While many U.S. construction supply and home center dealers hesitate over installing self-checkout options, a big DIY center has opened in Japan with a side store featuring a round-the-clock, cashier-less format.

Commentary by Craig Webb QXO’s acquisition of Kodiak Building Partners is raising lots of concerns across LBM. Vendors, buying groups, industry leaders, executive recruiters, and potential acquisition targets all are wondering about the impact on them as Chairman and CEO Brad Jacobs keeps pushing to grow QXO into a $50 billion company by 2030. The $2.25 billion purchase of Kodiak’s 110 locations and 5,500 employees in 26 states (particularly Florida and Texas, source of 40

By Craig Webb Billy Bastek, Merchandising EVP, The Home Depot Uncertainty and affordability are making it tough today for people to spend on new homes and remodeling, but the buildup in home equity should provide the fuel to power future growth once lending rates decline, The Home Depot's Executive Vice President for Merchandising says. Billy Bastek told several hundred people gathered Feb. 18 for the annual Storehouse Project breakfast in Orlando, FL, that "the industry is

Builders FirstSource's 2026 outlook, presented to analysts with its 2025 4Q and full-year financial report By Craig Webb Builders FirstSource's report that its fourth-quarter net income plummeted 83% from the year-earlier period adds to a series of recent economic reports that point to more hard times ahead for dealers. Analysts had expected BFS to accumulate $336 million worth of adjusted EBITDA in the final three months of 2025. Instead, the nation's biggest full-service