Armed with metrics, Do it Best points to strength

Indianapolis -- During its annual shareholders meeting, Do it Best Corp. CEO Bob Taylor and chairman of the board Tom Lamberth leaned on a variety of statistics to describe the state of the co-op. 

Most metrics were in the positive column, with annual gross sales up 4.4% to $2.80 billion, compared with $2.68 billion in 2012, which had an extra week on the calendar. (The co-op’s fiscal year ended June 29.) 

Executives also emphasized the growth of the annual member rebate. Total member rebates for 2013 were $116.4 million, the tenth consecutive year of rebates in excess of $100 million.

The co-op adjusted downward, however, its number of dealer locations, partly the result of adjusting its definition of a retail location, the co-op said. The latest tally of retail locations where consumers can walk in and buy products is “more than 3,800.” Do it Best had recently described its store count as “more than 4,000,” which included a large number of industrial and commercial desks. The move was described as an effort to improve clarity and accuracy.   

During the October Market, which ended Oct. 21, the Do it Best team was armed mostly with stats heading in positive directions. 

Fill rates were 97.3%, on-time delivery was measured at 98.2%, and expenses were down 5.5%, the co-op said. Of particular note was a statistic that measured operating expense ratio: 1.87% after inventory capitalization, allowing for “the best in the industry rebate,” said Taylor, and also allowing the co-op to distribute back to its members 63 cents of every dollar of gross profit. 

On the lumber and building materials side of the business, lumber sales increased 32.7%. Sales through distribution were down 2.7%. 

Another worthy statistic measured the number of dealers -- five -- that received end-of-year rebates in excess of $1 million. They were: Parker Do it Best Lumber, Beaumont, Texas; Alamo Do it Best Lumber Co., San Antonio; Runnings, Marshall, Minn.; RP Lumber Co., Edwardsville, Ill.; and Meek’s the Builder’s Choice, Springfield, Mo.

Each received checks ranging from $1 million to more than $1.7 million.