Turning 60 at 84 Lumber

Executives at 84 Lumber are embarking on a two-part mission: First to grow the business, and second to emphasize to customers, vendors and any other stakeholder that today’s business is growing in ways beyond the earnings statement.



The privately held building supply dealer will celebrate its 60th anniversary later this year as it operates more than 250 stores in 30 states. That’s down from its peak of more than 400 stores before the housing market crash.



What followed the crash was a difficult period of retrenchment, described by Frank Cicero as the “dark ages” of 2009 and 2010. But those days are disappearing in the company’s rearview mirror.



“We very quickly right-sized the company and got back to profitability in 2011,” said Frank Cicero, chief operating officer.



Since then, 84 Lumber has entered recovery mode. The company’s sales have increased in each of the past five years, rising to $2.5 billion in 2015 — up 8% from 2014. Furthermore, the company says 2016 is off to a good start with the best first quarter results in 10 years, the company said.



According to Cicero, prior to the “dark ages,” 94% of 84 Lumber’s business was to single-family residential construction. The new 84 Lumber has a much broader service offering.



“Now you’re seeing installed services, commercial business and custom business,” Cicero said.



One example is Tiny Living by 84 Lumber, which is riding the millennial-friendly tiny (200 sq. ft.) home movement. The program was the idea of owner Maggie Hardy Magerko, largely to bring awareness of the brand to younger customers.



“How can we be more innovative in this industry?” Cicero said. “That’s going to be the new going-forward side of our company.”



Visit HBSDealer.com for more on 84 Lumber.