Content about Chicago

May 15, 2013
True Value Co. gross billings slip 0.9% in first quarter

Chicago-based True Value Co. reported first-quarter gross billings of $443.3 million, down 0.9% from the same quarter last year.

A nearly non-existent spring in many parts of the country hurt sales. The company also explained gross billings were affected by a decline in lumber and building material vendor direct-ship sales.

"While winter-related product sales exceeded the prior year, the general lack of spring weather this March versus last year was too much to overcome," said Lyle Heidemann, president ad CEO. 

April 24, 2013
USG gets back in the black

USG Corp. hailed its "first quarter of net income in more than five years," as sales increase 4% in the first quarter.

April 22, 2013
Use social media smartly when hiring

There are so many legal pitfalls to avoid when using social media in the candidate sourcing and screening processes, some employers might wonder whether it’s worth all the trouble.

April 11, 2013
True Value points to valuable partners

The Chicago-based co-op has recognized its 2012 Supplier of the Year, among others.

April 5, 2013
True Value posts gains in full year and fourth quarter

CEO Lyle Heidemann describes 2012 as “one of the most profitable years in the company’s history.”

March 27, 2013
True Value elects new chairman of the board

The Chicago-based co-op tapped Brent Burger, owner of hardware stores in Maine.

March 19, 2013
Floor and Decor Outlets to open stores in Chicagoland area

Floor and Decor Outlets of America has announced plans to expand its Midwest presence with the openings of two more stores in the Metropolitan Chicago area.

March 15, 2013
Pet projects on display in Atlanta

ATLANTA — Pets, paint and credit figured prominently at the True Value Spring Market here.

February 25, 2013
Edward Hines Lumber plans May opening

The new building center and showroom will occupy the site of the former Franklin Emery (F.E.) Wheaton Lumberyard.

January 2, 2013
With Valspar, Ace shakes up its paint department

Ace Hardware Corp.’s paint program is going through a major makeover with Valspar stepping up as a supplier and taking over the co-op’s paint manufacturing facilities. 

Ace and Valspar announced a long-term deal, under which Valspar will manufacture and supply Ace-branded paint products to Ace dealers. The companies also announced that Valspar has acquired Ace Hardware’s paint manufacturing assets, including two manufacturing facilities located near Chicago.

December 17, 2012
Store celebrates 140 years

Dating back almost to the Great Fire of Chicago, Stauber’s Ace Hardware turned 140 years old in 2012.

Founded in 1872 by Louis Stauber, a Swiss immigrant, in Chicago one year after the Chicago fire ravaged the city. The store was relocated more than 100 years ago to the Northcenter area of Chicago, where it currently does business today. 

November 12, 2012
Comp-store sales rise at True Value

True Value Corp. reported revenues of $448.9 million for its third fiscal quarter, an increase of 0.7% from revenues of $445.7 million for the same period in fiscal 2011. The Chicago-based co-op posted a quarterly net margin of $15.4 million for the third quarter, versus $18.1 million a year ago, a decrease of 14.9%.

November 2, 2012
Brannigan to lead Lebhar-Friedman Residential Products Group

Construction and publishing industry veteran Jack Brannigan has joined Lebhar-Friedman, owner of Home Channel News, as VP and group publisher for the New York-based company’s Residential Products Group.

In addition to overseeing growth for the print and digital products under the Home Channel News banner, Brannigan will guide the company’s new Residential Products Group as it develops new products for new markets. He will be based in Chicago.

November 2, 2012
HIRI event starts strong, raises cautions

Chicago — Before the first speaker could take the podium at the Home Improvement Research Institute (HIRI) Fall Conference, a residential construction report for September stole the show with news of a 15.0% increase in total starts.

The tone was set. One presenter pointed to an average forecast of 924,000 starts in 2013, a figure drawn from 10 estimates ranging from a high of 1.1 million and a low of 800,000.

October 23, 2012
LP helps build mortgage-free homes for wounded veterans

Louisiana-Pacific Corp. is collaborating with Operation Finally Home to build mortgage-free homes for wounded veterans.

LP donated SmartSide product and PR support to a home built by New American Homes in Greater Chicago for U.S. Army Spc. Nick Mapson, who sustained debilitating injuries in Afghanistan. This included the Home Builders Association of Greater Chicago (HBAGC) with the National Association of Home Builders and the Chicago NFL Players Association Former Players Chapter.

October 19, 2012
Housing report lifts mood at HIRI conference

Chicago – The Home Improvement Research Institute (HIRI) Fall Conference kicked off just a few minutes after the Commerce Department released data showing a 15% increase in September housing starts. 

October 19, 2012
Illinois hardware store to close

Marlowe's Ace Hardware in Hampshire, Ill., will close by Nov. 10, according to an article in the Elgin Courier News. The Chicago-area store, formerly known as Myers Ace Hardware, has been in operation for more than 60 years.

October 9, 2012
Unemployment numbers: Too good to be true?

Several readers responded with incredulity to the data in the article titled, “Unemployment rate declines to 7.8%.”

They are not alone.

October 8, 2012
Retailing in 2013 and beyond: The conference

The Home Improvement Research Institute (HIRI) hosts a day-long series of presentations in Chicago Oct. 17, including the economic backdrop of home improvement. 

October 1, 2012
Into the future: HIRI to host research conference

The Home Improvement Research Institute will set up shop in Chicago Oct. 17 for a series of research-related presentations. 

To be held at the Holiday Inn Chicago Mart Plaza, the event will kick off with an effort to read the future by J. Walker Smith, executive chairman of The Futures Company.

September 28, 2012
Thinking big

In what major metropolitan area does the nation’s largest independent hardware store call home?

One would think New York, Los Angeles or Chicago. One would be wrong.

September 28, 2012
True Value brings payment systems to forefront

Expanding a credit card program while promoting a “stabilized” loyalty card program were among the payment system priorities the Chicago-based co-op presented during its Fall Market in Utah. 

The True Value Co. is asking members to sign up now for a credit card program it intends to launch in 2013.

August 29, 2012
Four million jobs, one at a time

When Ace Hardware injects a motivational speaker into its general session, that’s news.

Roy Spence is the “S” of Austin, Texas-based advertising agency GSD&M, whose client list includes Southwest Airlines, The PGA Tour, Popeyes and Ace Hardware.

August 29, 2012
In Chicago, upbeat and defiantly convenient

Rallying the troops during the Ace Fall Convention and Exhibits, chairman Dave Ziegler showed the early morning general session audience a video clip of Ace COO John Venhuizen wielding a Home Channel News magazine.

In the magazine was a quote from a Home Depot executive about leading the industry in convenience and service. Venhuizen responded by channeling defiant former NRA spokesman Charlton Heston: Ace will relinquish the title of most convenient “when they can peel it out of our cold dead hands.”

August 29, 2012
Walking the Aisles

From the outside, the Mount Prospect, Ill., True Value hardware store looks a lot like any other True Value store. It’s only 2 years old, so the sign above the door appears extra bright red and white.

When you walk through the entrance, it still looks a lot like most of the Chicago-based co-op’s fashion-forward Destination True Value format stores. At 12,600 sq. ft., it’s a little bigger than most. The registers are ringing up front, and a racetrack is punctuated by 38 endcaps promoting product, as well as ideas for the home.

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