Payless To Try Another Stock Offering

Payless Cashways is offering 28 million shares of common stock at $11 to $13 per share to raise money to reduce its debts and fund expansion.

Filed last month, the offering coures almost a year after a similar offer was aborted. Reduced senior debt and recent bond maturation plus a more favorable economic climate should make the offering more acceptable, securities analysts said.

In its prospectus, the company outlined multiple store openings in new or existing markets beginning next year and growing to about six store openings a year in 1995 and beyond. Market share will be increased by entering underserved markets with three stand-alone retail concepS.

The fonnat includes contractor sales offices located in remote areas at least 75 miles from a full line Payless, home decor showrooms, and specialty tool stores with an inventory of 6,500 tools and related products in about 15,000 sq. ft A Home and Room Design unit will open in Denver, Co., in April with about five locations opening each year after 1993. Two Tool Sites will open this year followed by

10 more each year.

These innovations are intended to shift focus to the professional customer. Since 1988, customer mix has moved from 75Vo d-i-yl25Vo professional to 55Vo d-i-yl457o professional.

Payless will add automated blueprint estimating services to all stores this spring. Computer aided design has been added to stoes with kirchen design centers with a deck and gN ge building package design system to be added later. The company will continue to target businesses with major facilities or multiple locations for conmercial maintenance products. Federal Express and McDonald's are among current national accounts customers.

L-P Plans Venezuelan Plant

Louisiana-Pacific Corp. will build a five mill forest products manufacturing complex in Puerto Ordaz, Venentela.

The facility will include two OSB plants, a veneer plant and an MDF plant as well as a plant to produce resins used in OSB and MDF produc- tion. The facility will employ approximately 1,000.

The company has agreed to purchase as much as 1.6 million tons of Caribbean pine annually from Corporacion Venezolana de Guayana one of the country's leading timber companies, L-P chairman and president Harry Merlo said. The timber will be cut from pine plantations established by a program started in 1970 to utilize idle pastures.

U.S. Lumber Exports Decline

Totaling 2.652 billion board feet, U.S. lumber exports for 1992 were down7.4Vo ftom the p'revious year.

Mexico was the only country importing more U.S. lumber (8.8%) in 1992 than 1991. Exports to Japan were down lvo; Europe, 8.4Vo; Canada, l29o,and Ausralia 39%.

Although down 7.8Vo, Douglas fir was the preferred species with shipments reaching 736 million feet. Southern pine exports roge ll%o ta 440 million feet Hem-fir exports toaled 397 million feet, ponderosa and other pines, 371 million feet, according to Western Wood Products Association's Export Report.