Home Improvement

A diversified service offering that includes interior and exterior signage, lighting, specialty contracting and facilities maintenance gives ImageOne Industries an up-close look at the evolving retail scene. Chain Store Age spoke with ImageOne Industries president Jim Mikula about some of the trends the company is seeing.

What trends are you seeing in retail signage and graphics?

Atlanta-based The Home Depot reported record fourth-quarter and fiscal year results, as it emphasized "the interconnected customer experience" and rode a recovering U.S. housing market.

The company's fourth-quarter sales were a record $21.0 billion, up 9.5% from the same quarter last year. Net earnings for the three months were $1.5 billion, compared with $1.4 billion a year ago.

Comp-store sales for the fourth quarter were up 7.1%, and up 8.9% for U.S. stores.

A home improvement start-up with a green conscience and niche positioning is finally ready to expand out of its Austin, Texas, hometown.

TreeHouse will serve as the anchor tenant at The Hill, a new North Dallas shopping center being revived, refreshed, and repositioned by Dallas developer, Cypress Equities. The store, which will be designed by Lake|Flato Architects, is slated to open in early 2017. It will be the retailer’s second location, but perhaps not for long.

To further differentiate commercial space the trend among architects, restaurateurs, retailers, and developers has been towards sign packages that seamlessly marry the building facade and family of signs.

Boston -- Gordon Brothers Group has acquired the inventory, equipment and intellectual property assets of CHEF’S Catalog, including brands, trademarks and domain names. In January CHEFS’ sent an email to its shoppers saying goodbye after 36 years.

Tractor Supply Company continues its rapid expansion, with the grand opening of its 1,500th store, on Feb. 13, in Odessa, Texas.

The retailer opened a total of 114 stores in 2015, and expects to open between 115 and 120 locations in 2016. Tractor Supply stores are located primarily in towns outlying major metropolitan markets and in rural communities.
  

Shannon Greene, CFO of Tandy Leather Factory, was named interim CEO of the Fort Worth-based operator of more than 100 stores after CEO Jon Thompson resigned after more than two decades with the company.