Last week I reported that more than 400 paint geeks had lost their jobs in layoffs at Pittsburgh, Rust-Oleum (owned by RPM), Ace Hardware and Chemours, the country’s leading TiO2 producer.  Those 400 are among an estimated 1,000 laid off in paint in the last three-quarters, though a detailed accounting might make that number closer to 1,200.   I further shared my belief that more layoffs were still to come, a forecast which became fact the next day when Carboline let anot

Last week was a bad one for paint geeks who were forced to watch their ranks diminish by nearly 400 after layoffs at Pittsburgh, Rust-Oleum, Ace Hardware and Chemours—a leading producer of TiO2.  That bloodbath leaving Dan Calkins’ opportunism as the week’s only good news.    Which was only good for independent paint retailers .   Combined with layoffs at Pittsburgh , Behr , Sherwin-Williams and Benjamin Moore during the second half of last year and more than 1,000 of us

The economy of the United States was still recovering from the Great Depression in 1936, with unemployment down to 15% from its high of 25% in 1933.  With Gross Domestic Product also on the rise, things were probably looking up for the first time since 1929 in my grandfather’s Bronx, New York, paint store.    In an era before DIY projects and ready-made paints, customers in Gramps’ store were all painters, buying lead, solvent, pigments and driers in bulk before blending the

British rock star Chrissie Hynde is best known for her dark contralto , a captivating tone which maintains its haunt even as the octaves rise.    Lead singer and guitarist for the band the Pretenders , Hynde played the University of Maryland’s Ritchie Coliseum in 1981 where I was a freshman working concert security. Just a short walk from my room in the fraternity house , the gig ensured a front row seat for the best campus events, while putting enough cash in my pocket t

Less than a week before Christmas, Sherwin-Williams told managers at 28 stores, eight of which were in the Southwestern division, that their stores would be closing permanently on February 20 th with their positions eliminated effective that day.   Merry fucking Christmas from CEO Heidi Petz , who could not find the compassion or few Pennie’s necessary to allow an estimated 50+ employees to enjoy the holidays before dealing with this bad news. A guilty plea to my charge of

Last week the Federal Trade Commission sued to block Henkel AG & Co . from acquiring Liquid Nails Construction Adhesive , alleging that the acquisition would “eliminate competition leading to higher prices for consumers.”   Henkel is the manufacturer of Loctite , which along with Liquid Nails are the nation’s two largest construction adhesive brands.      Under the terms of the proposed deal, Henkel was to acquire Liquid Nails for $725 million from American Industrial Partne

A trade war and buy-Canadian impulse activated by US President Donald Trump have conspired to seismically shift the competitive landscape for architectural coatings in Canada according to my sources.    Last week an expert in that market reported to me that Sherwin-Williams, Pittsburgh and Benjamin Moore were all down 20% in that country for the first half of this year.    A source at Benjamin Moore confirmed the probability of that scoop, sharing that the company was down

For the first three decades independent paint retailers and handful of the field and executive staff who called on them were the only readers of my screeds, at that time available only by thumbing a copy of the Paint Dealer Magazine. When the Paint Dealer closed in 2020 I became a blogger, though the demographics did not change much.      Until I announced that I had been hired as the Strategic Counselor by Dan Calkins , THE freshly-minted CEO of Benjamin Moore, readership

Last week paint makers AkzoNobel and Axalta Coatings Systems announced that the companies would be merging to create an enterprise with combined revenues of more than $17 billion.  THE planet’s second largest coatings manufacturer after Sherwin-Williams now that PPG has divested .   I plan to add coverage of the merger as it seems likely to impact the US market but don’t worry, I won’t start that today.       I Redditt   An employee at Pittsburgh Paints created a new sub

My reporting on a price increase at Pittsburgh Paints last week shifted the demographics from Cleveland to Cranberry, though it was not the price of paint which Pittsburgh's employees were looking to discuss.     Like the 7% price increase announced by Sherwin-Williams Pittsburgh’s increase reflects the changing priorities of the largest paint retailers, coveting profits more than revenue in a stark reversal for both brands which are known by dealers to use their scale to

Stamford, Connecticut based internet service provider Frontier Internet wants my hometown to know that if you sign up for their five-gig service you get a free $300 Visa gift card.  So excited are they to share the news that a representative of Frontier shouted it through my door last week, after I had refused to open it.    THE reverse ding-dong-ditch had me back at my desk in less time than my father would have needed to throw out a sales rep who came into the store withou

When paint manufacturer Kelly-Moore was shuttered during the Charles Gassenheimer affair the victims were spread across paint’s landscape, the vendors and employees of that company who had become incidental to Gassenheimer’s greed.   And amongst the employees was a special class of victims, ones who lost more than just their jobs when Kelly-Moore was exploded.   In the months leading up to Kelly’s demise field reps whose vehicles came off lease were instructed to acquire th

A week off  the Sherwin-Williams beat helped lower the temperature of the beef I was sharing with the trolls I've attracted on a sub-Reddit for Sherwin-Williams employees  since I began investigating wage theft at that company.    Though they're still serving it well-done.     In an effort to find cost reductions Sherwin-Williams is piloting a new position in the field, that of a Multi-Store Manager who as the name suggests will, “oversee the operations of multiple stores wi

There’s more you can do to affront an Italian than just speaking to them in English and ordering a cappuccino in the afternoon , though both of those would do the trick.   You can eat your spaghetti with a spoon or take too long to give way to a Beemer serpentining the Autostrade , either of which might garner a hand gesture from the offended native.  One you won’t need Tony Soprano to translate .   But breach protocol for food and you risk more than a side eye or hand gestu

One of my trolls on the sub-Reddit for Sherwin-Williams employees believes I’m a shill for the competition, only investigating wage...

On Monday Pittsburgh Paints eliminated operations managers from their paint stores division costing 75 people their job.  Predictable...

It seems likely that in the three weeks since Sherwin-Williams chief executive Heidi Petz announced that her company would no longer match their employee’s 401(k) contributions that I have spoken to more Sherwin employees than the company’s chief executive.   But if she wants to know what they’re saying, she can read about it here.   Since that news broke I have been contacted by several hundred employees at Sherwin-Williams with titles ranging from Vice-Presidents in Cleve

Ranked by economic impact wage theft is the costliest crime in the United States totaling more than $50 billion in 2019, the most recent...

Last week Sherwin-Williams chief executive Heidi Petz  emailed her more than 60,000 employees to let them know that their company would...

A new college football season began on Saturday allowing me to distinguish between weekends and weekdays for the first time since my...