2018 February Business Climate
February Sales
In early March Hearth & Home faxed a survey to 2,500 specialty retailers of hearth, patio and barbecue products, asking them to compare February 2018 sales to February 2017. The accompanying charts and selected comments are from the 172 useable returns.
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Weather Report |
Consumer Confidence |
Stock Watch |
MONTH-TO-MONTHRETAILER SALES – U.S. AND CANADA |
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In February, about half (49%) of Hearth retailers were UP; 50% of Spa dealers were also UP. |
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13 MONTH YEAR-OVER-YEAR RETAILER SALES |
In February, sales of Spas were UP 25%, Hearth products were UP 10%, and Patio and Barbecue products were UP, respectively, 5% and 4%.
YEAR-TO-DATERETAILER SALES – U.S. AND CANADA |
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For the period January 1 to February 28, 2018, 66% of Hearth retailers are UP, 54% of Spa retailers are UP, 22% of Patio retailers are UP, and 20% of Barbecue retailers are UP. |
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YEAR-TO-DATERETAILER SALES |
Year-to-date, Spa retailers are UP 19%, Hearth retailers are UP 13%, Patio retailers are UP 8%, and Barbecue retailers are UP 3%.
Retailer Comments
Northeast
Connecticut: (Hearth) “Nice increase from last year. Hope this trend continues this year.”
Delaware: (Hearth, BBQ) “Sales were up January and February, but since sales were down so much in 2016 and 2017 the numbers would be completely skewed.”
Maine: (Hearth) “Better than last year. Last year was good.”
Maine: (Hearth, Patio, BBQ) “February was off which is not uncommon for us. Year-to-date is up over last year and spring job starts are encouraging!”
Maryland: (Hearth, Patio, BBQ, Spas) “Colder wetter winter, hearth was up, patio and grills down.”
Massachusetts: (Hearth) “Overall sales were slightly down, but we were more profitable. Installation schedule is very strong for March. Spring looks to be good.”
New Jersey: (Hearth, Patio, BBQ) “Great start this year! Always thankful.”
New York: (Hearth) “We had a relatively warm February but we sold more hearth products this year than last. Here on Long Island customers seem to be happier dealing with a small family business than the large Box stores. I hope this catches on.”
Pennsylvania: (Hearth) “Gross sales may be down, but net profit was up 3%.”
Pennsylvania: (Hearth, BBQ) “Having all four seasons in one month made it an interesting combination of hearth, barbecue and chimney repair inquiries.”
Weather Report
For the following weather charts, the numbers for each state reflects the temperature and percipitation rankings for the period since records began in 1895.
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In February, Record Warmest temperatures were set in eight states – Massachusetts, Connecticut, Rhode Island, North Carolina, South Carolina, Georgia, Alabama and Florida. |
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In the three-month period from December to February, six western states posted Much Above Average temperatures – California, Nevada, Utah, Colorado, Arizona and New Mexico. |
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In February, the states of Pennsylvania, Indiana, Illinois, Missouri, Arkansas and Tennessee all logged a Record Wettest month. |
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South
Arkansas: (Hearth) “Tough retail month primarily due to rainy weather. It rained 50% of the days in February. Business got very quiet and boring. Bring out the sun!”
North Carolina: (Hearth) “Due to NO trainable help and management that has been out sick more than in – it may just be time to call it quits. We will let you know if we close, but we have always enjoyed your publication. Thank You.”
Oklahoma: (Hearth) “Finally received some moisture.”
Oklahoma: (Hearth) “Actually looking forward to a bit slower pace as January and February have been very busy. Bigger remodel type jobs are the key currently.”
Texas: (BBQ) “Ceramic and gas grills are flat. Pellet grills are selling.”
Texas: (Hearth, Patio, BBQ) “We actually had some winter. It helps to have several days below freezing. All the transplants see that we can actually have a use for hearth products. I believe the carry-over of sales for next season will be felt.”
Virginia: (Hearth, BBQ) “It was a very busy month. Slow then busy, back and forth the entire month of February.”
Midwest
Illinois: (Hearth, Patio, BBQ) “It was a really cold and snowy February.”
Indiana: (Patio, BBQ, Spas) “We had a large amount of snow and then the big rain came and then we had major flooding in our area, so February was a bust for the store except for winter cover pump sales.”
Michigan: (Hearth, Spas) “Business bottomed out just before the Christmas holidays and it’s been in the tank ever since.”
Missouri: (Hearth, BBQ) “Sales were fairly soft until the very end of the month. Cold weather slowed barbecue sales.”
Wisconsin: (Patio) “Our store is not officially open in February but we did have a couple small sales.”
Wisconsin: (Hearth) “Both retail and builder markets are strong. Wood performance fireplaces are stronger than historical demand for early building season.”
Wisconsin: (Hearth) “This has been an unbelievable year, it’s only March 8, but wow, never seen a February like this in 30 years. New construction is up. Sales and walk-in trade very good. Still looking for help. Hope this keeps up. People are waiting six to eight weeks to get products installed. High-end fireplaces are what’s selling. Wood and gas are strong but pellet is flat.”
Wisconsin: (Hearth, Spas) “Sold a bunch of units in a ten day period, then dropped to nothing.”
Wisconsin: (Hearth, BBQ) “Great month! We had some sales in February that should have happened in January. When I look at the two months combined sales are up. We are adding a new employee starting on Monday. With his background checks, abilities, and interviews, we are cautiously excited. Looking forward to training him in.”
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A reading above 90 indicates the economy is on solid footing; above 100 signals strong growth. The Index is based on a probability-design random sample conducted for The Conference Board by The Nielsen Company. |
West
Nevada: (Hearth, BBQ) “What a great country.”
Washington: (Hearth) “Warmer this February 2018.”
Canada
British Columbia: (Hearth, Patio, BBQ, Spas) “Despite persistent colder than normal weather we had an awesome month. Up everywhere except barbecue which held its own versus last year. Way up in sales (54%) year-over-year and looking good for March and April.”
Ontario: (Patio) “The U.S. to Canadian exchange rate is brutal and tough to deal with. Also manufacturers selling to anybody and everybody, no loyalty.”
Ontario: (Hearth, Patio, BBQ) “February was just like January. Both months up over 75%. No rhyme nor reason, just dumb luck – gotta plan a better March vacation now.”
Ontario: (Hearth, BBQ) “Wow, February was flat! Hardly any sales, people still coming in but waiting to buy.”
Ontario: (Hearth) “We usually look at January/February as one period, usually one is an ok month the other is weak. Last year both were good months, so it is not surprising we were down a bit.”
Stock Watch
| COMPANY – EXCHANGE | SYMBOL | 52 WEEK | Week Ending | % CHANGE | MARKET CAPITALIZATION | ||||||
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| High | Low | 2-Feb-18 | 2-Mar-18 | 4 WEEK | 26 WEEK | 52 WEEK | ($000,000) | ||||
| Standard & Poor’s 500 (a) | S & P | 2,872.87 | 2,328.94 | 2,762.13 | 2,691.25 | -2.6% | 8.7% | 13.0% | |||
| HNI Corporation (b) | HNI | 48.32 | 31.16 | 37.68 | 37.44 | -0.6% | 0.8% | -18.7% | $1,490.00 | ||
| Pool Corporation (c) | POOL | 150.26 | 97.25 | 132.49 | 142.46 | 7.5% | 41.3% | 22.4% | $5,220.00 | ||
| Restoration Hardware (b) | RH | 109.53 | 65.65 | 92.04 | 80.25 | -12.8% | 65.4% | 157.2% | $2,170.00 | ||
| Wayfair, Inc. (b) | W | 100.14 | 35.45 | 90.78 | 80.34 | -11.5% | 10.9% | 120.9% | $6,320.00 | ||
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