SEERGRILLS started shipping their AI-powered protein cooking machine this week. It's a futuristic product where you can pick doneness for a steak, load it into the grill, and it will automatically cook it perfectly in 90 seconds. It uses a series of sensors, calculations, and infrared burners.
I was on The BBQ Central Show this week talking about the aforementioned SEERGRILLS, Traeger eliminating online sales, and indoor pizza ovens. I was on right after Steven Raichlen, so definitely listen to the episode.
The Home Depot reported earnings this week and discussed the cautious consumer, their view of the housing market,
and how they saw an increase in ticket size. They also are continuing to see double-digit growth in their digital platform.
Lowe's also reported earnings this week, but they largely discussed the same things as The Home Depot. It was about their macro view, and they also saw an 11% increase in digital sales. There's no article on it, because it felt redundant.
Continuing on the retail side, there was more consolidation in hardware stores. Houchens Food Group
acquired an eight store Ace Hardware chain in Northern Indiana. With the tough consumer market, I expect the consolidation to continue.
Academy Sports is continuing their pace of new store openings. They'll have 24 store openings in 2025, with five in Q4. They also opened their northernmost store in Ft Wayne, IN. I'm interested to see if/when they make it up to me in Michigan.
Finally, American Outdoor Grill, an RH Peterson company, named Merlot Marketing as
Agency of Record. They'll be partnering in a multitude of marketing efforts including on the KBIS show coming up in February.
