Craig WebbJun 32 minBig Dealers' Ventures Into New Territories Highlight May's Openings/Closures/Deals ReportTwo notable trends--one expected, the other a bit more eye-opening--mark LBM's M&A activity over the past month. The expected trend invol...
Craig WebbMay 62 minBig Dealers Pile Up Cash and Credit to Prepare for the DownturnIn recessionary, coronavirus-tainted times like these, a company's balance sheet might well be a better indicator of its future prospects...
Craig WebbMay 64 minOpenings, Closures, Deals Pace Slowed Only Slightly by CoronavirusCoronavirus news has pushed aside many of the usual headlines in LBM these past two months, but one announcement from back on March 16 be...
Craig WebbMay 54 minLBM People in the News, Early May Edition* The board of directors of The Lester Group elected Jay Dickens as president/CEO. His promotion follows the retirement of Jim O’Brien, w...
Craig WebbApr 103 minHow Your Home Improvement Contractor Customers Can Boost Sales in a Time of Social DistancingBy Mike Damora and Horacio Kusnier For the last few years, the home improvement industry’s gone back and forth on the issue of selling in...
Craig WebbApr 103 min6 Ways to Provide Value to Your LBM Customers During—and After—the PandemicBy Matt Samson Perhaps this business lull presents an opportunity to keep us busy on a good purpose: focusing on stepping up our customer...
Craig WebbApr 64 min5 New Things LBM Dealers Should Do as You Enter Another Week of PandemicMasks (such as these sewn by my sister) could become this week as common a sight as reflective vests at building material suppliers acros...
Craig WebbMar 303 minLBM Dealer's Pandemic-Related Stimulus Idea: Put Contractors to Work Improving Military HomesOne of LBM's most forward-thinking figures proposes taking construction crews and suppliers likely to be hurt by the COVID-19 pandemic an...
Craig WebbMar 303 minUse These Low-Cost Tools to Expand Your Virtual Interactions with Customers and StaffBy Shane Soule Business Development Manager LBM Partner Services Feeling overwhelmed by the changing economic situation? It's easy to und...
Craig WebbMar 303 minFive Ways You Should Respond This Week to the COVID-19 PandemicDevelopments stemming from the coronavirus are coming at you so fast that it's vital to focus on immediate needs and challenges. Here are...
Craig WebbMar 262 minDealers, Construction Interests' Next Worry: Slower Permit and Building Inspection OperationsBuilding material dealers, home builders, and remodelers already have begun ramping up efforts to keep local government permit offices an...
Craig WebbMar 236 minThese 2 LBM Leaders Urge You to Take Steps Now to Blunt COVID-19's Economic ImpactOne of the nation's leading LBM consultants and one of its most successful LBM industry owners are calling on dealers to take action now ...
Craig WebbMar 2311 minThis List Keeps Track of How LBM and Construction Are Affected by Shelter-in-Place OrdersIntense lobbying by industry groups appear to have helped lumberyards and hardware stores win an exemption from state and local orders to...
Craig WebbMar 203 minHere’s How Coronavirus Is Making LBM Dealers Even BetterCommentary by Craig Webb “Do you remember?” I used to ask LBM executives. “Do you remember when the Great Recession came to your market?”...
Craig WebbMar 204 minWhat to Do if Someone at Your LBM Operation Gets (or May Have) the CoronavirusThe rapid rise in cases of Americans infected or possibly infected with the coronavirus made it inevitable that the lumber and building m...
Craig WebbMar 191 minThis Stress Tester Can Show You How Virus-Related Sales Declines Will Hurt Your LBM OperationThe only thing involving the coronavirus pandemic that construction supply executives can predict with certainty is that sales will be mu...
Craig WebbMar 183 min7 Issues LBM Dealers Are Grappling With as They Respond to the CoronavirusAmid the general talk about washing hands and keeping safe distances, you can see subtle differences in how construction supply companies...
Craig WebbMar 172 minAmid the Pandemic, Building Material Suppliers Are Asking Themselves: Am I 'Essential?'At a time when retail establishments are closing to help limit the spread of the coronavirus, building material suppliers are facing ques...
Craig WebbMar 163 min8 Things to Do Now to Keep Going Through the PandemicBy Craig Webb It's time for March Madness, but nobody expected it to look like this. And nobody has a complete, battle-tested game plan t...
Craig WebbMar 161 minWant Your OSRs to Excel While Selling from Home? Sherwood Lumber Suggests PajamasLike a lot of LBM companies, Sherwood Lumber's outside sales reps will be making calls from home while COVID-19 rages. But being housebou...