Content about Orlando

May 6, 2013
Data dive in Orlando

April 22, 2013
Looking ahead to modest growth

The Home Improvement Research Institute’s Spring Conference in Orlando, Fla., included a mixed message for future home improvement spending.

April 9, 2013
HIRI Spring Conference set for April 17

The series of presentations in Orlando, Fla., promises “New Approaches for Deep Insights into Home Improvement.”

February 26, 2013
HIRI tackles new approaches and deep insights

The Home Improvement Research Institute is preparing for its April 17 Spring Conference in Orlando, Fla.

February 8, 2013
Free heaters? In Florida, incentives add up

New incentives for high-efficiency water heaters mean Orlando, Fla., consumers pay “next to nothing,” according to GE.

December 28, 2012
STAFDA president promotes new-product vigilance

There were several highlights to the STAFDA Convention & Trade Show in Orlando, Fla. Chief among them, according to the group’s president: scouting for new products.

In the most recent STAFDA Trade News newsletter, Rick Lamb of Frank’s Supply Co. in Albuquerque, N.M., described the hunt for new products as a crucial element of the trade show experience. 

November 2, 2012
One-on-one with STAFDA executive director Georgia Foley

Georgia Foley has been the executive director of the Specialty Tools & Fasteners Distributors Association (STAFDA) since 2000, but her involvement with the trade organization dates to when she was barely a teenager, when she helped her father — founder Morrie Halvorsen — run the operation out of the family basement.

Through the years, Foley has seen membership grow in numbers and stature even though STAFDA has maintained the same dues rates it first established in 1977.

November 2, 2012
STAFDA gets down to business

Some things will never change. There will always be a need for professionals to meet face-to-face and share experiences.

There will be plenty of that during the Nov. 4 to 6 STAFDA Convention & Trade Show at the Orange County Convention Center in Orlando, Fla.

Of course, some things change all the time — products, customers, business and communications among them. And the group’s 36th annual event offers a lineup of updates, workshops and presentations that address those moving targets.

June 6, 2012
Incentive compensation tips and pitfalls shared

Orlando, Fla. -- Incentive compensation should directly communicate an organization's objectives to employees, so why do so many plans fall short of success? In presentations at the 2012 WorldatWork Total Rewards Conference here May 21 to 23, 21012, compensation specialists shared lessons on the effective use of incentive pay programs and warned of errors to avoid.

May 4, 2012
2012 Hardware Store All-Stars

Last year, the original 50 Home Channel News Hardware Store All-Star honorees established a high bar and a hard act to follow. But the 2012 crop rises to the challenge. This year’s Hardware Store All-Stars, one from each of the 50 U.S. states, have at least one thing in common: Ask them what makes them special and you can bet they’ll include “excellent customer service” in the answer. From there, every path to stardom is unique.

May 4, 2012
Money Pit crosses 300-market milestone in first quarter

The syndicated home improvement talk radio show “The Money Pit” crossed the 300-affiliate mark. The show’s newest markets include El Paso Texas; Huntington W.Va.; Savannah, Ga.; and Reno, Nev.

The Money Pit, heard in many of the country's top markets including New York, Atlanta, Orlando and Providence, R.I., added more than 20 new stations in the first quarter of 2012, breaking past the 300 affiliate station threshold. 

April 24, 2012
MarJam adds two locations in Florida

MarJam Supply Co. has acquired a Lainhart & Potter, a 119-year-old Florida hardware and LBM dealer, with locations in West Palm and Juniper. These two locations will expand MarJam’s current Florida yards, which include Miami, Orlando, Jacksonville, Ft. Myers and Wildwood.

April 6, 2012
STAFDA announces State of the Industry speaker

The Specialty Tools and Fasteners Distributors Association (STAFDA) announced Jim Fall, business & operations director for 3M Industrial Adhesive & Tape Division will be STAFDA’s associate State of the Industry speaker during the group’s Nov. 4-6 convention in Orlando.

Fall has 25 years of experience with St. Paul, Minn.-based 3M. He is a member of the Pressure Sensitive Tape Council and chairman of the 3M Converter Markets Advisory Committee.

March 15, 2012
Little change in 'Improved housing markets' list

The list of housing markets that show improvement, as measured by the National Association of Home Builders (NAHB), expanded from 98 to 99 metro regions between February and March 2012.

March 2, 2012
For Ace, retail is increasingly local

Even before Ace Hardware Corp. reported high single-digit sales increases for the quarter and the year — and even during a lingering housing downturn — CEO Ray Griffith told dealers that he liked the position in which Ace finds itself.

“Ongoing uncertainly keeps consumers cautious about spending, but many of you are doing well,” he told the members gathered in Denver for the co-op’s market last year.

March 2, 2012
Reporter’s Notebook: IBS

Orlando, Fla. — Most attendees just made passing mention to the thinner crowds and smaller booths this year at the International Builders’ Show. It’s like commenting on how cold it is when there’s snow falling from the sky. Regular exhibitors that opted out from the show were Home Depot, Masco, Andersen Windows, Atrium and Weather Shield.

March 1, 2012
True Value emphasizes merchandise moves

Mike Clark is already looking ahead to Christmas. 

During Chicago-based True Value’s 2012 Spring Market general session last month, Clark, the co-op's senior VP and chief merchandising officer, told member retailers: "We know you're looking ahead to fall and winter and thinking about what's going to help you drive your sales."

February 22, 2012
For True Value CEO, growth looms large

Chicago-based True Value CEO Lyle Heidemann had some good news for dealers gathered in Orlando, Fla., during the general session of the co-op's 2012 spring market. Sales were up, he said. So are expectations. 

For the year ended Dec. 31, True Value revenue increased 3.4% to $1.86 billion, as the co-op is riding a wave of consecutive quarterly sales increases that now extends to five. Full-year earnings for the co-op were $60.3 million, down 0.7% from $60.7 million in 2010.

February 22, 2012
True Value's marketing chief embraces simplicity

In his first market presentation to True Value retailers, the co-op's new VP marketing and chief customer officer Blake Fohl laid out a plan for -- what else? -- improved marketing. 

He also promised improvements to True Value Rewards (TVR).

February 16, 2012
Competitors unite at City of Hope event

Orlando, Fla. -- The stage of the 2012 City of Hope “Spirit of Life” event featured one brand new honoree, several more industry icons and 30 years of memories for the hardware/homebuilding group.

Convening for the good of the California-based cancer treatment and research center, executives and supporters filled a banquet room at the Rosen Plaza Hotel here on the eve of the International Builders' Show to honor the man of the hour: Ace Hardware's Ray Griffith. The president and CEO of the Oak Brook, Ill.-based hardware co-op accepted the 2012 Spirit of Life award.

February 15, 2012
At True Value event, open casting

When True Value retailers assemble in Orlando, Fla., Feb. 20 to 22, the Chicago-based co-op will invite retailers to audition for its television campaigns. 

According to Chris Taylor, True Value's director of communications, the one-day-only open auditions for camera-friendly retailers will be among the highlights of the co-op's market event. The retailers selected will play roles in the co-op's national advertising campaign in 2012.

February 13, 2012
Bernanke to builders: More needs to be done

Orlando, Fla. -- Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke, addressing a crowd of home builders on the last day of the International Builders' Show here, did his best to explain how low mortgage rates -- his chief weapon to stimulate the housing market -- have fallen short of their goals. But Bernanke’s speech before a crowd of more than 200 attendees was not an apologie; on the contrary, Bernanke seemed a little frustrated about a lack of action in other government and business sectors and seemed worried about the overall effect of the housing crisis on the general economy.

February 13, 2012
Lowe's ramps up accessibility in the home

Lowe's entered the do-it-yourself ramp market with what it calls an "affordable, configurable" ramp system. 

The Gatehouse Custom Access Ramp System will be available to consumers in Lowe’s stores and on Lowes.com in spring 2012.

The product, which is the latest extension of Lowe's accessible home products for safety and mobility in the home, was unveiled at the 2012 International Builders' Show in Orlando, Fla.

February 10, 2012
A Builders’ Show roundup

Like anyone in business, builders are looking for an edge, looking for efficiencies and looking for ways to keep customers happy. The 2012 International Builders’ Show in Orlando, Fla., set the stage on all three counts. Here is a sampling of some of the ideas displayed.

February 10, 2012
Building booms, past and present, are hot topics at IBS

Orlando, Fla. -- Perhaps the second half of the seminar title said it all: “How long can the good times last?” A large group of skittish apartment and condo builders attended the multi-family forecast of David Crowe, the chief economist of the National Association of Home Builders (NAHB), here on the second day of the International Builders' Show. What they hoped to hear was that the high demand for rental units will continue to fuel multi-family starts, which continue to outpace single family starts.

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