Company Snapshot: The Sherwin-Williams Co. Stops Short of Mexico

Address:
101 W Prospect Ave
Cleveland, OH 44115-1075

Telephone:
216 566-2000

Internet Homepage:
http://www.sherwin-williams.com

Year founded:
1866

Total Stores:
3,908

Total Annual Sales:
$6,002,143,000

Senior Executive:
Christopher M. Connor- Chairman and CEO
Robert J. Davisson- President (Paint Stores Group)

The Sherwin-Williams Co. proudly dates it founding heritage back to 1866, just after the Civil War ended.  Founders Henry Sherwin and Edward Williams joined forces with a number of associates to begin the company through what has become its paint stores segment.

Through the years, the company has continuously grown aggressively, either through acquisitions, mostly of regional chains, or through organic openings.  Continuing to apply these expansion measures in recent years, the company has increased its store count throughout the industry crippling recession years, though in some years netting as few as eight additional locations.  Not surprisingly, this low point occurred during 2009.

2013 started as a promising and possibly landmark year, as Sherwin-Williams negotiated the acquisition of the paint store properties of Mexican giant Comex.  Years back, Comex had acquired the holdings of Professional Paints, which consisted of several prominent regional paint retailers in the western United States and Canada.  Here Sherwin-Williams was negotiating to acquire these chains as well as Comex’s Mexican retail paint holdings.

The US purchase went through without a hitch.  However, the acquisition of the Mexican retail group was denied by the Mexican version of the Federal Trade Association.  Though Sherwin-Williams vigorously appealed the ruling, they were ultimately denied.

This latest US acquisition should serve to add to the company’s growing dominance of American paint specialty store market.  One must wonder how the prestige of the company might have soared if the Mexican acquisition had gone through.