DIY Paint Projects Dry Up -- WSJ
September 12 2017 - 3:03AM
Dow Jones News
Pros find demand in home improvement amid rising incomes, firmer
housing market Rising incomes and a stronger housing market have
many hiring professionals
By Andrew Tangel
This article is being republished as part of our daily
reproduction of WSJ.com articles that also appeared in the U.S.
print edition of The Wall Street Journal (September 12, 2017).
Homeowners are increasingly leaving painting to the pros,
complicating business for paint makers and retailers.
The U.S. housing market is strengthening, unemployment is low
and incomes are rising. That means consumers have the means to pay
someone else to do their home improvement projects, analysts and
executives at paint makers say.
"More and more is being done by the professional painter," said
Dan Calkins, president of global sales at Benjamin Moore & Co.
"People just don't have the time."
Executives at PPG Industries Inc., the Pittsburgh-based paint
and coatings giant, say that younger home buyers are too scarce to
propel retail paint sales.
Just more than 40% of Sherwin-Williams Co. customers were
do-it-yourself painters in 2015, the Cleveland-based company said,
down from nearly 60% in 1980. Senior Vice President Robert Wells
said Sherwin-Williams can benefit from the shift because it sells
to professional painters, too, and sales are increasing
overall.
"While we don't like to see our DIY business in our stores
slowing down, we are the beneficiaries of this shift from DIY to
do-it-for-me," he said in a recent call with analysts.
Indeed, paint sales are rising overall. But margins on sales to
consumers can be higher than on sales to professionals that
sometimes buy in bulk or at a discount. Both PPG and
Sherwin-Williams, which each operate their own retail stores as
well, serve both types of customer.
The shift is also hitting big-box chains that cater to
homeowners. Paint sales have lagged in recent months at Home Depot
Inc. and Lowe's Cos. stores. Both retailers say they are trying to
capture more of the professional paint market. Home Depot's sales
to professional painters now outpace those to
do-it-yourselfers.
Chris Richter, Home Depot's head paint buyer, said the retailer
wants both kinds of customer. "We're also still passionate about
our DIY paint business," he said.
A Lowe's spokeswoman said paint remains a core product. "The DIY
paint project remains one of our customers' most frequent home
improvement projects," she said.
Another driver of business to professional painters is baby
boomers who are fixing up their homes.
"As they're getting older they're doing more renovations and
they're actively investing in their home in preparation for
retirement," said Nino Sitchinava, principal economist at Houzz, an
online platform for pairing homeowners and contractors.
Demand for professional painters is outstripping supply of
available labor. Surveys provided by HomeAdvisor, which helps
homeowners find contractors, indicate nearly all professional
painters' are seeing strong revenue growth that would be even
stronger if they could find more workers.
"The labor shortage is real and it's not getting any better,"
said Brad Hunter, HomeAdvisor's chief economist.
Nicole Buddin, a 31-year-old marketing manager in Chicago,
recently hired pros to help paint her new house in the suburbs
after she and her husband painted their condo in the city
themselves three years ago.
"It's just so time consuming," she said. "We swore we wouldn't
do that again."
Write to Andrew Tangel at Andrew.Tangel@wsj.com
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
September 12, 2017 02:48 ET (06:48 GMT)
Copyright (c) 2017 Dow Jones & Company, Inc.
Sherwin Williams (NYSE:SHW)
Historical Stock Chart
From Aug 2024 to Sep 2024
Sherwin Williams (NYSE:SHW)
Historical Stock Chart
From Sep 2023 to Sep 2024