How Did Dunn-Edwards Prepare for Kelly-Moore Closing?

Monte Lewis says Dunn-Edwards wrote the Kelly-Moore plan before closing day. By late 2023 a what-if document included Kelly-Moore ceasing operations. The team expected a bankruptcy, chapter 7 or maybe chapter 11, not an orderly wind-down. In November and December, before the close, they already listed the people, the locations, the property owners, and the customers.

Nippon owns Dunn-Edwards, and the company still took the case to its own board. The board trusted the person who brought the plan, he trusted the team, and Nippon backed them. Mark Lipton says there was no fresh go or no-go. Kelly-Moore closed, and Dunn-Edwards turned on the plan already written.

As December approached, Kelly-Moore closed seven or eight stores, and Dunn-Edwards started pursuing the stores that had closed. The team came into 2024 expecting the end. Monte Lewis thinks a rumor arrived on Thursday the 11th. On January 12 the announcement said Kelly-Moore was closing, and Dunn-Edwards hit go. Real estate had a list of 30 stores and a working target of 15. Sherwin, Vista, and Benjamin Moore were unknowns. Each of them moved quickly, and Dunn-Edwards wanted to be first. By Friday's close, real estate was out, store operations was lining up tint equipment, shakers, and shelving, and the Northern California teams were making phone calls.