Series
CIERRA
CALVACCA, VP OF PEOPLE AND CULTURE FOR SOUTHEAST BUILDING SUPPLY INTERESTS, SHARES GUIDANCE ON BUILDING STRONG BRANDS, HOW COMPANIES CAN (AND SHOULD) EMPOWER WOMEN, AND THE IMPORTANCE OF LIFELONG LEARNING.
By Robby Brumberg
Since landing her first job in HR more than 20 years ago, Cierra Calvacca has had to overcome multiple obstacles—not least of which has been facing down workplace discrimination.
“Working as a woman in the lumber and building supply industry, the most signi cant challenge has been confronting stereotypes and biases that imply women are not as capable in careers requiring technical skills or manual labor.”
On a personal level, overcoming these misconceptions involves consistently demonstrating ability and determination, she says. To effect broader change, it’s essential to get leaders on board and up to speed, too. Building trusting relationships with senior leaders can gradually open the door for women and other minorities — and hopefully lead to incremental progress in challenging negative stereotypes.
Calvacca also highlights the important role men can play in empowering women in the workplace. By acting as allies and mentors, men can provide the con dence, networking opportunities and support needed for their career development and growth, she says. Calvacca says SBSI’s CEO, Roger Farmer, is a great example of a “diversity champion and ally” who consistently looks for ways to proactively place female and diverse individuals in a position to grow and gain recognition. “Encouraging this type of support and allyship should be a priority for every business leader,” she says.
Building brands
As VP of People and Culture, building a strong, positive employer brand is near the top of Calvacca’s to-do list. Doing so helps to attract top talent and keep them engaged, she says.
However, it’s easier said than done. Building a robust, trusted brand involves creating a supportive, motivating and rewarding work environment, which in Calvacca’s case includes recognition programs, meaningful diversity and inclusion efforts, as well as substantive opportunities for professional growth and development.
“By fostering a positive employer brand, we not only improve employee satisfaction but also enhance our reputation in the industry. If done well, these sorts of initiatives will dramatically enhance our appeal to underserved demographics — including females.”
Embrace the challenge
For those considering a career change or perhaps interested in entering the LBM industry, Calvacca says to embrace the challenge of an industry in clear need of more female representation. “Don’t let stereotypes or doubt hinder you,” she says.
Calvacca also offers words of wisdom for the industry at large. Having more women in leadership and management, including executive positions, would bring a greater diversity of perspectives and skill sets, she says. “Similarly, involving women in sales and operations would lead to innovation and growth. The industry could also bene t from more female presence in technical and trade positions.”
In terms of recruiting, it’s up to companies to put their money where their mouths are. Active involvement in career fairs, creating mentoring programs and forging strategic partnerships with organizations that support women and minorities in technical elds is crucial, she says. Also, highlighting diverse role models and success stories within the industry can help inspire potential candidates.
“Building a diverse and inclusive workforce is an ongoing process that requires a genuine commitment to creating an environment where all individuals feel valued and supported.”
Lifelong learning
For Calvacca, regardless of your role, it’s all about committing to a lifetime of learning.
In the lumber and building supply industry, she says, staying updated with new technologies, materials and best practices can provide a big advantage—and help open new doors. That commitment to learning has helped her earn respect while overcoming skepticism, discouragement and gender-based bias.
Her last piece of advice? “Be resilient and persistent. Challenges and setbacks are inevitable, but how you tackle them determines your success. Establish a strong support network, and seek out mentors. Never underestimate the power of perseverance.”
“Building a diverse and inclusive workforce is an ongoing process that requires a genuine commitment to creating an environment where all individuals feel valued and supported.”
—Cierra Calvacca
Good Ole Boy declares: “No room in lumber for hi-tech!”
By Matt Meyers
We recently noti ed our users of a strategic shift in Yesler that involves taking the app of ine, removing some features, and improving and adding others for speci c partners. One empowering aspect of leading a venture-backed software company: We are expected NOT to keep doing things the way they have always been done!
One user replied to our noti cation with this exact message: “Sorry, I just have not interest in a new hi-tech way to market lumber. It’s a Good Ole Boy business and there’s no room in it for hi-tech marketing.”
That sentiment reminds me of a 1950’s American western: “Son, this town ain’t big enough for the both of us.”
Another reply from a different user came the same day: “I never imagined mill reps would put up so many barriers to me accessing supply. I have a $200k cash-in-advance offer into the mill above the mill minimum and the rep won’t sell me because he doesn’t know me well enough. Hoping you can solve this with your platform redesign.”
Good Ole Boy networks often prioritize loyalty above pro tability. In the case above, trust is more important than mill net realization at a time when lumber markets are soft. It’s like an old western again: “Son, your money ain’t good around here.” But the root cause is opacity in the lumber market.
provided valuable insights to our development and progress along the way by using our technology. It’s also an industry full of their sons and daughters who represent the next generation. They grew up on a steady diet of technology, change, and innovation. We’ll lose them to other industries if we don’t accept new ways of doing business and creating relationships using technology.
The right technology enhances trust and relationships The past was built on handshakes and 30 year relationships. The longevity of relationships will remain, but new relationships will be formed on digital trust as the next generation rises to power. That’s because digital platforms enhance trust to strengthen relationships on merit - transparency, accountability, pro tability. Successful marketing and sales technology for LBM will be modeled after successes in other industries.
As industry participants y around the country to various industry conferences and events this Summer and Fall, most travelers won’t think twice about opening hitchhiking apps Uber and Lyft and jumping in a car with a stranger. That’s a perfect example of trust-creation via a technology platform unimaginable 30 years ago. It’s not exactly the solution for LBM, but it’s a framework to guide us and a proof point that technology adoption can favorably change our work and personal lives.
Good Ole’ Boy isn’t all bad Lumber isn’t the only industry with Good Ole Boy' behaviors. The term is used in any industry where people like things just the way they are and don’t want to change. And it doesn’t necessarily refer to the speci c people (the Good Ole boys themselves), as much as the culture.
In fact, as new people come into the lumber industry they are most often hired, supported, trained, and mentored by the Good Ole Boy himself and that mentorship is one of the best things about this industry. But what new users quickly encounter is a culture of inertia and industry-wide resistance to new ideas and new ways of doing business. It’s a “No, this is how you do it” attitude with no room for innovation. Especially when that new way is rooted in technology.
The reality is that the diehard Good Ole Boy - “no room in this town for technology” - sentiment is the minority. Of the thousands of users who have touched Yesler, very few have responded “no room for hi-tech.” This industry is full of people who have
Now is the time for platform-based trust in LBM where $200k deals can be taken on merit without back-room, under-the-table secret deals because trust is enhanced by technology. The next strategic shift in Yesler is about doubling down on this new level of digital, platform-based trust. Change is hard. How do you know the right time to consider new technologies and new ways of doing business? The answer is the same for every person and every company in LBM“Before it’s too late”. But you only know “too late” when it’s too late.
at goYesler.com
Matt Meyers is founder and CEO of Yesler, a Seattle-based digital building materials marketplace. Learn more
Sounding off on the state of retail tech
New research published by JumpMind offers jarring insights regarding what kinds of tech shoppers increasingly expect and how retailers are responding in kind. The “Why the Retail Store Won’t Survive as a ‘Tech-Free Zone’ ” report compiles data from over 100 U.S.-based retailers and more than 1,100 U.S. shoppers to highlight what consumers want and what store owners are prioritizing moving forward. Key findings include:
Sixty-nine percent of consumers surveyed indicated they like to browse stores, but nearly 3 in 4 say the way they shop in stores has changed significantly in the past three years.
Eighty-eight percent of retailers believe shoppers “love to browse stores,” but only 69% of surveyed consumers agree. Eighty-seven percent want the same access to product information in the store that they get in the digital world.
Fifty-two percent of retailers say technology “changes too often,” preventing them from taking advantage of top opportunities to improve the store.
Twenty-six percent say it's hard to quantify technology ROI.
Nearly
75% of consumers have profoundly changed how they shop stores Name: Brandon | Department: Managed Services | Years of Service: 7
According to the report: “Consumers want personalized and localized product offerings in the store.” Shoppers also “value efficiency, as two-thirds want to ‘get in and out as soon as possible.’ ”
If you’re struggling to keep pace with adopting new technologies, you’re far from alone. Half of all retailers “continue to struggle with the new functions that add to the cost-to-serve and require better trained and enabled employees.” The report cites the challenges posed by offering a seamless buy/online, pick up/in store experience in particular.
Rewarding loyalty and more thoughtful localization offers are also top-ofmind for shoppers, but retailers could be doing better.
Forty-six percent of surveyed consumers said it's very important that their favorite retailer makes offers based on what they actually want to buy, rather than what the retailer wants them to buy. But only 33% said
"Brandon really went the extra mile and helped us resolve the server issues for our emails. Our purchase orders weren't going out. Brandon had an idea of what was going on and was able to fix everything. I appreciate it." - Trish, Oregon Feed & Irrigation With 44 years of experience supporting independent hardware stores, Paladin is an employee-owned company dedicated to making stores run better. Visit paladinpointofsale.com
their favorite retailer does this well.
Forty-three percent of consumers indicated it's “very important” that their favorite retailer has a great loyalty program, but just 39% say that their favorite retailer does it well. Ultimately, the report sends a message that stores should be doing more to meaningfully blend its digital and in-store worlds—all in service of the customer.
More tech takeaways for retailers
The survey data reveals more guidance for store owners keen to engage a shifting audience of shoppers. Here’s how retailers are currently approaching in-store tech:
Forty-six percent are unhappy with their investment in point-of-sale exception-based reporting tools.
Half who invested in video solutions to track customers and employees are
dissatisfied with those investments.
Ninety-two percent say it's now possible to personalize content to shoppers while they are on the sales floor.
Ninety-three percent say localization of product assortments is viable thanks to technology, but 51% say that personalization and localization are "overblown."
Forty-one percent of retailers aren’t sure whether new technologies will be helpful tools or “distractions.”
Retailers also named the most valuable metrics they use to evaluate store performance. The survey says:
Customer conversion rates (68%)
Employee turnover (57%)
Online order pickup/ship-from-store (52%)
Inventory turns (51%)
Overall foot traffic and behavioral data (50%)
Net promoter score (50%)
Year-over-year sales (49%)
Retailers also indicated technology priorities moving forward:
Mobile devices for store managers (96%)
Store management portal that would include KPIs and reports (94%)
Mobile peer-to-peer messaging/ collaboration (90%)
Enabling enterprise-wide visibility into inventory that is available for sale (48%)
Generating more incentives for "buy online/pick up in store" shoppers to navigate stores while there (48%)
Enabling 360-degree visibility into customer interactions across all channels (45%)
Providing the same level of digital content to consumers in store as they provide online (35%)
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Market Insights
Orgill’s hot takes on air conditioners
YEAR ROUND STRATEGIES FOR A COMPETITIVE CATEGORY
As Orgill merchants explain, the art and science of the highly competitive air conditioning category begins under the heavy blanket of winter. That’s when air conditioners land in Orgill distribution centers, after replenishment teams work out industry trends and new models with key vendors.
“Thankfully, we have been able to avoid factory and container problems for the last two seasons,” said Alex Burcham, Orgill’s senior category manager.
While weather conditions of Orgill customers vary dramatically across the continent, the bulk of the air conditioners and fans don’t begin shipping until May or June. Regardless of geography, a fundamental retail rule is to be in stock.
“So much of our cooling business is an immediate need to purchase to replace an existing unit that has failed, so if a store wants to take advantage of these sales, they have to have them in stock,” Burcham said. “If not, a customer is likely to go to someone else who has them.”
Across Orgill nation, one of the biggest movers continues to be the 5,000 BTU window models for supplemental cooling or for apartment use, great options for an easy stack out in the store, said Todd Wooldridge, Orgill’s Merchandise Manager. Earlier this year In Orlando, the introduction of more upsell U-Shaped air conditioners from Heat Controller gained a lot attention, he said.
The visibility of the product plays an important marketing role, according to Orgill merchants: “Even if they do not move them immediately, customers should see them available and remember when the time comes,” Wooldridge said.
The timing of warm summer days, following fast upon the grilling and chilling of spring, requires merchandising skill.
“A lot of dealers invest their stack out space in grills and patio furniture but those
are more likely to be planned or shopped purchases,” Wooldridge said. “When it turns hot and the old unit fails, you want an air conditioner right away so it is a more urgent buy that either you or your competition is going to get.”
Orgill says it plants the seeds for cooling-products sales with pre-season programs that prepare for the hot weather. For instance, A Spring Buying Event showcases DoorBuster promotions and also Last Chance deals.
The distributor serves a variety of customers, including smaller stores that don’t have the space in the front of the store or the back room for bulky pre-season cooling inventory — especially with they are set up for bagged goods and garden supplies earlier in the spring. Orgill’s Last Chance or Just-In-Time promotions are designed to help those retailers, as well as northern stores where hot weather comes later in the calendar.
“It can be a very ne line to walk with space allocation so stores have to plan carefully to move through their garden goods in March and April then immediately reposition that space for air conditioners and fans,” said Burcham. “The Last Chance deal helped some of those dealers ll out their stock for the season.”
Among the trends in the category, according to Heath Kennedy, Orgill’s director of hardlines merchandise, is the rise of the DIY-oriented mini-split air conditioner.
“The mini-split category has been growing in popularity but most models were not DIY friendly and held back adoption,” said Kennedy. “These have usually required a HVAC technician to install them because they need to be charged with refrigerant after installation. The new DIY models can be installed by a homeowner without the worry of having to charge the refrigerant after installation. This cuts one of the big barriers to entry into the category.”
A training module through Orgill’s Vendor Instructional Platform is focused on the trend. And the DIY models (supplied by Heat Controller and branded as Coast Air) have already doubled the unit sales of what Orgill did last year on the installer models—“and the season has barely started,” Kennedy added.
In the end, success belongs to those who plan ahead.
A mini-split system has a unit inside the house, and a condenser outside the house.
“Our most successful seasonal dealers are those that plan for their inventory well ahead of the start of warm weather and do not follow temperatures week to week waiting for things to warm up,” Burcham said.
From left: Orgill’s Heath Kennedy, Todd Wooldridge and Alex Burcham.
Product Analysis
Drama over table saw safety
DEBATE CONTINUES OVER PRODUCT COST, CONSUMER CHOICE, STATE MANDATES AND PERSONAL SAFETY.
By Robby Brumberg
Should all table saws be required to have more stringent safety mechanisms?
This is the crucial question at the heart of a heated debate that’s been roiling the table saw industry for decades but has recently reignited. The technology to stop saw blades within milliseconds upon detection of a finger was first sold by SawStop in 2004—but should companies be forced to retrofit or redesign their machines to incorporate this sort of active injury mitigation feature at the behest of a government agency? As NPR explains:
“The federal Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) appears poised to mandate a SawStop-type safety brake on all new table saws sold in the United States. The move would follow years of failed efforts and false starts by the agency to impose such a standard. Manufacturers have consistently fought a new rule, saying it would raise the price of table saws for consumers.”
In a fiery recent CPSC meeting, that skeptical view was espoused by Susan Orenga, executive manager of the Power Tools Institute, a trade group that represents the interests of large tool-making brands like Milwaukee, DeWalt, Stihl and many more. The group opposes the view maintained by SawStop, which holds several patents specific to blade-halting technology. At the same hearing where Orenga spoke out against a proposed mandate to incorporate more robust active injury mitigation technology, SawStop CEO Matt Howard made a stunning announcement to “dedicate” one of his company’s key patents to the public.
“Opponents of the proposed rulemaking have identified this patent as their key obstacle to offering safer saws,” said Howard, who
At issue: Should table saws be required, by law, to have more stringent safety mechanisms?
added, “We invest heavily in safety innovation, and our patents have real value. Even so, we will not allow this patent to be an obstacle to a safer future. To that end, SawStop is prepared to dedicate this ‘840 patent to the public upon the effective date of a rule requiring active injury mitigation technology on all table saws.”
Though Orenga and the Power Tools Institute did not respond to requests for comment for this story, they have made their stance clear.
Politicians are taking sides, too. A bipartisan bill co-sponsored by Marie Gluesenkamp Perez (Dem., Washington) and Jeff Duncan (Rep., South Carolina) also aims to thwart any attempts to implement a safety-brake mandate. As the bill text states, “The legislation would help maintain access to lower-cost table saws and prevent a proposed CPSC rule from leading to a monopoly on table saws with finger-detection technology.”
The bill’s sponsors also stated their case in the text. “When our federal government considers safety regulations, it’s critical it does so in a way that doesn’t raise costs, limit choice or lead folks to seek out alternative solutions that are potentially more hazardous,” said Rep. Gluesenkamp Perez.
Duncan says: “While I believe finger-detection technology is a great safety implementation, the CPSC can't force the market to adopt a technology that is under patent.”
But what if a patent’s no longer a major impediment?
The view from SawStop’s top brass
In a recent discussion with HBSDealer.com, Howard clarifies that this mandate is not a “SawStop mandate,” adding that the company didn’t ask for or initiate any of this current drama. “We’re not gatekeepers. We’re not obstructionist,” he says.
Howard conveys that SawStop is interested in protecting people and helping to prevent devastating, life-altering injuries. That concern for doing something “practical, sensible and helpful” to reduce the estimated 65,000 table saw injuries per year in the U.S. was the driving motivation behind releasing the patent, Howard says.
At least one CSPC commissioner, Richard Trumka, views SawStop’s recent moves as a huge step in the right direction. After the most recent commission hearing on table saws, Trumka writes:
The SawStop table saw features finger-detection technology to prevent injury.
“In the name of consumer safety, SawStop has just made an incredible gift to the public.”
Trumka goes on to write he’s “never witnessed such generosity from a manufacturer,” and that “giving up intellectual property to help others is an honorable and admirable thing to do.”
Of course, SawStop is a business, not a charity, and is under no compulsion to release any of its patents or proprietary technology.
Howard says he is simply trying to do the right thing—both for his company and for the general public. And for what it’s worth, he says SawStop has “never spent a single dollar” on lobbying efforts.
As for when or if the mandate issue will be settled, Howard said he has no clue. “It’s not my process. I went to the hearing and said my piece. This is not my battle to fight.”
In Howard’s view, this fuss over the proposed table saw mandate has become more about politics and manufacturers, rather than good-faith efforts to benefit or protect consumers. CPSC funding is
“We’re not gatekeepers. We’re not obstructionist. —Matt Howard, SawStop
POLL RESULTS
Should the CPSC mandate amputationprevention technology in all table saws?
Source: HBSDealer Poll Question, n=157
determined by Congress, so any decision that might rankle certain members could put future funding in jeopardy.
Asked what he’d like to say to PTI and those who vehemently oppose the mandate: “I’d want to know what it is they want? What outcomes do they want to make customers safer?”
Howard emphasizes that he doesn’t have a “prescriptive outcome” but is in favor of having meaningful conversations that lead to substantive outcomes for people who use table saws.
“I traveled to Washington because I wanted to do something practical to make saws safer,” he says. “SawStop isn’t interested in drama, we’re interested in outcomes. We want people to be safer.”
People in the News
Dallas-based Builders FirstSource named Johnny Cope, formerly with building material supplier James Hardie, as the national prodealer’s president of commercial. Cope replaces Mike Farmer, who left Builders FirstSource earlier this month to pursue other interests. Cope comes to Builders FirstSource from a role as senior vice president of North American sales for James Hardie, a position he held since February 2019.
Lowe’s promoted Jennifer Wilson to senior vice president, chief marketing officer. Wilson will oversee strategic brand and product marketing, loyalty and personalization, promotional planning, creative, media and Lowe’s retail media network, according to the company. Wilson has more than 20 years of experience in marketing and merchandising. She joined Lowe’s in 2006 and most recently served as senior vice president, enterprise brand and marketing.
Do it Best named Chris Okapal as the new Director of Business Development. He has a proven 25-year track record in the consumer goods industry. In his new role, he will be responsible for enhancing partnerships with existing and prospective members, leveraging his expertise to develop innovative solutions that meet their needs and exceed their expectations. Okapal spent most of his professional career—22 years—with The Scotts Miracle-Gro Company, where he rose from a territory manager to vice president of sales.
Richfield, Wisconsin-based Hy-Brid Lifts, maker of aerial lift equipment, named Gary Coke as director of sales covering the south-central United States. Coke’s responsibilities include providing customer support as well as continuing the growth and channel development of the Hy-Brid Lifts line of low-level scissor lifts. Coke brings 19 years of industry experience to his new role, largely derived from his time in equipment manufacturing with SkyJack
Oldcastle BuildingEnvelope, the manufacturer, fabricator and distributor of architectural hardware solutions, glass and glazing systems, appointed Mark Adamson as chief executive officer. Adamson has over 35 years of experience leading and growing global companies in the building products sector, including as Chief Executive Officer of Fletcher Building and Formica Corporation He also has experience as a private equity Operating Partner, where he worked closely with management teams to execute organic and inorganic growth initiatives.
William Chavez was named general manager of the new Westlake Ace Hardware store in Glendale, California. He enjoys solving problems for customers, especially anything related to automotive repair and BBQ, fields in which he takes a personal as well as professional interest, he said. The store celebrated its grand opening with a variety of events June 28-30.
The Home Depot appointed Jordan Broggi as executive vice president of customer experience and president of online. Broggi will be responsible for leading the vision, design, and development of new and innovative solutions, the company said. He will also retain leadership of the company's online business, overseeing online operations, merchandising strategy and customer experience for The Home Depot's digital properties. Broggi has been with The Home Depot for 11 years, most recently as senior vice president and president of online.
Bliffert Lumber & Hardware announced Vice President Josh Brown has been honored as a 2024 Notable Leader in Construction, Real Estate & Design by BizTimes Milwaukee Business News. This award recognizes accomplished professionals who have designed and constructed the region’s built environment and are changing Milwaukee’s skyline.
“Since joining Bliffert in 2001, Josh has helped propel the company's growth and success,” said Eli Bliffert, fifth-generation owner of Bliffert Lumber. “From inside sales to estimator, manager, and now serving as vice president, Josh's unwavering dedication has been integral to Bliffert's expansion from two locations with 20 employees to 14 locations with over 400 employees. We’re proud of his vision and leadership.”
Brown also spearheaded the development of Bliffert’s multifamily division, which has grown into one of the largest in Wisconsin. Bliffert emphasized Brown's role within the industry, stating, “Josh is a trusted resource across the construction industry in our state. From single-family builders to large commercial developers, Josh Brown is someone the industry trusts.”
Upon receiving this esteemed recognition, Josh Brown expressed gratitude and reflected on his journey, saying, “I’m honored to be recognized alongside so many impactful professionals. I continually strive to be a trusted and valued resource in our industry to celebrate the Bliffert legacy. I’m proud of what the Bliffert team has accomplished, and I look forward to continuing our mission of providing exceptional service and quality products to our customers.”
Cope
Wilson
Okapal
Coke
Adamson
Chavez
Broggi
