Home Improvement

Electrolux president and CEO Keith McLoughlin reflected on the company's progress during the second fiscal quarter, pointing to prospects for growth.

However, net sales decreased by about 4.9% year-over-year, totaling $26.3 billion for the three-month period. That decrease was slightly smaller for the six-month period — 2%.

Meanwhile, the company posted a net loss of $92 million for the quarter. For the first six months, the company's net income of $339 million compares to net income of $1.003 billion for the same six-month period last year.

Topeka, Kan. -- Mid-America Real Estate Corporation’s Investment Sales team recently brokered the sale of Wanamaker Shopping Center in Topeka, Kansas.  The regional shopping center was purchased for $18 million by Fort Wayne, Indiana-based Equity Investment Group.

The 269,875-sq.-ft. center is anchored by Big Kmart, Hobby Lobby, and Bed Bath & Beyond.

Cleveland – Higher pretax income and gross profit helped push net income at The Sherwin-Williams Company up 13% in the second quarter of fiscal 2014 to $291 million, from $257 million in the year-ago period.

Net sales rose 12% to $3.04 billion from $2.7 billion, primarily due to higher paint sales volume in the paint stores group and acquisitions.

Chandler, Ariz. -- X Team International announced that partner Velocity Retail Group has completed deals with Goodwill of Central Arizona and six other retailers in the metropolitan Phoenix market.

Goodwill of Central Arizona will open a 27,600-sq.-ft. retail store in Chandler, Arizona, located at Arizona Avenue and Riggs Road.

Brooklyn, N.Y. -- Home furnishings retailer West Elm will open in New Orleans on July 24.

Located in the Lower Garden District, the approximately 10,000-sq.-ft. store is designed with installations inspired by New Orleans culture and will feature a local assortment made by Louisiana-based artisans that includes art, leather goods, vases and stationery.

The 3-D printer movement got a boost months ago when Home Depot began offering 3-D printers and scanners for sale through its website.

Now the world’s largest home improvement retailer is bringing the products to shelves in select markets. Home Depot is introducing MakerBot 3-D printers and scanners in select stores in Chicago, New York City, Los Angeles and San Francisco.

On the retailer’s website, a fifth-generation MakerBot Replicator Desktop 3-D Printer sells for $2,899. A MakerBot Digitizer Desktop 3D Scanner is priced at $799.

Tractor Supply is scheduled to provide complete second-quarter results in just under two weeks. But the first half of the quarter was affected by bad weather, which caused softness in sales, particularly in seasonal merchandise, prompting the company to lower its full-year guidance.

RPM International’s Rust-Oleum Group has acquired Krud Kutter, a marketer of specialty cleaning products for both residential and industrial markets. The terms of the transaction were not disclosed.

Krud Kutter specializes in problem-solving cleaners and removers, which are, according to the company, water-based, biodegradable, nontoxic and VOC compliant. The brand is sold across the country in home centers, hardware stores, mass merchants and industrial supply outlets.