Consolidation Trend Continues with Number of New Acquisitions
A number of U.S. hardware and home improvement retailers have announced acquisitions this month. This continues a trend across the industry that picked up steam during the pandemic and has accelerated during 2022.
Mead Lumber Company, a member of The Hardware Connection Century Club, announced the purchase of Teague Lumber Company Inc. of Kansas City, Mo., on November 1. Teague Lumber has served the Kansas City metro area as a full-service lumber yard and building material supplier for residential and light commercial new construction since 2002. They have four locations in the Kansas City area: corporate office, including the millwork operation and a separate lumberyard in Grandview, Mo., as well as lumberyards in Liberty, Mo., and Bonner Springs, Kan.
“All of us here at Teague Lumber are excited to join the Mead Lumber family,” said Don Margritier, president of Teague Lumber. “We’ve had several parties interested in purchasing us, but when it came down to it, the values that Mead Lumber has, their culture and track record in the communities they serve, and the fact that Mead Lumber is 100 percent employee-owned, made it the best decision for us.”
“We are extremely excited to have Teague Lumber join our family,” said Dave Anderson, president and CEO of Mead Lumber. “Teague Lumber not only gives us our first locations in the state of Missouri, but also gives us a great opportunity to expand into the Kansas City market. Teague Lumber is a great fit culturally as a company, and we are looking forward to combining the strengths of our two companies to provide customers a continued superior level of service.”
The business will continue to operate under the name Teague Lumber Company. The current management team under the direction of Ron Avery, Kansas City market manager, will continue to lead day-to-day operations at Teague Lumber. All of the current employees will remain and become employees of Mead Lumber.
Founded in 1910, Mead Lumber is a 100 percent employee-owned company that has become one of the leaders in the building materials industry, ranking in the top 20 nationally for companies serving professional builders. Mead Lumber now has 53 locations in Colorado, Kansas, Iowa, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, Oklahoma, South Dakota and Wyoming, including five truss and wall panel manufacturing plants and a countertop manufacturing facility.
Nation’s Best Holdings, one of the fastest-growing independent home improvement companies in the U.S., announced the addition of Palmetto Home Center’s two locations near Charleston, S.C., to its family of businesses.
“As Nation’s Best expands its presence across the country, partnering with the team at Palmetto Home Center makes perfect sense,” said Chris Miller, president and CEO of Nation’s Best. “Owners Donnie Canaday and Brandt Mitchell are exceptional business leaders and we’re thrilled that they’ll stay on with Nation’s Best. Together, we’re well-aligned to drive substantial growth in the greater Charleston market.”
Co-owners Brandt Mitchell and Donnie Canaday, as well as Donnie’s son, Jamie Canaday, look forward to continuing with Nation’s Best. “Our team is proud of our success in serving the needs of the Lowcountry,” said Mitchell and the Canadays. “Partnering with Nation’s Best is the logical next step in our growth. We’re excited by the opportunities to build on our strengths and continue to grow the business alongside our new partner.”
As part of Nation’s Best’s strategy, Palmetto Home Center will maintain operations under their existing name with its key leadership team overseeing company operations alongside Nation’s Best, which will provide the strategic and financial support necessary to drive optimal growth and profitability.
Westlake Ace Hardware announced it will acquire Trails West Ace Hardware. The store is located at 240 North Moonlight Road in Gardner, Kan.
When the sale is finalized on January 15, 2023, Westlake Ace will own and operate 30 retail hardware stores in Kansas. The store will be rebranded as Westlake Ace Hardware, but it will be a seamless transition of ownership and the store will retain management, store personnel and much of the current product mix.
“For the past 11 years, it has been an honor to serve the needs of the Gardner community,” said Gavin Barmby, owner of Trails West Ace Hardware. “With the upcoming retirement of our long-term General Manager Rex Cummings, I have determined it is in our best interest to sell the store to Westlake Ace Hardware. We are very confident that Westlake Ace will be good stewards of the store and will continue our tradition of great customer service.”
According to Joe Jeffries, president and CEO of Westlake Ace Hardware, “Trails West Ace has an outstanding tradition of customer service in Gardner. We look forward to continuing that tradition and showing our new neighbors how Westlake Ace lives the Ace Helpful Promise every day by delivering reliable service, helpful advice, and products to help them get their projects done right.”
Justin and Alison Biery, owners of Damascus General Hardware in Damascus, Ohio, have bought Century Club retailer Leonard Hardware in Sebring, Ohio, which closed at the end of September. They plan to renovate the business and reopen in April 2023 as a Do it Best store under the name of Sebring Hardware.
Kodiak Building Partners announced that it has acquired Century Club retailer Goodrich Lumber, a lumber and building materials distribution company based in Kingston, Mass.
Goodrich Lumber was founded in Duxbury, Mass., in 1906 to provide lumber and building materials to surrounding communities, contractors, builders and homeowners. Since its founding over 100 years ago, Goodrich Lumber has expanded its services and facility with a 45,000-square-foot drive-through lumberyard, an 8,500-square-foot store and showroom, and a 1,700-square-foot millwork shop in Kingston, Mass.
Originally founded and long operated by the Goodrich family, Goodrich Lumber changed hands to new ownership in 1993. In 1996, Kevin Medeiros, president of Goodrich Lumber, began working with Goodrich and later purchased the business in 2012. Goodrich Lumber continues to operate with a focus on building Goodrich’s local legacy by being the premier resource for high-quality products, innovative building sciences, and top-tier education and technical support for area contractors.
Kevin Medeiros, president of Goodrich Lumber, said, “Goodrich has been in business since 1906 and is a valued partner in the community. Our desire to keep Goodrich locally managed and locally operated is very important to us. Our concern for our customers, employees and the legacy of Goodrich is appreciated and valued by the people at Kodiak—both companies are like-minded and understand the role we play in our community. This was a deciding factor with the acquisition.”
Pat Flood, executive vice president of operations at Kodiak Building Partners, added, “Goodrich Lumber has a legacy of local expertise and industry innovation with market-leading products and vendors and a strong focus on the customer. As we looked into the future, we specifically chose Goodrich because of our long-held respect for the organization and our full confidence that the addition of Goodrich to the Kodiak Team will allow both Goodrich and Kodiak to be successful well into the future.”
Kodiak will maintain Goodrich Lumber’s existing suppliers, products, management, manufacturing footprint, employees and distribution network. As a subsidiary of Kodiak Building Partners, Goodrich is expected to benefit from sharing best practices in distribution, manufacturing and innovation, as well as in scale and efficiency of operations.
Gumble Brothers Inc. is in the process of being acquired by Blue Ridge Lumber with an anticipated closing date on or before March 31, 2023.
“As you can imagine, our main concern throughout this process has been for our valued employees that are like family to us and our loyal customers who have become our friends and we believe this is a ‘win-win’ for everyone. We could not imagine any other company more suited to step in and not only continue providing the same incredible service you have been accustomed to, but one that will also incorporate fresh ideas while still maintaining a similar philosophy as ours. We are anticipating a smooth transition with no interruption in service, and we look forward to seeing our business not only continue on, but to thrive,” said the Gumble family in a statement posted on Facebook.
“Gumble Brothers have been a long-time partner of Blue Ridge Lumber, who we have purchased doug fir timbers and log cabin siding from since the 1960’s. We are honored to be acquiring a family-owned company and to be able to keep it a family-owned company. We are excited to bring our reputation of providing exceptional service and the highest-quality products available to all customers through a highly trained staff all at a fair price,” stated Blue Ridge Lumber on its Facebook page.
