Gypsum Management & Supply, based in Tucker, Ga., has acquired R.S. Elliott Specialty Supply. The Florida-based stucco and exterior insulation and finishing systems supplier is a regional distributor of these and related construction supplies servicing markets across the state.

GMS stated that adding R.S. Elliott to their family of companies will help GMS serve customers better and grow their complementary product offerings in this market.

Sarah McGoldrick

Loblaw has concluded a test project allowing cashiers to work while seated, according to Retail Insider. The parent of the Loblaw, Provigo, and Real Canadian Superstore banners confirmed in a statement to the magazine that it had “piloted a four-month program in 10 of our stores across the country that provided cashiers with the option to sit.”

Loblaw wound down the experiment in early August and is now gathering feedback. Dalhousie agri-food professor Sylvain Charlebois said that Loblaw CEO and president Per Bank personally informed him of the test. Bank “saw my column on the issue a few months ago,” Charlebois claimed, while acknowledging “I’m not sure if my column triggered the whole process.”

This year’s Hardlines Conference will once again feature the broadest lineup of speakers in the industry. They include Alexandre Lefebvre, CEO of BMR Group. A seasoned manager known for his passion, leadership, and commitment to the community, he was honoured as one of Canada’s Top 40 Under 40 in 2017.

Jason Tasse is the president and COO of Lee Valley Tools, a family-owned Canadian business that has been serving the needs of woodworkers and gardeners since 1978. It has been recognized as one of Canada’s best-managed firms, top-ranking for in-store experience, and a leader in job creation for both manufacturing and retail.

The 28th Hardlines Conference, taking place Oct. 22 and 23 at Fairmont Le Manoir Richelieu in Quebec’s Charlevoix region, will feature simultaneous translation in English and French. Our Premium Members (everyone who receives the Hardlines Weekly Report on Monday mornings) can take advantage of priority access and a 20 percent discount on registration—just one more reason to sign up for your membership if you haven’t already!

Last night the North American Hardware & Paint Association hosted its Young Retailer of the Year Awards. The event was held during the Independent Home Improvement Conference in Marco Island, Fla. Joel Pletch, of Walkerton Home Hardware in southwestern Ontario, was the Canadian recipient of the award. Under his guidance, the store saw big increases. These included a 426 percent growth in the store’s tool category and a 300 percent increase in overall store transactions—all from a store that’s only 3,300 square feet in size.

Pletch (shown here at the awards event with Sherri Amos, director of dealer support for Home Hardware Stores Ltd.) was store manager when he got the news of the award in the spring. Since then, he has also become owner of the store.

Gypsum Management & Supply Inc. reported Q1 adjusted earnings of US$77.6 million, or $1.93 per diluted share, compared to $103.2 million ($2.49) a year earlier. Sales of $1.4 billion represented a 2.8 percent increase from the comparable period of last year. Recent acquisitions gave revenues a boost, tempering the effect of price deflation in steel framing.

Hardlines went south this week to attend the Independent Home Improvement Conference in Marco Island, Fla. The event was presented by the North American Hardware and Paint Association, in partnership with The Hardware Conference.

Yesterday, business leader Al Comeaux gave a keynote that focused on how to master and implement change. Comeaux said business history is strewn with the long line of failed companies. They may have had an effective strategy and execution, but the winning companies back that strategy and execution with a mindset. “The attitudes of the company’s leaders are what set the winners apart.”

Canadians are taking to social media to complain that grocery store cashiers aren’t offering to bag their purchases, CBC News reports. Food economist Mike Massow said the advent of reusable bags has encouraged the trend. “I think we’re being trained not to expect bagging, and we’ve sort of fallen into that trap.”

In an email to the national broadcaster, Loblaw Cos. Ltd. said its “policy and expectation is that customers have help with bagging” outside of bargain chains like No Frills. In 2021, however, it had announced a “Bag-Your-Own” program in order to cut labour costs and pass the savings on to customers. Walmart Canada confirmed that it has “introduced self-bagging” except where customers require assistance.

The RONA Foundation is launching its second Home Sweet Home fundraising campaign, “to revitalize living environments or facilitate access to housing for Canadians in need.” The campaign will run from Sept. 1 to 30 in all RONA corporate stores, as well as in participating distribution centres and affiliated stores. Customers across the country will be invited to make a donation to support a local cause.

Throwback Thursday is a regular weekly feature in which we dip into the archives of the Hardlines Weekly Report.

Orgill was about to grow exponentially in Canada when we reported a record-breaking 2014 Fall Market for the distributor in Chicago. “As ever, the lion’s share of Canadian dealers came from Castle Building Centres, the buying group that Orgill formed its first agreement with on arriving in Canada. But other banners were represented, as well, reflecting the current turbulence in the Canadian market.”

That “turbulence” was especially focused on the hardware supply to lumber dealers. Indeed, a big transition in hardlines distribution was about to occur. A year later, in August 2015, Orgill bought the assets of most of Chalifour Canada’s distribution, owned at the time by TIMBER MART. That brought the American distributor ownership of Chalifour’s London, Ont., DC and the inventory in Chalifour’s Surrey, B.C. warehouse.

Tando Composites has announced that its newest flagship dealer is Reese Wholesale in Indianapolis. Reese’s nine locations (eight in Indiana and one in Kentucky) will carry Tando’s exterior cladding products. The Quebec City-based manufacturer, a division of Derby Building Products, will celebrate the partnership with an all-day event at Reese Wholesale’s Indianapolis showroom on Sept. 12.