Gas grills and fertilizer propel True Value sales

True Value's transformation strategy seems to be resonating with shoppers, as the hardware cooperative posted an increase in revenue and sales growth.

The company reported gross billings of $573.6 million for the quarter ended July 4, up 1% from the same period a year ago.Revenue was $431.9 million, an increase of 0.6% or $2.4 million.The cooperative posted a quarterly net margin of $9.3 million.

“We are very proud of the transformation that is underway at True Value,” said President and CEO, John Hartmann. “The work being done on our strategic plan will have lasting positive impact on the organization and our retailers for years to come.”

For the six-month period, True Value reported gross billings of $1,067.6 million, up 3.8% from $1,028.1 million for the same period a year ago. True Value reported revenue of $785.8 million, an increase of 3.3 % from $761.0 million for the same period a year ago.Same store sales were up 3.5% year to date, as wholesale same store sales were up 3.2%.

The cooperative planned for a decrease in net margin in the first half of 2015, posting a net margin of $7.6 million, driven by investment expense incurred in connection with the implementation of the cooperative’s strategic plan.

According to the co-op, the top three categories for the quarter were lawn fertilizer, grass and weed killer, and propane grills.

Destination True Value comparable store sales were up 5.6% year-to-date. Wholesale comparable store sales, on a gross billings basis, were flat in the quarter and up 3.2 percent year-to-date. Retail comparable store sales were up 2.3 percent in the quarter and 3.5 percent year-to-date with increases in all twelve regions of the country and in all of the cooperative’s nine product categories, led by Farm Ranch Auto & Pet, Hand & Power Tools and Seasonal.

During the first half of the year, True Value continued to grow its square footage and retailer base. In the six-month period, the company added over 382,000 square feet of relevant retail space, continuing its commitment to grow DTV and other relevant formats in its network. In addition, the company signed 26 conversions so far in 2015, for an additional estimated $18.6 million in new annualized warehouse business.

“Our flexible DTV format enables our cooperative members to adapt the layout and custom-select merchandise assortments that are most relevant to their local market and customer needs,” said Hartmann. “Our first half performance shows that our efforts are paying off.”