Content about Mississippi

Mississippi Governor Phil Bryant signed legislation Wednesday specifying that rating systems used in green building projects funded by the state government "shall not exclude certificate credits for forest products certified by the Sustainable Forestry Initiative, Forest Stewardship Council or the American Tree Farm System."

The move was hailed by the Sustainable Forestry Initiaitive (SFI).

Shortly after closing its new distribution center in Meridian, Miss., Handy Hardware Wholesale filed for Chapter 11 in hopes of reorganizing and re-emerging by early summer 2013. 

Wells Fargo Credit is providing $30 million in Debtor-in-Possession financing for the co-op. 

Natchez, Miss.-based Central Network Retail Group (CNRG) added to its growing list of acquisitions with Habersham Hardware and Home Center in Cornelia and Clarkesville, Ga. 

CNRG operates 39 home center and hardware stores in seven Southern states. At Habersham, Brentt Cody, the grandson of the retailer’s founder Paul Reeves, will serve as district manager for CNRG’s newly formed Georgia District. Both Habersham stores sell hardware, plumbing, appliances, tools, paint, lumberand building supplies. 

Houston-based distributor Handy Hardware will close its Meridian, Miss., distribution center, according to an Associated Press report. 

The Associated Press reported that Handy Hardware plans to close its Meridian, Miss., distribution center Dec. 31, and the state of Mississippi wants to recover $3.6 million in incentives for the project.

Temperatures in September 2012 will continue to trend above normal across much of the nation. However, year-over-year warmer trends will be reserved to the Midwest states and the Mississippi and Tennessee River Valleys. Cooler weather will encompass the Northeast and much of the West, which will elicit demand for more of a seasonal-type product mix than last year.

Central Network Retail Group, a chain of 36 home improvement centers, has opened a new NFL Home Center store in Gautier, Miss., on the site of the former Coast Building Supply.

The store has a 10,000-sq.-ft. sales floor with an assortment of hardware, paint, electrical, plumbing, tools, lawn and garden, and home organization items. Additionally, the store has a full-service lumber and building materials yard.

Natchez, Miss.-based Central Network Retail Group (CNRG) added Chapel Hill, N.C.-based Town & Country Hardware as a new partner.

Town & Country Hardware operates eight hardware stores in the North Carolina cities of Chapel Hill, Raleigh and Cary. Craig Ward, president of Town & Country Hardware, has also been added to the board of directors at CNRG. 

Natchez, Miss.-based Central Network Retail Group (CNRG) announced the acquisition of Elliott’s Hardware, which operates three stores in the Dallas area. The transaction closed Feb. 1. All three stores will continue to operate under the Elliott’s Hardware banner. 

Orme Hardware owner Richard McCoy describes his company’s claim to fame with a simple description: “We still run an old-time hardware store.” 


Of course, there’s a lot more to it than that. Certainly, the Do it Best Corp. member with business roots that reach back to 1869 has an old-school flavor — one of the locations still operates with rolling ladders and wooden drawers, but McCoy is not only a recognized “Extreme Retailer,” he’s an innovator and a growth-oriented operator even in today’s contracting times.


Director of National Intelligence James Clapper, during a hearing held earlier this year, told Congress: “We’re not Sherwin-Williams paint. We don’t cover the earth equally.”


The exchange confirmed HCN’s position that slogans matter — a case we made in this space back in 2009. Among the notable slogans highlighted here were those of Sherwin-Williams (Cover the Earth), McCoy’s Building Supply (Go Build Something) and Lowe’s (Let’s Build Something Together).


With locations in Baton Rouge and Denham Springs, La., Do it Best Corp. member Holmes Building Materials operates two home centers, both with about 10,000 sq. ft. of retail space, supplemented by full lumberyards out back and powered by a 22-truck fleet. One location is heavily commercial, the other is heavily retail-oriented, and both operate a store-within-a-store Holmes Windows Doors & More.