In late 2009, local business Cowan & Cowan merged with SouthEastern Builder's Supply to expand its line of products made available for consumers. The business remains on 1186 Clark Street, with a warehouse facility located on 9175 Old Atlanta Hwy.

SE-BS offers a broad line of products, including appliances, garage and carriage doors, hearth products, water heaters and HVAC. Unlike other retailers like Home Depot and Sears, the store carries high-end brand names such as Viking, Sub-Zero, Thermador, Wolf and Electrolux. Like those other retailers, the store also sells all other popular brands to meet consumer budgets. The store also offers full deliveries and installations.

Before merging with SE-BS, Cowan & Cowan had been a father/son local business in Covington since 1946. It used to be located in the square until it moved to its current site. The store was eventually sold to current president and co-owner Roger Boyd in 2002. Boyd carried on the tradition held by the Cowans and hopes to continue doing so despite the merge.

"In the last couple of months, a lot of people have come in to the store wondering what happened to Cowan & Cowan, asking ‘did the store sell out' and what happened to all of the employees.' I want them to know we're all still here," said Boyd. "We don't want to lose the hometown feel, even though we also serve customers as far as Metro Atlanta. Both companies were looking to diversify in order to stay ahead of the poor economy; the merge just allowed us to offer more to our customers."

The store has recently remodeled their showroom to provide more space for their extensive line of products. A brand new fireplace display will begin construction this week.

SE-BS is based in South Carolina and has been serving the apartment and residential construction industry in the Metro Atlanta area for the last 25 years.