WOLF RELEASES KBI FOR SEPTEMBER 2013

 WOLF RELEASES KEY BUYER INDEX (KBI) FOR SEPTEMBER 2013

Increase reflects end of summer slowdown; Northeast registers substantial bounce from August

(York, Pa.) — WOLF, the largest supplier of kitchen cabinets in the U.S. and a leading provider of building products in 28 states, today reported the findings of the WOLF Key Buyer Index (KBI) for September.

The September KBI score of 60.67 reflects an increase from the August KBI of 53.33. This increase may signal the close of traditional vacation season at the East Coast beaches, which will mean an increase in construction and remodeling activity in those areas heading into the fall.

If compared to the KBI score of 42.95 from September 2012, this month’s score of 60.67 suggests that consumer confidence has improved over the past 12 months and better economic times lie ahead.

WOLF developed KBI, a proprietary metric that offers a monthly snapshot of independent dealers’ sentiments, to provide a concrete measure of how building materials buyers see the near-term future of their industry. WOLF gathers data for the KBI from a monthly survey of key buyers at independent building materials dealers across 21 states. A WOLF KBI score of 50 reflects a neutral outlook; a score above 50 reflects a positive outlook; and a score below 50 reflects a negative outlook.

Northeastern buyer’s sentiment reported the most significant increase of all regions.  Building products buyers returned a strong KBI score of 82.14 compared to 42.86 in August and Kitchen and bath buyers returned a KBI score of 57.14 in September compared to 52.38 in August.   Overall the Northeast region has survived the typical summer vacation doldrums and is looking bullish on both the kitchen and building products side of the business especially in the deck and rail product categories.  Kitchen outlook is coinciding with a strong multifamily presence as well as an increase in affordable single family dwellings.

The Middle Atlantic building product respondents report a KBI score of 63.33 in September compared to 60.00 in August.  The forecast would indicate respondents are expecting a slight uptick in business, largely driven by the Hurricane Sandy markets from Nassau County Long Island through South Jersey.

For more information on the WOLF Key Buyer Index, read the detailed explanation or see the latest KBI score atwww.wolfleader.com.

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About WOLF  WOLF provides kitchen and bath cabinetry and building materials, marketing and sales support and financial services exclusively to independent dealers in 28 states in the Eastern and Midwestern U.S. Since its founding in 1843, York, Pa.-based WOLF has evolved into a sourcing company that offers American-made, WOLF-branded products and other high-quality product lines.  Learn more about WOLF at www.wolfleader.com and www.wolfhomeproducts.com.