Home Depot reported Q1 net earnings of US$3.56 per share, down three percent from a year earlier and short of Wall Street estimates of $3.59. Revenues rose by 9.4 percent to $39.86 billion, exceeding estimates of $39.29 billion. Same-store sales fell by 0.3 percent, a bigger drop than the expected 0.2 percent.

In a statement accompanying the announcement, CFO Richard McPhail said the company said it plans to keep prices unchanged despite the threat posed by U.S. tariffs. “We anticipate that 12 months from now, no single country outside of the United States will represent more than 10 per cent of our purchases.”

Kent Building Supplies has opened a new store in Summerside, P.E.I. The 54,000-square-foot location on Roy Boates Rd. replaces an existing store on Eustane St. With a drive-through lumberyard and Project Centre, the store is designed to appeal to both retail and contractor customers. It employs 78 and has a FedEx drop-off station.

Peter Rebello, a former LBM executive, has died. He was 76.

Rebello spent more than four decades in this industry, including 20 years at Louisiana Pacific Corp., where he served as national accounts manager for Canada before retiring in 2019. Born in Mumbai, India, Rebello immigrated with his family to Montreal at the age of 16. He is survived by his wife Louise, plus 11 children and 37 grandchildren.

A funeral mass is being held today at 10 a.m. at St. Clement’s Catholic Church in Toronto.

Hudson’s Bay Co., closing its doors, has agreed to sell its intellectual property, including its famous stripes and logos, to Canadian Tire Corp. for $30 million.

“Canadian Tire and the Hudson’s Bay Co. are among the nation’s longest-standing companies, with a combined Canadian heritage measured in centuries,” Canadian Tire CEO Greg Hicks said in a news release yesterday. “Some things are just meant to stay Canadian and we are honoured to welcome many of HBC’s leading brands—including the iconic HBC coat of arms and the stripes—into our Canadian Tire family.”

BMR Group has announced the addition of CBS Bancroft in Central Ontario and Severn Building Supply, with locations in the communities of Brechin and Coldwater, to the BMR Pro banner. The new members expand the group’s footprint in Ontario and reflect its efforts to position itself as the top destination for pros.

CBS Bancroft has been in business since the 1970s and was purchased by a trio of business partners in 2021. Severn Building Supply was founded two years ago by three entrepreneurs serving Simcoe County, north of the Greater Toronto Area.

In March, the total value of building permits decreased by $549.4 million, or 4.1 percent, to $12.9 billion, according to StatCan.

The decrease was led by the non-residential sector, down by 14.5 percent, or $716.3 million, but buoyed by the residential sector, which was up by 2.0 percent, or $166.9 million.

The reduction in commercial construction intentions was most pronounced in Ontario, down $268.6 million, with additional declines in British Columbia, down $187.1 million,

All Weather at Home has been recognized again this year as a Platinum Club member of Canada’s Best Managed Companies.

The award marks All Weather’s 17th consecutive year on the list and 11 straight years at the Platinum level. The Canada’s Best Managed Companies program highlights privately-owned Canadian businesses annually that exemplify resilience, innovation, and leadership.

According to All Weather, the recognition acknowledges the company’s people-focused culture and operational strengths.

The six-month trend in housing starts increased 2.4 percent in April to 240,905 units, according to the Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation (CMHC). The trend measure is a six-month moving average of the seasonally adjusted annual rate (SAAR) of total housing starts for all areas in Canada.

The total monthly SAAR of housing starts for all areas in Canada increased 30 percent in April to 278,606 units compared to March at 214,205 units.

Meanwhile, actual housing starts were up 17 percent year-over-year in centres with a population of 10,000 or greater, with 21,720 units recorded in April, compared to 18,539 in April 2024. According to the CMHC this marks the highest actual housing starts for the month of April on record, and pushed the year-to-date total to 67,022, down 2 percent from the same period in 2024.

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

Millwork Home Centre was once a thriving family business owned by the Lupton family, east of Toronto. It celebrated its 50th anniversary, we reported 25 years ago, in the pages of the May 15, 2000, Hardlines Weekly Report. “Millwork prepares to do battle with the big boxes,” ran our headline, citing Millwork’s estimated sales of $40 million and two stores in Oshawa and Ajax, Ont. But in 2015, the Lupton family sold the assets of their stores to RONA. And in early 2020, Lowe’s, which had taken over RONA, closed the former Millwork stores, which had become corporate stores, saying they were “underperforming.”

Earlier this week RONA inc. celebrated the conversion of 15 more stores to its RONA+ banner. The company, which made the RONA name its sole retail banner in October 2024, continues its brand repositioning project.

The newly converted stores are located at:

• RONA+ Carrefour Laval – 3065, boul. Le Carrefour, Laval
• RONA+ Saint-Laurent – 3600, boul. de la Côte Vertu, Saint-Laurent
• RONA+ Saint-Bruno-de-Montarville – 1221, boul. des Promenades, Saint-Bruno
• RONA+ Trois-Rivières – 4025, boul. des Récollets, Trois-Rivières
• RONA+ Chicoutimi – 465, boul. du Royaume Ouest, Chicoutimi
• RONA+ Gatineau – 777, boul. de la Cité, Gatineau
• RONA+ Mascouche – 175, montée Masson, Mascouche
• RONA+ Galeries d’Anjou – 7273, boul. des Galeries d’Anjou, Anjou
• RONA+ Gatineau (Le Plateau) – 165, boul. du Plateau, Gatineau
• RONA+ Joliette – 2000, boul. Firestone Est, Notre-Dame-des-Prairies
• RONA+ Saint-Eustache – 440, rue Dubois, Saint-Eustache
• RONA+ Saint-Jean-sur-Richelieu – 170, rue Moreau, Saint-Jean-sur-Richelieu
• RONA+ Granby – 200, rue Saint-Jude Nord, Granby (shown here)
• RONA+ Rimouski – 385, boul. Arthur-Buies Est, Rimouski
• RONA+ Brossard (Dix30) – 9800, boul. Leduc, Brossard

(More details of RONA’s latest store conversions will appear in next Monday’s edition of our sister publication, Hardlines Weekly Report. HWR is reserved for Premium Members only. Click here to learn more about becoming a Premium Member of Hardlines!)