Simpson Strong-Tie has promoted Scott Lang to the newly created role of VP of market development for residential digital solutions. In this position, Lang “will refine customer segmentation and develop market strategies for expanding the company’s residential digital solutions,” it said in a release. Lang has been with Simpson Strong-Tie for seven years, most recently as technology sales manager for national builder/pro supply.

A California woman is suing Home Depot for discrimination and wrongful termination after she was fired for not preventing more than $5,000 in fraudulent transactions. Carlene Acevedo was terminated after a customer asked her to process fraudulent transactions valued at $1,300 and $4,000 while working in the San Ramon Home Depot Garden Centre.

When she produced receipts of the transactions to her employer, she was fired for “creating a security or loss prevention risk.” The incident follows the death of a Pleasanton Home Depot loss prevention officer, Blake Mohs, who was shot and killed while preventing a theft attempt.

Sarah McGoldrick

Walmart and Kroger are replacing paper-and-ink price tags with electronic shelf labels, which can be used to change the price of an item instantly. Electronic shelf labels are already common in Europe, and likely to become more common in North America. Walmart plans to implement digital labels in 2,300 stores by 2026. Retailers insist that concerns over the possibility of price gouging are unfounded.

Rebecca Dumais

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

In our Sept. 1, 2014, issue we reported that Merit Distribution Group of Spartanburg, N.C., was acquiring Dynamic Paint Products, a 40-year-old Mississauga, Ont.-based distributor and manufacturer of paint sundries.

Dynamic, which was known for years as Mumby and Associates, was started out of a residential garage in 1974 by Bert Mumby, a paint tool salesman with an entrepreneurial spirit. James Mumby, Bert’s son, bought the business from his parents in 1992 and grew it into a full-line manufacturer and distributor of paint accessories, exporting to 10 countries including Australia, Poland, and the United States. Merit folded Dynamic into its Lancaster distribution business, which ships paint sundries worldwide.

United Farmers of Alberta Co-operative Ltd. will launch its new UFA Farm and Ranch Supply store and cardlock facility in Red Deer this week. The event will include a ribbon-cutting ceremony and remarks from local MP Earl Dreeshen and county mayor Jim Wood. Members and customers attending the event will have a chance to enter to win a John Deere Gator purchased from the local Brandt dealer.

Quebec-based convenience store giant Alimentation Couche-Tard, parent of the Circle K and Daisy Mart banners, has extended a non-binding offer to acquire its Japanese-owned competitor Seven & i Holdings Co. Ltd. The deal is valued at approximately US$31 billion. A merger would make it the biggest foreign takeover of a Japanese company and bring Couche-Tard’s value to US$58.5 billion. Seven and i operates more than 84,000 stores in 19 countries under the 7-Eleven brand.

Rebecca Dumais

The annual rate of inflation in Canada fell to 2.5 percent in July, signalling a possible interest rate cut in September. The Consumer Price Index (CPI) rose 2.5 percent on a year-over-year basis in July, the slowest rate of increase since March 2021, and down from a 2.7 percent gain in June 2024.

Statistics Canada reports this deceleration in headline inflation was broad-based, stemming from lower prices for travel tours, passenger vehicles, and electricity. On a monthly basis, the CPI rose 0.4 percent in July, after falling 0.1 percent in June.

Sarah McGoldrick

Lowe’s Cos. today reported a 5.6 percent slide in its Q2 sales. Revenues took a hit from high borrowing costs, falling to $23.59 billion. Comp sales were down 5.1 percent, more than the 4.43 percent decline expected by Wall Street, but the company reported positive comps in pro sales and e-commerce. Earnings fell by 10.1 percent to $4.10 per share, beating estimates of $3.97 per share.

After Macy’s announced its decision to close a third of its stores, the transformation of its abandoned retail space could result in major changes to the U.S. retail landscape. With 150 stores set to close by early 2027, the result may be a better use of existing real estate, Chris Wimmer, senior director at Fitch Ratings, told CNBC. The closures, he said, would hasten the demise of “low-quality malls that really don’t need to exist anymore.”

Rebecca Dumais 

The Home Depot launched its 2024 Halloween lineup online last month. “This year we increased our realism, created some impressive, licensed [NBC Universal] characters and even brought back some fan favorites,” Lance Allen, senior merchant of decorative holiday, said in a release.

“Skelly,” the perennially-popular 12-foot skeleton, is back once again, complete with a “haunted” accessory kit including a wig.