Benjamin Moore buys Minn. retailer

Home Channel News, Jan 10, 2000

Lathrop Paint Supply is supplier's third acquisition in six months

MONTVALE, N.J. -- Benjamin Moore appears bent on strengthening its position as a retailer, in spite of assurances from its corporate officials that the company isn't seeking to gobble up independent dealers. The paint manufacturer, based here, ended 1999 with its third retail acquisition in six months when it agreed to purchase a nine-unit Minnesota chain.

Lathrop Paint Supply, a family-owned outfit headquartered in Hopkins, Minn., is the latest addition to Benjamin Moore's stable of retail stores. Company president and owner Ralph Olson, who was a former regional sales manager for Benjamin Moore, declined to comment when contacted by NHCN last month. Olson bought Lathrop in late 1993 after retiring from Benjamin Moore, where he had worked for more than three decades.

Eileen McComb, spokeswoman for the paint maker, said as of mid-December that Benjamin Moore was still conducting due diligence and did not expect to finalize the deal before January. She said there had been no discussions at that time about whether the current management of Lathrop Paint would remain with the company after the acquisition. Sources told NHCN that Olson was not planning to stay on.

Lathrop Paint, a 70-year-old company with stores in and around Minneapolis, will be the fourth independent dealer to be acquired by Benjamin Moore since 1997. Benjamin Moore also owns 26-unit J.C. Licht in Chicago, 17-unit Janovic in New York and Florida-based Plaza Paint, with eight stores. Lathrop posted 1998 sales of $8.7 million.

Many of Lathrop's stores compete with another Benjamin Moore dealer, 15-store Hirshfield's whose president, Michael Weber, told NHCN he felt it was too early to comment on the acquisition.

"I don't really know yet what they're doing, and it doesn't seem as if Benjamin Moore knows what it's doing yet, either," Weber said. "There's no clear retail strategy." Other independent dealers interviewed for this article echoed Weber's sentiments, furrowing their brows at the prospect of their supplier becoming a competitor. Benjamin Moore executives were unavailable for further comment by press time, but McComb reiterated that the company is not actively seeking any acquisitions.

"These are all dealers that have approached us," McComb said. "We evaluate each of these opportunities on a case-by-case basis." She declined to give more specifics about Benjamin Moore's criteria for acquisitions.