A Whitby, Ont., couple have been arrested and are facing 28 charges of fraud, theft, and possession of stolen property, police say. The couple, in their 50s, had been under investigation since Jan. 1, 2024, when it was reported to the police that they had targeted Home Depot stores in Ajax, Pickering, Whitby, and Clarington on numerous occasions, commencing July 2023.

Police say the suspects would make a purchase and then return to the store with the receipt and walk out with a similar stolen item. They would also switch price tags on items to defraud the stores, the Durham Regional Police Service said in a release.

The latest edition of Hardlines Dealer News hits inboxes tomorrow. In this issue, we look at Home Hardware’s outreach to contractors, how changes at RONA reflect its commitment to independents, and the importance of jobsite delivery post-pandemic. Hardlines Dealer News is monthly and it’s free: click here to subscribe now!

Lumber manufacturer Interfor Corporation, of Burnaby, B.C., has released its results for the last quarter of the 2023 calendar year.

In the quarter ended Dec. 31, 2023, the company recorded a net loss of $169.0 million, or $3.29 per share, compared to a net loss of $42.4 million, or $0.82 per share in the same quarter a year earlier. Sales in the quarter in 2023 were $785.9 million versus $828.1 million a year earlier. The company said in a release that the results are attributed to a weak lumber market, “continuing to be impacted by the elevated interest rate environment and ongoing economic uncertainty.”

Castle announced this week the addition of another new location, this time in the province of Quebec. Castle member Produits Boréal of Alma, Que., has acquired Boréal Rive Nord Inc. in Chertsey, 90 kilometres north of Montreal. Boreal Rive Nord was formerly an independent. The owners of the new location are Pierre Girard, Sylvain Cloutier, and Audrey Coulombe. The expansion will allow Produits Boréal to serve a wider scope of customers in this region with pre-fab home kits and millwork, Castle said in a release. The management team plans to build a brand-new store and retail showroom in late 2024.

Affiliated Distributors has announced that its 2023 owner-member sales rose by 5 percent from the previous year to $78.9 billion. Purchases by member companies from AD supplier partners totalled $19.8 billion, while net distributions to owner-members came to $1.4 billion. AD welcomed 49 new members in 2023.

Mayfair Lumber Sales Ltd. has maintained a steady business supplying lumber to western markets from its Calgary facility. But the addition of a warehouse in Edmonton has opened up new possibilities and new markets for the wholesaler.

The new distribution centre sits on 10 acres in the Edmonton area, and has manufacturing in place, along with cold storage, says Randy Aikens (shown here), president of Mayfair Lumber.

(Get the full story on Mayfair’s expansion of service in western Canada in Monday’s heart-pounding edition of our flagship publication, Hardlines Weekly Report. It’s an exclusive to our Hardlines Premium Members!)

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

In our Feb 4, 2014, edition of the Hardlines Weekly Report, we reported that Sears Canada, because of dropping sales—and anticipating the arrival in this country of more Target stores—had decided to cut its significant red ink by eliminating 700 jobs.

Sears Canada’s remaining stores closed their doors for good four years later, in 2018. But at least the venerable department store, which had opened in Canada 65 years earlier, lasted longer in this country than Target. That chain had a two-year history in Canada, from 2013 to 2015.

As of Monday January 1, 2024, Nucor Harris Rebar, a division of Harris Steel ULC, has changed its name to Nucor Rebar Fabrication, a Division of Nucor Steel ULC. This announcement is a change in name only and there is no change to the corporate structure. For details, check out our Classifieds page.

RONA has announced it would convert one of its Réno-Dépôt stores to the new RONA+ banner. That store, in Hull, across the Ottawa River from the nation’s capital, is one of 21 stores carrying the Réno-Dépôt banner, which exists only in Quebec.

“The conversions to the RONA+ banner that took place in other Canadian provinces had a very positive impact on store performance,” said a spokesperson from RONA.

But first, another 15 of RONA’s big box stores are scheduled to make the switch to RONA+ in the coming weeks.

(Find out what will happen to the Réno-Dépôt banner, and learn when and where the next stores will be converted to RONA+ in Monday’s brain-searing edition of our keystone publication, Hardlines Weekly Report. It’s an exclusive to our Hardlines Premium Members!)

The Greater Toronto Area logged 6,448 home resale transactions in January, according to new data from the Toronto Regional Real Estate Board. The 9.6 percent monthly increase (seasonally adjusted) is the second in a row, following November’s 19.5 percent hike. Jason Mercer, the board’s chief market analyst, said “a lot of would-be homebuyers” are waiting for interest rate cuts before making a purchase.