March closed as Millbrook’s strongest revenue month on record across the two-store group, with $209,628 in net sales and a 54.0% blended gross margin. Stripping out the Amherst store (opened July 2025), Northampton alone grew 32.2% year over year, with gross margin dollars up 33.9%. The engine behind the jump is primarily from contractor-grade power tools, nailers, and bundled pro kits. Foot traffic at Northampton was essentially flat (+1.4% transactions), so the lift came from what customers bought, not how many came in.
| Measure | Northampton | Amherst | Total |
|---|---|---|---|
| Net revenue | $163,918 | $45,710 | $209,628 |
| Gross margin $ | $90,545 | $22,643 | $113,189 |
| Margin rate | 55.2% | 49.5% | 54.0% |
| Transactions | 1,570 | 584 | 2,154 |
| Average ticket | $104.41 | $78.27 | $97.32 |
| Items per ticket | 2.65 | 3.02 | 2.75 |
| Revenue vs Mar 2025 | +32.2% | n/a (new) | +69.1% |
Pro Series took 35% of March revenue on its own. Hardware (led by nailers and outdoor gear) more than doubled on a group basis. The soft spots were the classic counter categories: hand tools, paint, plumbing, and fasteners all lost ground against March 2025 at the Northampton store, even as the overall number marched higher. That is a mix shift worth watching, not a red flag yet, but the commodity categories are an important floor for your revenue stream.
| Department | Mar 2026 | Mar 2025 | Chg % |
|---|---|---|---|
| Hardware | $49,922 | $6,479 | +670% |
| Pro Series | $69,215 | $47,889 | +44.5% |
| Power Tools (cat.) | $34,166 | $26,102 | +30.9% |
| Contractor Bundles | $17,775 | $12,544 | +41.7% |
| Hand Tools | $6,158 | $8,489 | −27.5% |
| Electrical | $6,844 | $12,635 | −45.8% |
| Paint | $4,777 | $9,102 | −47.5% |
| Plumbing | $4,010 | $6,518 | −38.5% |
| Fasteners | $2,043 | $3,895 | −47.5% |
| Item | Revenue |
|---|---|
| Finish Trim Nailer 16ga | $19,565 |
| Milwaukee M18 4-Tool Combo | $9,223 |
| Pro Plumbing Contractor Bundle | $8,366 |
| Steel Wheelbarrow 6 cu ft | $6,808 |
| Pro Electrical Contractor Bundle | $6,550 |
| Supplier | Revenue | Margin % |
|---|---|---|
| Milwaukee | $46,330 | 55.3% |
| DeWalt | $21,999 | 54.7% |
| Klein Tools | $12,718 | 55.1% |
| Ridgid | $10,604 | 55.3% |
| SKIL | $8,540 | 51.5% |
The finish nailer alone drove 9% of total March revenue. I recommend that you confirm Ridgid stock depth and watch for a pull-forward effect that could soften April. Meanwhile, the double-digit declines in paint, plumbing, and fasteners at Northampton merit a shelf walk. If those SKUs lost endcap space to pro bundles, the fix is a planning exercise, not demand.
Nine months in, the Amherst store is finding a customer base that looks genuinely different from Northampton’s: more transactions per ticket (3.0 vs 2.7 items), smaller average basket ($78 vs $104), and a heavier pull toward lower-price categories. That is textbook new-neighborhood-trade ramp and nothing to apologize for. The question is productivity per labor hour, and that is where the two stores diverge most sharply.
| Store | Shift hours | Rev / labor hour | Avg sales / shift hour |
|---|---|---|---|
| Northampton | 787 | $208 | $467 (mgr), $501–540 (floor) |
| Amherst | 782 | $58 | $113 (mgr), $105–165 (floor) |
| Group total | 1,569 | $134 | — |
Amherst is running roughly the same staffed hours as Northampton but generating 28% of the sales. Part of that is the ramp; part of it is schedule density. A two-hour look at the shift schedule against hourly traffic will tell you whether the gap is real demand or over-coverage.
| Measure | Mar 2026 |
|---|---|
| Distinct identified customers | 2,099 |
| Repeat customers in month | 54 |
| Largest individual customer | $1,395 |
| Returns / refund count | 0 |
The repeat count (54 in month) is tiny relative to 2,099 identified buyers. This is potentially the single biggest untapped area: a simple pro-account or frequent-buyer tag at the register would let you see which of those 54 are contractors vs casual re-buyers, and build a list you can call.
Total home-improvement category is projected to grow roughly 3.5% in 2026 per the Home Improvement Research Institute, coming off two flat-to-soft years. Independent retailers tracked by NHPA’s Independent Retailer Index have been flat in recent quarters, so Millbrook’s +32% at Northampton is materially ahead of the channel.
Pro/contractor demand is the segment driving the industry right now. Milwaukee Tool posted +11.2% YoY revenue growth in fiscal 2025 on $10.7B in sales, outrunning the professional tools market by four points. DeWalt is leaning hard on starter-kit pricing, often $100 below the comparable Milwaukee bundle. Your own Milwaukee share at 55% margin and DeWalt at 54.7% says your pro mix is profitable, not a loss leader.
Lawn & Garden is forecast to grow roughly 28% nationally into 2026 (Mintel), and Home Depot and Lowe’s both started aggressive Spring Black Friday/SpringFest promotions in late March and early April. If L&G is still 3% of your mix, that is upside to capture, not a reason to shrink the set.