Volume 19, Issue 9

September 12, 2008
 

Dick Frame

PANTONE RELEASES SPRING COLOR FORECAST

Pantone, an X-Rite company, and the global authority on color and provider of professional color standards for the design industries, recently released the PANTONE® Fashion Color Report Spring 2009. The report features the top 10 colors for women’s fashion for spring ’09.  The report is available free-of-charge from the Pantone Web site at www.pantone.com/spring2009.  According to the report, blue and purple lead the top 10 hues for spring ’09. The palette also includes pops of vibrant color representing the optimism of the season, combined with sophisticated neutrals to ground the palette and provide stability in an unpredictable economic climate. A spectrum of greens rounds out the report, evoking a sense of freshness and new beginnings.  “New York’s fashion designers encourage hopeful attitudes with lively colors, while sophisticated, grounded hues address the need for stability in times of economic uncertainty,” said Leatrice Eiseman, executive director of the Pantone Color Institute®. The colors featured in the PANTONE Fashion Color Report are culled from the PANTONE FASHION + HOME Color System, the most widely used and recognized color standard in the world. Each season, Pantone surveys the designers of New York Fashion Week to collect feedback on prominent collection colors, color inspiration and color philosophy. This information is used to create the PANTONE Fashion Color Report and serves as a reference tool throughout the year for fashion enthusiasts, reporters and retailers. Source: BusinessWire

HOUSING SLUMP MAY BE STABILIZING

Prices of single-family homes across the United States are still falling, but the declines are slowing down, according to one of the leading housing market indictors. Numbers released by Standard & Poor’s showed a 15.4 percent decline in the second quarter of 2008, compared to the same quarter of 2007. The S&P/Case-Shiller Index, which covers all nine U.S. census divisions, also reported annual declines of 17 percent and 15.9 percent, respectively, for its 10-city and 20-city composite price index.  These declines were less than economists had forecast, however. Quarterly figures for nationwide home prices showed a 2.3 percent drop in the three months through June from the previous three months, compared with a 6.8 percent decline in the first quarter of 2008.

“While there is no national turnaround in residential real estate prices, it is possible that we are a seeing some regions struggling to come back, which has resulted in some moderation of price declines at the national level,” said David Blitzer, chairman of the index committee at Standard & Poor’s, in a prepared statement.   Las Vegas remains the weakest real estate market in the country, according to the report, closely followed by Miami and Phoenix. For the month of June, Denver and Boston were the best performing markets; each city had three consecutive months of sales gains. Charlotte and Dallas recorded four straight months of positive returns, according to the index. Read the full story at Home Channel News

BUILDING PERMITS

Privately-owned housing units authorized by building permits in July were at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 937,000.  This is 17.7 percent  below the revised June rate of 1,138,000 and is approximately 32.4 percent below the revised July 2007 estimate of 1,386,000.  Single-family authorizations in July were at a rate of 584,000; this is approximately 5.2 percent below the June figure of 616,000.  Authorizations of units in buildings with five units or more were at a rate of 318,000 in July. Click here read the full Press Release.

HOUSING STARTS

Privately-owned housing starts in July were at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 965,000. This is approximately 11.0 percent below the revised June estimate of 1,084,000 and is approximately 29.6 percent below the revised July 2007 rate of 1,371,000. Single-family housing starts in July were at a rate of 641,000; this is approximately 2.9% percent below the June figure of 660,000. The July rate for units in buildings with five units or more was 309,000.  Click here read the full Press Release.

HOUSING COMPLETIONS

Privately-owned housing completions in July were at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 1,035,000. This is approximately 8.7 percent  below the revised June estimate of 1,134,000 and is approximately 31.7 percent below the revised July 2007 rate of 1,515,000. Single-family housing completions in July were at a rate of 791,000; this is approximately 7.2 percent below the June figure of 852,000. The July rate for units in buildings with five units or more was 229,000.  Click here read the full Press Release.

LOWE”S TO OPEN 120 NEW STORES  

Lowe’s Chairman and CEO Robert Niblock said this month that Lowe’s still plans to open approximately 120 new stores this fiscal year, bringing total store count to 1,650. Niblock was speaking at the Goldman Sachs Investors Conference. A video of the presentation can be seen here: http://www.shareholder.com/lowes/index2.cfm

Source: AHMA.org

BRASSCRAFT ACCELERATES GREEN INITIATIVE  

BrassCraft, a leading plumbing manufacturer renowned for innovation, continues to heighten their ecological commitment with new streamlined packaging and energy-efficient manufacturing processes.  "We have a number of initiatives underway that solidify our commitment to the environment," says Jeff Jollay, Vice President of Marketing and Product Development, BrassCraft. Packaging materials supplied to BrassCraft are provided by Forest Stewardship Council and Sustainable Forestry Initiative (R) (SFI) certified suppliers. Using materials provided by these certified suppliers supports the worldwide growth of responsible forest management. The conservation continues with an average of 30% recycled materials used in the production of their shipping cartons.  By using recycled materials and decreasing total packaging material weight, BrassCraft has reduced both their fuel consumption and carbon emissions. The company continues to work toward accomplishing more efficient manufacturing methods at their plants in Lancaster, Texas; Corona, California; Brownstown, Michigan and Thomasville, North Carolina.  BrassCraft Manufacturing Company, a Masco Company, is an international manufacturer of water supplies and other plumbing products for new construction and the repair and remodel markets. Visit http://www.brasscraft.com for the full story.

THE BOSTWICK-BRAUN COMPANY NAMES DAVE DAVIS DIRECTOR OF MERCHANDISING

Bostwick-Braun announced that Dave Davis joined the company as its Director of Merchandising on August 18.  Davis graduated from Valdosta State College with a BBA in 1977, and went to work for Cotter & Company (True Value) as a sales and marketing representative.  He steadily worked his way up through the organization and was named Vice President, Sales and Marketing for TruServ Corporation in 2000.  Davis left TruServ in 2002 and joined W.E. Aubuchon Company as Vice President, Merchandising and Marketing.  As Aubuchon’s Chief Marketing Officer, he was charged with complete responsibility for their 138 unit chain of retail hardware stores located across the Northeast.  A desire to locate closer to family brought Dave back to the Great Lakes in 2007, where he accepted the position of Chief Merchandising and Marketing Officer with ACO Hardware, a Michigan based 70 store chain. Davis resides in Ann Arbor with wife Donna; the couple are the proud parents of seven children. Bostwick-Braun Chairman & CEO Bill Bollin said, “Dave’s core values, strong work ethic and wealth of industry knowledge make him the ideal choice to fill this critical position in our organization.”  Source: The Bostwick-Braun Company

MUELLER FOUNDATION RELEASES PERSONNEL MANAGEMENT GUIDE

The Russell R. Mueller Retail Hardware Research Foundation has released a revised and updated version of the Human Resource Handbook. First published in 2000 in print format, the Handbook is a practical personnel management guide for small and medium-size businesses in the hardware/home improvement industry. It is designed primarily for owners and managers who deal with human resource management matters without the support of human resource departments.  The 2008 version of the Human Resource Handbook is in interactive electronic format and is available online or as a CD. For more information about using the Human Resource Handbook online or to acquire a CD, contact Patty Bowman at (317) 290-0338 or e-mail pfbowman@nrha.org.  Source: NRHA.org

UPCOMING DISTRIBUTOR SHOW DATES & EVENTS
 

2009 Executive Planning Conference

11/17– 11/19/2008 at the JW Marriott Starr Pass Resort & Spa, Tucson, AZ.

www.executiveplanningconference.com

COURAGE

Success is never final. Failure is never fatal. Courage is what counts.

--Sir Winston Churchill