For over 65 years, the ALLPRO Corporation has operated as a business-to-business buying cooperative, serving a network of independently owned paint and decorating retailers throughout the U.S., Canada, Mexico and parts of Europe. ALLPRO’s mission is to serve its 300 member companies, which represent over 2,000 store fronts, by providing a distinct competitive advantage in today’s marketplace through seeking out only those programs and initiatives that will help improve operations, market position and profitability.

“Our members’ major value proposition is their ability to pivot and evolve and change; it’s that ability to recreate themselves to stay competitive,” says Michael Beaudoin, ALLPRO executive vice president. “We strive to help them do just that.”

ALLPRO Goes Abroad

One of those initiatives that is top of mind is the 2025 Fall Show. Later this month, ALLPRO will celebrate its legacy and the stakeholders it serves in a big way, gathering everyone in Dublin, Ireland.

The dream to host an ALLPRO show in Ireland started in 2016 when Beaudoin visited members there. It was also during this time when ALLPRO leadership was beginning to reinvent the Fall Shows, which were never known for being large or exciting, Beaudoin says.

“I was overwhelmed by the beauty of the country and the warmth of the people when I first visited,” he says. “And I felt like this would be a really unique experience for a lot of our members, if we could ever pull it off.”

The leadership team began improving the Fall Show by moving the location around to vibrant cities, featuring engaging keynote speakers to add an extra layer of excitement, increasing the number of vendors present and bringing in professional trainers.

“We kept tweaking the agenda to find the sweet spot and attendance started to improve dramatically,” Beaudoin says. “Since then, we’ve done New Orleans, Los Angeles, Nashville, San Antonio, Denver and Austin, and I’m excited to finally have everything fall into place for it to be in Dublin. We’re looking forward to a very well-attended event, with over 800 people. I’m most excited about the toast of Guinness beer we’ll all share to open the show and celebrate being together.”

More important than offering a marvelous location, the Fall Show will continue to build the culture of loyalty ALLPRO is known for and solidify relationships in the channel.

“This will be something that brings people closer together and creates that special moment; it adds to our culture, which makes us a stronger group,” Beaudoin says. “We’ve also grown significantly, so this event will be a good investment to bring to our stakeholders. This is as much for our suppliers as it is for our members.”

Pushing Forward Together

At the 2025 Fall Show and beyond, Beaudoin and ALLPRO leadership will be focused on the success of members. To accomplish that goal, not being complacent in the current challenging economy will be No. 1 on Beaudoin’s list. In late Q3, the company was looking at minus 2% for the year, although Beaudoin hopes that by the end of 2025, that number will be back to even or plus 1%.

“From my own experiences, when it’s tough that’s when you really go out and be more offensive and look for opportunities,” he says. “I think talent shines more in tough times than it does in great times.”

Beaudoin says he wants to keep pushing the organization forward, which includes expanding distribution, adding a new updated technology to the member portal to modernize how members pay their bill and adding a business-to-business website for the distribution centers.

“These are some pretty large initiatives that will take quite a bit of programming to get everything to work out, but we’re investing for the future,” Beaudoin says. “I want to acknowledge that we’re in a tougher time and not gloss over that, but I also want our members to know that we’re not laying low.”

ALLPRO is also encouraging its members to look peripherally, continue to grow their business and position themselves for when things turn around, heading into 2026 with a positive outlook.

“I think next year’s going to be a better year. The uncertainty we faced in the first six months of this year was challenging—we had 144 price increases in four months and none of them fell into a consistent pattern,” he says. “We had all these uncertainties that seem to have calmed down for the back half of the year, so hopefully we can get a bit of tailwind.”

Thanks to their ability to pivot, Beaudoin believes ALLPRO’s retailers and the independent channel as a whole are well prepared to face whatever the next year brings. Retailers proved this during the first half of 2025, when if one supplier was not able to service the group due to challenges, there were other options in the category to choose from. 

“Their nimbleness is their strength and it has been since the pandemic,” Beaudoin says. “If a product doesn’t meet their market’s needs, they can quickly find another solution.”

ALLPRO helps facilitate this flexibility, offering thought-out curation and a select number of vendors in each category
to help members make those changes between suppliers
when needed.

“We’re very deliberate with how many suppliers we have in each category,” Beaudoin says. “This gives the supplier the advantage of only having to compete with a couple of similar suppliers within our group, but it also gives the members the ability to choose from well-vetted options.”

The Future Looks Bright

ALLPRO’s focus on building a stronger future can be seen in the investments the company has made in its Next-Gen Group. While the group was formed before Beaudoin took the helm at ALLPRO, he understands the importance of the group to the company. He also believes that the retailers in this group are the future of the industry and helping them find their place in the channel will be crucial to the channel’s future success.

“I saw an opportunity to give them their own ALLPRO experience,” Beaudoin says. “I’ve been in this industry for 30 years, so when I go to an ALLPRO show, I know a lot of people, and it’s easy for me. But if my son, Ian, who works at ALLPRO now, would go to that same show, he wouldn’t know a soul. When you start to build those relationships at the bottom level, it becomes their show and it’s a better experience for everyone.”

The independent channel’s model of independent owners with an entrepreneurial spirit is core to progress and prosperity in the industry, but the channel’s weakest point is when those owners age out and need to sell, Beaudoin says.

“The only way an owner is going to want their son or daughter to take over the business is if they think there’s a bright future,” he says. “Our Next Gen group promises a bright future. They inject youth into our group and help us all to think more long term strategically because they are in for the long haul.”