Untying Irick’s Knot

On Monday I reported that Pittsburgh Paints had removed their eponymously branded products from the shelves at Home Depot, unwinding the first of Irick’s Follies. 

The second being he belief that Walmart could sell paint.

When the agreement to put PPG’s best-selling dealer and store brands into Home Depot was announced in 2022, I opined the idea seemed fraught: unlikely to generate growth in excess of the cannibalism.  Certain to lower PPG’s profit margin, which in descending order would be best in their own stores, then to dealers and then anyone other than Home Depot!  And the move tangled PPG’s brands, which best practice would have left to exist in their own channels.  A concept PPG had always struggled with, creating uncertainty for dealers over decades, perhaps explaining the allure of HD.   

Two years later the division was for sale, leaving the work of untying Irick’s knot to current Pittsburgh Paints CEO Brian Carson, who had little choice but to make this move if he ever wanted to sell an asset. 

In leaving Home Depot with Glidden, another Pittsburgh brand with fewer entanglements, Carson remains in the game with the nation’s largest home improvement retailer.  Once an $800 million-a-year account for PPG, Home Depot is worth much less to Pittsburgh (if you know how much less you can tell me here).  With DIY paint sales dropping at the big boxes and Behr firmly entrenched, Carson gives up little pulling Pittsburgh, but in doing so gains immeasurably.  Enough to see wisdom in this action, though more likely it was brought on by an obligation to give PPG back their name than any wisdom on Carson’s part.  Lucky or smart, the results are an upgrade for Carson as he endeavors to sell off Pittsburgh. 

Last week I recorded a podcast live, updating the news on Pittsburgh’s company-owned stores, after a conversation at length with a source in that division.  That one call informing much of my reporting, which included news of new product introductions and a sales initiative directed towards the rezi-repaint market.  THE first signs of life and investment at Pittsburgh, but if you were on the live you know why I don’t take that bait. 

After that short riff I opened the floor to a no rules Q & A, hopeful that Brian Carson might join, but like Monty Griffin the week before, Carson let me down.  Disappointed in his absence, we instead talked about Carson behind his back, but don’t worry I remembered to hit record.   

Next week I plan to record the final live podcast of this three-part series, which will then be released including the Q & A.  For this final live I plan to answer my critics, including one who participated in the Pittsburgh live who accused me of bias in my reporting for my failure to cover Benjamin Moore.  A charge which I plead guilty to, though not without an explanation.

On that live I’ll start with some history of my family’s connection to Benjamin Moore, which began in 1907 when my great-grandmother bought her first gallon from Benjamin himself and ended more than a century later when I was fired by CEO Dan Calkins. 

Who is free to join THE live and ask if I forgive him. 

As a dealer I was often at odds with Moore, which maintains a reputation for heavy handed dealings, a significant improvement over the ethical failures dealers of my era fell victim to.  Many of which I wrote about in a monthly column published in the Paint Dealer magazine, bringing further rebuke from Benjamin Moore and ending any dreams of growing in my market.    

Their treatment of me only proving my point, so my writing reflected that experience.       

But critics who claim I’m hiding such truths miss the point that this is a journal and as such the ongoingaccount of my life in paint, rather than a recollection of that history.  Still, I agree with their premise, that reporting those experiences now might add some much-needed context for my current work.  And that balance is important if you want to be perceived as fair, which to me would be the highest compliment. 

After that riff—and some bonus content for my old boss if he’s listening—I’ll answer questions in a no rules Q & A.  Make me sweat, taunt my rage or ask me anything you want to know.  About Benjamin Moore, the paint industry at-large or any of the topics we cover here such as sports wagering, music, cars, weed, family and philanthropy.    

Because when we gather live, we’re not just talking paint.  We’re Paint, talking!