Company Snapshot: The Sherwin-Williams Co.

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

Telephone:
216 566-2000

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

Total Stores:
3,455

Total Annual Sales:
$4,779,826,000

Senior Executive:
Christopher M. Connor- Chairman and CEO

In 1866, one year after the end of the Civil War, the seeds for The Sherwin-Williams Co. were sown in Cleveland, Ohio as founders Henry Sherwin and Edward Williams joined forces with a number of associates.

In recent years The Sherwin-Williams Co. has not only been the leading paints specialty retailer in Chain Store Guide’s database of Home Center Operators& Hardware Chains, Sherwin-Williams operates by far the greatest number of retail locations across the entire span of the database with 3,455 stores and growing.  Despite the harshness of the current recession on our economy and on retailing overall, Sherwin-Williams has consistently managed to open new locations each and every year, including last year’s net addition of sixty stores.

For more than a decade prior to the current recession, Sherwin-Williams went on a paint retailer and manufacturer buying spree.  Acquisitions included former Chain Store Guide Index of Leading Paint Retailers, M.A.B. Paints (M.A. Bruder & Sons), Duron Paint and most recently Columbia Paint & Coatings.  In fact, in 1996 the company completed sixteen strategic acquisitions during a twenty one month span.  These included both retailers and manufacturers capped off by the acquisition of Pratt & Lambert.