Home Improvement

Newell Rubbermaid’s net sales declined 1.9% to $1.52 billion in the second quarter ended June 30. Net income declined 23.8% to $111.8 million. But those declines didn’t prevent CEO Michael Polk from looking at the bright side and pointing to momentum.

Core sales, which exclude the impact of changes in foreign currency translation, grew by 0.4%. And net sales for the first six months were $2.85 billion, up 1.0 % from the first-half results last year.

Ridgefield, Conn. -- Schimenti Construction has announced that it has been selected to build a new Buybuy Baby in the Fashion Center, Paramus, N.J. The 53,028-sq.-ft. store will be on the third floor of the shopping mall.

Designed by Greenberg Farrow Architecture, Arlington Heights, Ill., the store will present a construction challenge in that is has very limited accessibility for bringing in required construction materials.

SECAUCUS, N.J. — Panasonic Corporation of North America has launched a new communication campaign designed to bring attention to the brand's broad scope of products and solutions designed to meet consumer, business-to-business, and industrial needs. The campaign will also underscore Panasonic's global commitment to becoming the electronics industry's leader in green innovation by its 100th anniversary in 2018.

Safeway has opened the first LEED for Retail certified store in the state of Montana, in the town of Bozeman. The $12 million, 58,000-sq.-ft. store is one of approximately just 200 LEED certified grocery stores in the United States.

Weak housing data notwithstanding, plenty of people spent money fixing up their homes this spring judging by the results of select retailers with exposure to the home improvement market.

Whirlpool North America, a division of Whirlpool Corp., reported second-quarter sales of $2.5 billion, a 4% increase over its sales in the second quarter of 2011. Overall, North America unit shipments decreased approximately 2%, the company said, with its unit shipments of major appliances to the United States increasing approximately 1%.

Lowe’s will begin carrying a line of outdoor sheds made of structural insulated panels (SIPS) at its 1,700 retail locations, as well as through its website. But unlike traditional SIPS – rigid foam insulation between two panels of oriented strand board (OSB) – the new product will be made with sheets of magnesium oxide, often referred to as MgO.

The nation’s leading arts and crafts retailer is looking for a new top executive after John Menzer resigned to focus on recovery from a stroke.

After Menzer suffered a stroke in April, Michaels created an office of the CEO comprised of Lew Klessel, interim COO and a managing director of Bain Capital, and Chuck Sonsteby, Michael’s chief administrative officer and CFO. The pair will continue to lead the company until Menzer’s successor is hired.