Profile of a home improvement shopper

EDARALLELING the national

F- home improvement supply buying figures are Florida statistics gathered by the Suncoast Opinion Surveys in Pinellas County.

Their purpose was to profile hardware and building supply store shoppers and to probe their home improvement supply purchases.

Fully 9l9o of those surveyed reported that they or someone in their household had shopped at one or more of the hardware and building supply stores in the area. The compilation revealed that home center shoppers in that region are younger, more affluent, better educated and more likely to be employed than nonshoppers. They also were morelikely to be women, 550/0 to 45s/0.

The median age was 55 years with 67s/o having lived in the county for over five years. Median length of residence was 9.7 years. Household

Home

income for the shoppers was higher than the county median at $19,000. Over four in five (or 8490) owned their home. Nearly half of the shoppers had some college with 219o having been graduated.

When queried about buying habits, 82qo said they had made purchases in the home improvement supply category which included lumber, plumbing supplies, paint, tools, gardening supplies, hardware items and ceiling fans. Hardware was purchased by 54Vo; gardening supplies by 5390; paintby529o; tools by429o; plumbing supplies by 37u/o; lumber by 3090; ceiling fans by 3090.

When asked their choice of home improvement supply stores, l49o said that they had limited their shopping to one of the area's l0 major hardware and building supply stores in the past year. The others had shopped at two or more of the stores.

Georgia-Paci.fic plans to double the capacity of its Dudley, N.C., oriented strandboard facility

Rubbermaid has agreed to sell Applied Producis and move its Con-Tact manufacturing to the Statesville. N.C. site now occupied by that operation . Rqdiant King Inc. is affiliating with Val-Test, a buying group, for nationwide distribution . .

Colu m b ia P ly w ood Co rp. is adding a 2nd shift at its new hardwood plywood plant in OId Fort, N.C. .theAlumni Forest Prod,/c/s remanufacturing facilities at Vicksburg, Ms., have been acquired by ldaho Timber Corp.

Kapman, Inc. is a new co. in Valdese, N.C., manufacturing saw blades I l6-year-old Woodward, Wight & Co., Ltd., New Orleans, La., has declared bankruptcy and has liquidated its $2.4 million inventory .

Manutnark, Inc., Chatsworth, Ga., is expanding its solar support program for wholesalers

Porter-Coble, Memphis, Tn., has established factory service branches in five additional markets

Leslie-Lock has relocated its Hq. from Akron, Oh., to a new 144,0N sq. ft. facility in Atlanta, Ga. . .

Giles & Kendoll, 1rc., Huntsville, Al., is launching a co-op advertising program for dealers

Therma-Trar plans a $2 million expansion at its corporate Hq. and mfg. facility DG Shelter Products Mouldinp and Millwork Div., Marion, Va., has added Sunbelt Marketing as a manufacturer's representative

Guardiun Purchasing Corp., Houston, Tx., has moved into new office and warehouse space . . . Prudential Buildins Material

Corp. has opened an additional facilitf in Orlando, Fl. . . Coletrrrtrt .\letul Prodrrc'ts has broken ground tor a shonroom,/ plant in Ft. Worth, Tx. .

Home Shops, ^fnc., Jacksonville, Fl., newly reorganized as Honte Shops of Virginia, Honte Shops of Florida and Home Shops of Maryland, plans to open six new units a year in each market as well as move into other Southeasternareas...

The Hotneo v,ners W'areho use, a new Coconut Creek, Fl., home improvement store, expects to open a second store in Broward County this summer with a third projected for Southeast Fl. Hottte Deporis planning to open a sixth store in North Miami Beach. Fl., this year

Scotty's has opened a replacement store in Deland, Fl., with additional units under construction in Tampa and Margate Scotty's, St. Petersburg, will move into the old Woolco site at the Gateway mall Berry Builders Supply has purchased the former Scotty's warehouse in Auburndale, Fl., for its door hangingshop...

East Texas Lurnber Sa/es has moved into a new location in Longview Chapman Lumber Co., Pauls Valley, Ok., is adding carpet and wallpaper depts. at its new location l4thit Davis Lutnber Co., Jacksonville, Ar., has completed an additional 1,650 sq. ft. sales area

Horry's Ace Hardware, New Orleans, La., has opened store No.6 in Metairie. La. Cordele Sash, Door ond Luntber Co. is building a new facility behind its present 85-year-old store in Cordele, Ga. T.J. Moss Lumber Co., Inc., Rogersville, Al., is building a new'all-rvood, nvo level officecomplex of 2,200 sq. ft....

W'illiants Brot hers Luntber Co., has acquired Hill Suppl-t' Co., \\'atkinsville. Ga. . . . D.L. Re-v'nolds Lunrber Co., White Oak. Tx.. has moved into a nerv 10,000 sq. ft. facility' . . Rick Stroud, R and S Building Supply, N1ena, Ar., plans to erpand this )'ear

T.H. Rogers Luntber Co., McAlester, Ok., is turning the Little Dixie Prime Rib ballroom building into a home remodeling center u'ith a drive through lumber 1'ard East Coast Lutrtber Co., is nearing completion on a new Vero Beach, Fl., location . .

Still Lumber Co., Conl'ers, Ca., is marking its 36th 1'ear in business .Strirtg,erll'ltolesaleLttrrtberuncl Suppl_t' Co., \lcDonough, Ca., is celebrating itslOthbirthdal' .S&M Buildittg Suppl.t', Chattanooga, Tn., is obserr ing its 25th anniversar)' Hox'ard Lurnber and Sttppll' Co., Inc. has nou' been doing business in Nlinden, La., lor 30 )'ears .

Phil M. Grothues has purchased the L"/. Moore Lumber, Inc., Kerrville, Tx., renaming it Lumber Mart, Inc. . Smith Evctns LumberCo., Rome, Ga., is adding a hollow metal and finish hardwarediv. Keener Lumber Co., Clinton, N.C., is back in operation after a Dec. fire with lumber drying capacity increased by some 15,000 board feet wtNDows

Building permits in March rncreased in the South although they dropped elsewhere, the seasonally adjusted annual rate was 1,434,000 units, 68.590 above Mar. '82 starts were 75.190 higher than the same mo. last year despite a dip of 9.290 from the Feb. figs., the seasonally adjusted annual rate u'as l,6l 1,000.

Soutltern Railv,ay Co. and Seaboard System RR have signed an agreement with the Illinois Central Culf Railroad Co. to buy its line between Maplesville and Montgomery, Al.

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Commercial Remodeling Modernization Projects

By Specifier 1981