NEW PRESIDENT NAMED AT DELTA FAUCET
Masco has named Keith Allman president of its Delta Faucet business. Allman succeeds Reinhard Metzger, who resigned March 23.  Allman formerly served as executive vice president-operations for Masco's Builder Cabinet Group. He also has served as vice president-manufacturing for Merillat cabinets, another Masco company. He has held engineering and quality positions at General Motors.

NARDELLI OFFERED JOB WITH PRIVATE EQUITY FUND
Former Home Depot CEO and Chairman Bob Nardelli has been offered a job with Cerebus Capital, a private equity fund with about $24 billion in assets, according to a report by CNBC.  But Home Depot reportedly objects to the offer since there is a non-competitive clause in Nardelli's $210 million payout.  New York-based Cerebus could have holdings now or in the future that directly compete with Home Depot, the report said.  Some of Cerebus' current holdings include Alamo car rental and Mervyn's, the 172-store retailer based in Hayward, California.  Home Depot said it could not comment on the subject.  Nardelli's payout, since resigning from Home Depot in January after refusing to take a pay cut, is still being contested in court by shareholders.

WOMEN ARE MAKING OUTDOOR POWER EQUIPMENT PURCHASING DECISIONS
According to a consumer survey by Troy-Bilt, the Cleveland outdoor power equipment supplier, women are influencing 44 percent of all outdoor power equipment purchases.  The survey also found that 21 percent of all outdoor power equipment purchases are made by women, and 23 percent are made by men and women together. This includes equipment ranging from trimmers to chain saws and blowers.  "Women tend to view the backyard as an extension of the living room and will take on projects to turn the space into their ideal outdoor haven, whether it's growing an herb garden, installing a fire pit or digging a pond," said Heidi Ketvertis, brand manager at Troy-Bilt.

WAL-MART SALES RESULTS FOR MARCH
Wal-Mart reported total sales of $34.26 billion for the five-week period ending April 6, 2007, a 9.6 percent climb from sales of $30.68 billion during the same span last year. For the nine-week period ending April 7, overall sales grew 10.1 percent to $61.05 billion from $55.45 billion in 2006.  Total U.S. comparable-store sales for the five-week period rose 4 percent and 2.6 percent for the nine-week period.  International sales increased 19.3 percent to 8 billion during the five-week span, and increased 19.1 percent to $14 billion during the nine-week span.  The company said it expects comparable-store sales in the United States for the April four-week reporting period to be flat to down 2 percent, due to the Easter calendar shift and April 2006 being its strongest monthly comparable-store sales increase last year at 5.0 percent.

HOUSE-HASSON HARDWARE ACQUIRES PERSINGER SUPPLY

House-Hasson Hardware Company, which distributes to hardware stores, home centers and lumberyards has acquired the consumer products division of the Prichard, West Virginia-based Persinger Supply Company.  Don Hasson, president of House-Hasson, said the acquisition will help the company further expand its services to home improvement retailers in Virginia, West Virginia, Ohio and Pennsylvania.  "Persinger Supply's key employees will remain and will operate through House-Hasson Hardware's new Persinger Division," Hasson said, adding that House-Hasson will mirror the company's inventory and services in the West Virginia distribution center, which will serve as a satellite distribution center for House-Hasson through the new division. "The best part of the new division is the excellent staff of people," Hasson said.  "Vernice Deskins and Beverly Perry, who have both been with Persinger Supply for many years and are well-respected in the industry, will continue to manage day-to-day operations of the Persinger Division."   

WOMEN IN HARDWARE INDUSTRY GROUP ANNOUNCES 2007 NHS EVENTS

The Women in the Hardware Industry (WIHI) association is planning several activities for members and prospective members attending the National Hardware Show in Orlando, Florida May 8-10, 2007.  WIHI will also have a lounge available for use by its membership for the duration of the show.  Claire-Juliette Beale, co-founder of the innovation and strategic design firm Touch360, will address the group at the WIHI Experience Luncheon from 11:30 a.m. to 1 p.m. on May 9. The luncheon is free for WIHI members and $10 for non-members.  Also on May 9, WIHI will host a Membership Drive and Cocktail Party from 5 p.m. to 7 p.m.  This event is free for all.  On May 11, snacks and beverages will be available for WIHI members during the close of the show. The WIHI Member Luncheon and Business meeting takes place on May 8 from 11:30 a.m. to 1 p.m.  This event is for members only.  All WIHI events during the National Hardware Show will take place at the WIHI lounge in room S322 in the South Building of the Orange County Convention Center.  Women In the Hardware Industry membership is $90 per year, said Pam Melton, president of WIHI.  To pre-register for events taking place during the National Hardware Show, for membership information or sponsorship information, contact:  Pam Melton at (615) 414-3967 or pam@meltonlawoffice.com .  Event sponsors include Chapel Hill, North Carolina-based Touch360, the Mt. Juliet, Tennessee-based H.O.W. (Hands On Women) and the Las Vegas-based ImageWords Publicity & Writing Services.

CATERING TO MILLENNIALS

The media is all abuzz about the shopping clout of today's children. Millennials, those who were born from 1982 to present, love to shop, according to Rich Kizer and Georganne Bender of the Chicago-based Kizer & Bender Speaking. "Millennials LOVE to shop," reports the duo. "They are said to visit an average of 200 stores per year. And since millennials influence spending $600 billion per year, and spend a whopping $20 billion a year of their own money, no wonder retailers are clamoring for their attention."    (Source: ImageWords Publicity & Writing)

NAIL GUN INJURIES RISING

A U.S. study says the annual rate of nail gun injuries to consumers treated in U.S. hospital emergency rooms has soared in the past 15 years. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Report found that the victims were consumers in 40 percent of the 37,000 nail gun injuries that occur annually on average. In fact, injuries to consumers have increased almost 200 percent since 1991, while injuries to workers remained stable. Injuries to upper extremities, primarily the hands and fingers, were the most common, accounting for 75 percent of injuries to consumers and 66 percent to professional workers. 

CONSOLIDATION INCREASES PURCHASING POWER

Consolidation has its benefits in the lumber and building materials, home improvement retailing sector. Tom Donaldson, president and CEO of CanWel Building Materials Income Fund, told the annual meeting of Castle Building Centers, that companies are looking to consolidate to achieve economics of scale, get easier access to low-cost capital, and have greater leverage over their suppliers. They're looking for increased purchasing power at a reduced administration cost.  As well, it enables independents to compete better with big companies.

SUPPLIERS TO JOIN DATA POOL

Lowe's will require all of its suppliers to become part of the 'Big Hammer Hardlines Marketing Data Pool Program.' Lowe's has partnered with Big Hammer Data, part of Edgenet, which will collect the product marketing content. Suppliers are expected to be enrolled in the marketing data pool between May and July, depending on their product category. Lowe's says suppliers will see benefits from the program such as fewer data requests from Lowe's for print advertising and increased opportunities to have their product included in Lowe's marketing materials, both online and in-store.  

WAL-MART NAMES NEW EXECUTIVES

Wal-Mart Stores announced that it has named Bill Simon as chief operating officer, and Pat Curran will become executive vice president-people. In other news, regulatory filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission show Wal-Mart Stores Inc. paid CEO Lee Scott compensation of $23.3 million last year.  Scott was paid $1.3 million in salary, stock and option awards of $17 million, non-equity incentive payments of $4.3 million and around $700,000 in deferred compensation and perquisites.

LOWE'S NIBLOCK TOOK HOME NEARLY $8.5 MILLION IN 2006
Robert Niblock, Lowe's chairman and CEO, received nearly $8.5 million in compensation in 2006, according to a regulatory filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. Niblock, 44, received $950,000 in salary, more than $1 million in non-equity incentive plan compensation and almost $6.4 million in stock and option awards.  He also received $97,495 in other compensation, including $43,516 for personal use of the company aircraft and $2,149 for a company-required physical exam, according to the filing made by the Mooresville, North Carolina-based retailer.

DO THE RICH USE THE INTERNET?

A recent article in Home Furnishings Business Magazine suggested that "in luxury goods, nearly 80 percent of wealthy consumers turn first to the internet or e-mail to learn about companies and the products they sell, and 53 percent prefer contacting goods providers online about new products (versus 38 percent who prefer the telephone)…..However, older consumers in that income bracket still prefer the telephone."   (Source: Design Management Company - DMCTalk Newsletter)

CONSUMERS PAYING ONLINE

For the first time ever, U.S. consumers are paying more bills online than by paper checks. The 2007 Consumer Payment Trend Survey reports that online payments make up 39 percent of the total volume of bill payments from the estimated 82.5 million households connected to the Internet.

TOUGH QUARTER FOR HOME BUILDERS
Reston, Virginia-based home builder NVR, which builds homes in 19 states, reported first-quarter sales of $1.01 billion, down 9 percent from $1.2 billion during the first quarter last year. The company also reported a profit of $84.82 million, down 36 percent from $132.56 million last year.

The company said new home orders actually increased 8 percent to 3,917 units from 3,633 units last year, with orders in the mid-Atlantic region showing the highest gains. Cancellation rates were 16 percent, compared with 17 percent in last year's first quarter.

TIGHTER LENDING WILL IMPROVE HOUSING HEALTH BUT DAMPEN SALES
Tighter lending practices, a consequence of recent subprime loan fallout, will eventually lead to a healthier housing market, but not before dampening home sales and slowing recovery in the housing sector, according to the National Association Realtors (NAR). David Lereah, NAR's chief economist, said reforms in how loans are issued -- moving away from subprime loans and toward giving loans to home buyers who have a better chance of paying them back -- will lead to long-term health in the housing market.  "We want people to be able to stay in their homes with mortgage terms they understand and can handle," Lereah said. "Tighter lending standards will dampen home sales a bit, but by less than a couple of percentage points from initial projections."  The NAR predicts a total of 6.34 million existing-home sales in 2007 and a higher 6.52 million existing-home sales in 2008. By contrast, 6.48 million existing homes were sold in 2006.

MARCH HOUSING STARTS GROW 0.8 PERCENT
Housing starts in March increased slightly to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 1.518 million, up 0.8 percent from the revised February estimate of 1.506 million, according to figures from the U.S. Census Bureau and the Department of Housing and Urban Development. However, March starts were down 23.0 percent from the March 2006 rate of 1.972 million.  The month-to-month increase was due to a surge in the Midwest, which showed a 44.5 percent gain in total housing starts. The three other regions showed declines: 2.7 percent in the South, 6.1 percent in the Northeast and 7.7 percent in the West.

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