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 store and dealer brands into Home Depot was announced in 2022, I opined the idea seemed fraught: unlikely to generate growth in excess of the cannibalism which seemed assured. And the move was 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.  Further, 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.

Two years later the division was for sale, leaving the work of untying Irick’s knot to current Pittsburgh CEO Brian Carson, who had little choice but to make this move if he wants a chance of selling his brand assets. Which remains the only thing he wants.

In leaving Home Depot with Glidden, another Pittsburgh brand but 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. And he realigns his brands, undoing Irick's work which never should have been allowed. With that work done, Carson might finally have something to sell.

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 informed much of my reporting, which included news of a new product introduction and sales initiative in the rezi-repaint segment.  THE first sign of investment in Pittsburgh since it was acquired by American Industrial Partners in December of 2024, though it does not change my view that Pittsburgh is for sale.  

After that short riff I opened the floor to a no rules Q & A, hopeful Brian Carson might have joined, maybe to ask what he should do next? Disappointed by his absence we talked about Carson behind his back, but don’t worry I remembered to hit record.   

Next week I'll record my third podcast live, and then release them as a mini series, including the Q & A which last week was robust. For this final live podcast I plan to answer my critics, including one on the Pittsburgh live who accused me of bias in my reporting, for failing to scrutinize Benjamin Moore the way I do other paint manufacturers. A charge which I plead guilty to, but you'll have to wait a few weeks if you want to hear the explanation.

On the upcoming live, I’ll begin with a brief history of my family’s relationship with Benjamin Moore, which began in 1907 when Benjamin himself sold the Lipton's their first can of paint. More than a century later that connection still endured, until while working for that company as a consultant 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, though significantly improved versus the ethical failures dealers of my era often fell victim to.  Many of which I wrote about in a monthly column in the Paint Dealer magazine, which brought further rebuke from Montvale and ended any chance I had to grow as a retailer.

But critics who claim I’m hiding such truths miss the point that this is a journal and as such the ongoing account 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 in case he's listening—I’ll answer your 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: sports wagering, music, cars, weed, family and philanthropy.    

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