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Walmart Canada has introduced hydrogen fuel cell electric semi-trucks to its fleet, becoming the first major retailer in Canada to do so. Operating with zero tailpipe emissions, the Nikola Hydrogen Fuel Cell EV Class 8 tractor has a range of about 800 kilometres and on average can avoid 97 tonnes of carbon dioxide tailpipe emissions annually. In a release, CEO and president Gonzalo Gebara called the move “a major milestone on our journey to becoming a regenerative company.”

Quebec’s construction holiday begins today, continuing through the first week of August. It will impact 28 percent of the province’s workforce, though exceptions are built in for work such as civil engineering and emergency projects. AQMAT president Richard Darveau told Montreal’s 98.5FM that hardware sales will nevertheless be “pretty good” during the period. Many homeowners, he explained, will use part of their vacation time to pursue renovations.

A recent KPMG survey reveals that most Canadian companies are feeling the financial impact of climate change, prompting them to climate-proof their operations. Over 90 percent of business leaders believe extreme weather is now the new normal. The survey of 350 leaders found that 56 percent experienced reduced profitability and 49 percent faced rising costs due to last year’s weather events.

Rebecca Dumais

Michael Bols (l), chair of Coop Embrun, and Joël Godin (r), president of Groupe matériaux Godin inc.

RONA inc. has announced that Coop Embrun and Groupe Matériaux Godin inc. have acquired RONA Oka on an equal-share basis. The store has served the community of Oka, Que., for nearly 70 years. With this acquisition, Groupe Matériaux Godin now owns five RONA affiliated stores, and Coop Embrun counts two RONA stores.

Walmart Canada has launched sensory-friendly hours in stores across Canada in order to provide a less stimulating environment and to reduce customers’ sensory overload. All 403 Walmart Canadian stores will join their U.S. counterparts to offer sensory-friendly hours from store opening until 10 a.m. local time every Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday.

Shoppers will experience a calmer environment with minimal sensory stimuli. Stores will for example lower lighting and avoid playing music or making non-emergency announcements.

Rebecca Dumais

Retail sales declined by 0.8 percent to $66.1 billion in May, StatCan reports. Sales were down in eight of nine subsectors, led by decreases at food and beverage retailers. LBM and garden sales fell by 2.7 percent. Core retail sales for the month, which exclude fuel and automotive categories, were down 1.4 percent.

Federated Cooperatives Ltd. announced yesterday that its corporate website and all local co-op websites are back online following a cyber attack, though online shopping remained unavailable. On June 27, the company experienced significant system outages which affected much of their internal and customer-facing systems, including cardlock fuel locations. In response, it shut down many of its systems as a precaution.

Sarah McGoldrick

Investment in building construction edged up 0.8 percent month-over-month to $20.8 billion in May, rebounding from a 2.0 percent decrease in April. According to StatCan data, residential construction spending rose 0.9 percent to $14.4 billion in May. Overall, investment in single-family homes fell 1.3 percent to $6.8 billion, the second monthly decline in a row.

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

In our July 21, 2014 issue of our weekly e-newsletter we wrote a story about Target facing calls to close or reduce its Canadian operations. We quoted Michael Exstein of Credit Suisse, an analyst who said Target might have to “cut its losses” in Canada. “Nevertheless, Target reps insisted the company remains committed to the Canadian market,” we wrote. It took nine months for Target to announce (April 12, 2015) that it would close all of its 133 stores in Canada.