Fred Miller

Articles by this author:

  • Storm trackers: HIRI follows Hurricane Sandy (In this Issue)
    Fri, 03/15/2013 - 12:39

    When Hurricane Sandy slammed into the northeastern part of the United States, the level of damage was clearly devastating. It was the start of a tremendously difficult time for many residents of this highly populous region. When bad things happen, a silver lining often emerges. In this case, that is a positive impact on the home improvement industry.

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  • Old is for museums, current is for retail (In this Issue)
    Thu, 12/13/2012 - 16:42

    When I picked up my local newspaper the other day, a headline read “Collierville’s McGinnis Hardware to close its doors after 146 years.” Clearly this isn’t the first independent store to go out of business, but it brought on feelings of nostalgia. Started in 1866 and in the same location on the picturesque Town Square since 1879, McGinnis Hardware was a fixture in the community. It stood through the Spanish-American War, World Wars I and II, the Korean War, the Vietnam War, Desert Storm and the Iraq War.

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  • 2012: Is the home improvement glass half full or half empty? (Opinion)
    Fri, 01/06/2012 - 14:08

    There is an old curse: “May you live in interesting times.” Unfortunately for the economy, the last several years have been “interesting times.” Home improvement has weathered this storm better than some areas (notably new-home construction), but the industry has clearly been impacted. Twice a year the Home Improvement Research Institute (HIRI) publishes a detailed size-of-market forecast for home improvement product sales.

  • Quality information — just when it is needed most (Opinion)
    Wed, 08/31/2011 - 06:44

    I’ve been in the home improvement industry for 25 years, and I cannot remember a time with so much divergent information on where we stand and where we are heading. 


  • The future is coming—Are you ready? (News, Commentary)
    Sun, 12/05/2010 - 21:00

    Business, much like living, is a balancing act between the present and the future. Focusing...

  • Service stars: Putting price in perspective (News)
    Sun, 10/03/2010 - 21:00

    Retailing can become a focus on price very easily. I remember attending a conference years...

  • Measuring the foreclosure factor (News)
    Sun, 08/08/2010 - 21:00

    For many years we have known that housing turnover is a positive force in driving...

  • Why we shop where we shop (News)
    Sun, 02/07/2010 - 21:00

    As the name implies, mass retailers offer a wide range of products for mainstream consumers....

  • In 2010, it’s optimists vs. pessimists (News)
    Sun, 12/13/2009 - 21:00

    As we end 2009 and begin 2010, the issues on most people’s minds are :...