If you are researching the supply chain of an industry, including suppliers and buyers, you will definitely want to check out the Industrial Reports in Passport GMID. This video shows you how.

Home Improvement Retail Industry Guide

About

The purpose of this guide is to point business researchers to some key resources when researching the home retailing industry. While not entirely comprehensive, this guide does list several of the key and highly recommended resources when analyzing the industry and researching the companies in the industry.  I’ve listed the databases and resources below, with recommendations on how to find the best information in the quickest fashion. (image courtesy of Lowes.com)

IbisWorld

IbisWorld is a good place to get started for a good overview of the industry.  A search for Home Improvement yields a report for Home Improvement Stores.  IbisWorld also has, under the Business Environment section, a number of economic reports that could be very useful, such Private Spending on Home Improvement.

Several Business Environment Reports could be very useful

Passport GMID

Passport GMID offers essential macroeconomic information that can be really useful in performing a PEST analysis.  This video shows you how to find information from GMID that addresses the broad Political, Economic, Social, and Technological trends affecting industries.  This video shows you how to find information from Passport GMID for your PEST analysis.

You can also search “Home Improvement” in the Passport GMID search box to find some good reports.

Plunkett Research

Plunkett Research has a section for Retailing, where you can find Market Research and Statistics for the overall retailing market.  This would be a good resource to look at to get a general overview of the market.

Mintel Oxygen

Mintel Oxygen is an excellent source for market research reports pertaining to this industry.  A search for “home improvement” yields several relevant reports, such as the ones shown in the picture below.

A sample of reports from Mintel

OneSource

OneSource is another fantastic resource for both company and industry information.

• It has company news,  financials, SWOT analyses, ratio comparisons, peer analysis, stock reports and more.

S&P Net Advantage

S&P NetAdvantage  is a key tool to use when researching this industry.

• It has a very good report for the Specialty Retail Industry, of which Home Improvement Retailing is a part.  The industry reports can be very useful in performing a PEST analysis, particularly when addressing the “economic” area.   To find these reports, click on the Industry Tab in NetAvantage, then select the industry in the drop-down menu.  Be sure to look for the “downloadable company data” link on the left side of the page as well.
• It has stock reports and company financials for major companies.
• The Compustat Excel Analytics are great when analyzing companies.  This video shows you how to find them.

Mergent Online

Mergent Online is a great tool for looking at both company and industry information.

• It has Equity Reports for major companies. Take a look at this video for how to find Equity Reports in Mergent Online.
• It is a great way to compare companies in the same industry.  This video shows you how to compare companies in the same home improvement retail  industry with Mergent Online.

Business Source Complete

Business Source Complete has a lot of useful information that can take your research to the next level. I’ve listed here last not because it is the least important, but because I would us articles and reports from Business Source Complete to fill in the gaps of your research.  You will find Industry Profiles (search for Home Improvement), and Trade Publications that can enhance the broad coverage of other industry reports.

Factiva

Factiva is a great resource for looking for news about companies in the industry.  You will also find company profiles, financials, ratios, and more in the “Companies & Markets” section of Factiva.  This video shows you how to use Factiva effectively when analyzing your company.

SEC Filings

The 10-k (annual SEC filings) for individual companies contain financial information for companies, as well as textual descriptions of business strategies, risk factors, competition, and more.  Look in Part 1, Item 1 and Item 1A for this information in a company’s 10-K report.  As an example, take a look at the 10-K for Home Depot and look at the Business and Risk Factors sections.  You will notice that Home Depot uses some of the similar language found in reports like IBISWorld and others.  You might also look at similar 10-K’s for other companies in the industry.

When comparing companies in the same industry, you’ll want to look at financial comparisons, equity (stock ) reports, and more. This video shows you how to find the essential information for the home improvement industry in Mergent Online.

When you are doing a PEST analysis, you will want to look at a variety of factors affecting the Political, Economic, Social, and Technological environment around your industry. This video demonstrates how to use Passport GMID to find risk, vulnerabilities, and more for the U.S. market. The information presented does not pertain to any particular industry, but rather looks at the overall market from a macroeconomic level.

Factiva has a really nifty feature that allows you to trace the volume of stock being traded over the past quarter for an individual company. You can look at volume for a particular day, and then track the news on that given day, giving you a glimpse of the kinds of activities and events that are driving interest in the company.

Ohio University business cluster students are working on a feasability study of opening a coffee/crepe/smoothie store in Athens, Ohio. This video demonstrates how to find relevant product consumption information in Athens, as well as other locations. While SimplyMap/Simmons does not contain information specifically on crepe or smoothie consumption, you can find good, relevant information if you are creative.

The purpose of this guide is to point business researchers to some key resources when researching the pastry, crepe, smoothie, and coffee shop market. This guide will not cover every single resource in the Industry Research Basics guide, but will simply highlight some resources that you might definitely want to take a look at. For a more thorough industry analysis, I suggest you look at most of the resources discussed in the Industry Research Basics guide.

Chad’s research advice:

Because most databases will not cover the crepe market specifically, you will need to be creative when looking for related, relevant information.  As an example, many databases will cover cafes, coffee shops, bakeries, pastries, baked goods, breakfast food trends, etc.  All of these reports would be useful in your analysis.  In other words, you have to use the information that is available to you.

Industry and Market Overview

The resources in this section will give you a broad overview of the pastry, crepe, smoothie, and coffee shop market. Please note that in most cases, you will need to consult multiple reports in the same database to fully cover your research, as it is very unlikely you will find one report that covers all of the various product categories in the market.

Passport GMID

Use Passport GMID and to browse for “Consumer Foodservice” under the industry tab.  You can then choose “Foodservice by Type” or “By Location” and then browse to Cafes, etc.  This video shows you how.

Mintel Oxygen

When using Mintel Oxygen for this topic, you’ll likely find what you need by browsing to the “Food” section of the database.  There you will find multiple market research reports on the topic.  A search for “crepe”  or “pastry” or “coffee” also yields reports that will be useful.  You will find reports on coffee, breakfast foods, bakeries, and more, which could be used in your analysis of your specific market.

IbisWorld

IbisWorld has a report for “Coffee and Snack Shops in the U.S.” which could be useful.

Business Source Complete

Business Source Complete has a wealth of information about coffee shops and more.  To avoid being overwhelmed with search results, limit the search to Trade Publications.

Bizminer

Bizminer contains industry financial ratios, failure and startup rates, and more for coffee shops, bakeries, cafes, etc..  This video shows you how to use Bizminer to research the coffee shop, bakery, and cafe market.

Demographic Information

The resources in this section provide detailed information about who buys a popcorn and snack foods.

Ohio County Profiles

Ohio County Profiles is a really good resource for understanding the demographic and economic characteristics of Ohio.  Other states may have similar resources.  While the Profiles will not tell you anything about coffee/crepe/pastry consumption, you can use the information you find there in combination with the market research reports from Mintel, GMID, etc.

American Factfinder

American Factfinder can be used to get detailed population statistics for a particular market.  As with Ohio County Profiles, use the information here to understand how national pastry/coffee/smoothie trends (demographics of consumers, etc) applies to your local level.  For a quick list of Census statistics for Athens, take a look at the Athens, Ohio Quick Facts.

MRI Mediamark Reporter

Mediamark Reporter provides excellent demographic statistics on consumer products. This video shows you how to use Medimark Reporter to find information about consumers of pastries, sweet rolls, coffee, and more.

SimplyMap

SimplyMap can help you understand how many people in a particular area purchase pastry, coffee, or other products. You can find a video of how to find coffee consumption, dining habits, and more here.

Ebrary

If you are researching the popcorn industry from the perspective of buying a franchise, then you may want to check out Ebrary.  Ebrary (direct link to database) has quite a few online books about franchising.

This video demonstrates how to use Mediamark Reporter to find consumer demographic information for people who purchase and consume coffee, pastries, and more.

This video demonstrates how to find market research reports and analysis for cafes and food kiosks using Passport GMID.