Sherwin-Williams with a thick coat of Valspar
According to the various transcription services, there were 59 mentions of “Valspar” during the most recent Sherwin-Williams earnings call. That’s almost twice as many references to “paint.”
And maybe that shouldn’t be a surprise. The Valspar/Sherwin-Williams blockbuster deal — described both as a $9.3 billion and an $11 billion deal — closed in the first quarter of 2017, and sent Sherwin-Williams sales skyrocketing in the recent quarter (up 37% to $4.51 billion).
Integrations and synergies are on track, according to Sherwin-Williams SVP of corporate communications Bob Wells. But there’s a lot more for Sherwin-Williams to talk about than blockbuster mergers. For instance, DIY sales, hurricanes and big-box customers.
Sherwin-Williams paint stores, all 4,200 of them, cater predominantly to the pro. However, sales to DIY stores grew in the high single digits in the latest quarter; and CEO John Morikis said there’s a line and some mystery that separates DIY business from do-it-for-me business.
“We’re always trying to keep our fingers on the pulse to know exactly how the consumers [are> acting and why,” Morikis said. “And I wish I was smart enough to know exactly, but we do know that there are some economic factors that might drive homeowners to hire a painting contractor.” He suggested that specialty paint stores are known for their quality.
Sidestepping a question about penetration to more big-box retailers — “We are not going to talk about any one customer” — Sherwin-Williams executives pointed to the need to help pros make better use of their time in a tight labor market. “Using more productive products and formulas can help them do more jobs in less time,” Wells said.
And on the storm and hurricane front, the company said damage received from strong hurricanes in 2016 and operations at 650 paint stores were disrupted in one way or another. Still, growth continued, with about 90 net new locations in the United States, Canada and the Caribbean in 2017.
As for selling paint to the continuing recovery effort: “We’re going to be there to help in any way we can, but we don’t think that that’s going to be something that’s going to really drive our results,” Morikis said.
