Amazon has reached an agreement with the Italian state railways to launch a new rail service, which will move products between Amazon’s distribution centres in Italy and Germany. They are setting up two routes: one from Duisburg in Germany to Pomezia in Italy, and one from Herne, Germany, to Verona, Italy.

One aim is to reduce the marketplace’s CO2 emissions. Over time, the e-commerce giant intends to increase its shipments to over 100 rail lanes and more than 300 sea routes.

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

Two weeks ago, we reported that Greg Hicks, CEO of Canadian Tire Corp., received no bonus in 2023 and his total compensation fell to $6.04 million.

That is a paltry sum compared to the earnings of the top bosses in our industry 10 years ago. We ran such a list in the Hardlines Weekly Report of April 21, 2014. “Nolan Archibald, former executive chairman of Stanley Black & Decker, topped the list in 2013. He made $52.5 million before stepping down in March of last year. He was well ahead of the boss at Lowe’s Cos., Robert Niblock (pictured). His total pay increased last year (2013) by more than 50 percent to $18.7 million, from $12.1 million in 2012. By comparison, RONA CEO Robert Sawyer made $6.6 million in 2013—for nine months of work (he started in April).”

With the federal budget yesterday, Chrystia Freeland, minister of finance, had a mixed message for this industry. The housing construction incentives, previously announced, were in the billions—and the stimulated demand should be a beneficial factor for building centres and their vendors.

But in paying for that spending, in part, Ottawa intends to raise an extra $19.4 billion over four years by increasing the “inclusion rate” for capital gains taxes from 50 percent to 66.6 percent. The new rules come into effect on June 25, 2024.

MediaCorp Canada has released its 2024 list of Canada’s Greenest Employers, part of its Canada’s Top 100 Employers project. Winners are chosen based on their environmental initiatives, success in reducing their environmental footprint, employee buy-in, and integration of these efforts into their brand. RONA inc., Home Depot Canada, and IKEA Canada, all made this year’s list.

Castle Building Centres Group has announced that its latest member is Eastcut Wood Building Solutions in Trenton, N.S. Owner Donald MacDonald founded the business in 2019 in response to a dearth of tradespeople available to build homes in the area. He began manufacturing pre-built wall, roof, and floor components for modular homes. The business occupies a 100,000-square-foot space.

A Miami-area investigation into three suspects accused of stealing $260,000 in merchandise from multiple Home Depot stores has determined that at least one of the accused works for the retailer. As a loss prevention officer.

The Miami Dade Police Department, a local affiliate of NBC reports, conducted an investigation into more than a quarter million dollars of missing merchandise. The three people are accused of stealing products from Home Depot stores throughout Miami-Dade County. The police alleged in a statement that one of the accused, the loss prevention officer, was stealing “from the very stores that he is paid to protect.”

The number of housing starts in urban centres across Canada rose 16 percent in March to 17,052 units, according to the Canada Mortgage and Housing Corp., from 14,756 units a year earlier. The increase was driven by higher multi-unit starts, up 19 percent, but single-detached starts also grew by two percent.

Housing starts were 10 percent and 15 percent higher in Toronto and Vancouver, respectively, though single-detached starts declined. Montreal’s edged down by one percent, dragged by lower multi-unit starts.

The latest issue of Hardlines HR Advisor hits inboxes this week. In this edition, we explore employee retention, stress management, and what makes Generation Z tick at work. If you’re not already receiving HR Advisor, click here to sign up for free!

Richelieu Hardware said last week its Q1 sales rose by one percent to $407 million, thanks to growth from acquisitions. In the hardware, retailers, and renovation superstores market, sales of $57.3 million were down by $1.6 million compared a year earlier. Canada sales remained stable at $232 million. Net earnings of $15.2 million represented a decline of 35.7 percent.

Sales of existing Canadian homes edged up 0.5 percent between February and March, according to the Canadian Real Estate Association. The actual (not seasonally adjusted) number of transactions came in 1.7 percent above the previous March’s tally. That was a smaller gain than those recorded in the previous two months, impacted by a largely inactive market during the Easter long weekend.