Lowe’sThe company, founded in 1946, sprouted from a hardware store in Wilkesboro, N.C. There are three stores in the Chattanooga area and additional stores in Cleveland, Tenn., Kimball, Tenn., Dayton, Tenn., Dalton, Ga., and Ellijay, Ga. The store carries more than 40,000 products.Online: www.lowes.comTennessee stores: 59 Georgia stores: 65Alabama stores: 38First-quarter 2010 net earnings: $489 millionHome DepotThe company’s first two stores opened in 1979 in Atlanta. The store carries more than 40,000 products. There are three stores in the immediate Chattanooga area with other stores in Cleveland, Tenn., Dalton, Ga., Calhoun, Ga, and Fort Oglethorpe, Ga. Online: www.homedepot.comTennessee stores: 43Georgia stores: 93Alabama stores: 27First-quarter 2010 earnings: $514 millionSoutheastern SalvageThe Chattanooga store is one of nine in the company’s lineup, which includes Southeastern Salvage, Southeastern Salvage Home Emporium, Home Emporium and Discount Building Materials. The company has been in business since 1980. Stores are located in Tennessee, Alabama, South Carolina, Virginia, Ohio and Louisiana.Online: www.southeasternsalvage.comTennessee stores: 3Alabama stores: 2South Carolina: 1
As the economy appears to swing upward, people are spending more money on home improvement projects, according to people in the hardware supply business.
“This time of year every year, it’s outside work. I think people will spend a little bit more this year on landscaping, outdoor projects,” said Jada Nelson, assistant store manager at the Home Depot off Gunbarrel Road in Chattanooga.
She said people are spending more money on small projects, employing professionals to do remodeling work and seeking higher-quality products.
Homeowners are looking for time-saving ideas, “because a lot of people are doing it ourselves,” Ms. Nelson said. The store carries a new paint from Behr for use as both a primer and finish coat that “cuts down on the time,” she said.
David Buckner, assistant manager at Lowe’s near Hamilton Place, said people want to make the most of their home’s first impression.
“We’ve been selling a lot of doors, windows and fencing this year,” Mr. Buckner said. “With the housing market doing better, people are doing a lot to improve curb appeal.”
Landscaping and new decks are popular projects this year, he said.
“We’ve got a lot of DIYers out there,” he said. “When you can actually work with a customer and solve a problem, that’s pretty nice.”
Michael Turner, of Southeastern Salvage on Lee Highway in Chattanooga, said more people are remodeling than building these days, and many are looking to introduce “green” technology in their improvements.
Improvements can be a story that can be told about the house when it goes on the market, Mr. Turner said.
“That’s the kind of thing that differentiates your house from others,” he said.
“On the inside, that’s where a lot of the money that’s being spent in home improvement is going right now,” he said.
Homeowners who have been trying to sell their homes the last three years are deciding to update for themselves while they wait, he said. He agreed with Ms. Nelson that exterior improvements help with curb appeal and noted interiors updates make lasting impressions.
“I think the cycle we’re going to see in the summer and fall this year is remodeling,” he said.
“Kitchens and bathrooms are where you get the biggest bang for your buck,” he said. “It’s what every woman look at when she walks into a house.”