Gypsum Management & Supply has announced financial results for the second quarter of its fiscal 2025. Net sales rose by 3.5 percent to US$1.5 billion, buoyed by recent acquisitions. Earnings fell by 33.9 percent to $53.5 million, or $1.35 per diluted share, from $81.0 million ($1.97) in the comparable period of 2024.

Hardlines toured The Buildings Show in downtown Toronto yesterday, to see which retailers were pitching the many pro builders in attendance.

Home Depot (its fourth year in attendance) and RONA (its first year exhibiting at the show as RONA, but they have previously exhibited under the Lowe’s banner) had their pro sales reps out in force at their booths in the Homebuilder & Renovator Expo. Home Depot was promoting its new Flatbed Distribution Centre, dedicated to pros, which opened about a year ago and which ships direct to contractors in the Greater Toronto Area. The Buildings Show continues through tomorrow.

The Retail Council of Canada has urged the federal government to step in to end the Canada Post strike. The RCC warns that the strike, now in its fourth week, is having a devastating impact on retailers as the holidays close in. The RCC predicts the losses suffered by the sector due to the prolonged strike will exceed $1 billion.

“The retail industry knows that the best labour agreement is negotiated between the two sides, but that is not the case here, and it is time to end this strike,” Diane J. Brisebois, president and CEO of the RCC, said in a statement.

Labour Minister Steve MacKinnon has said that while he is “extremely frustrated” by the lack of progress in negotiations, binding arbitration is “not in the cards.”

Sarah McGoldrick

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

It has been a quarter century tomorrow since we reported, on Dec. 6, 1999, that Vancouver-based Revy Home & Garden was making a big push into the Ontario market by acquiring four new sites. At the time of our report, Revy had just one operating store in the province, in Mississauga.

Just 18 months later, RONA would swoop in to buy Revy’s 50 stores (including many Revelstoke Home Centres) from West Fraser Timber Co. for $220 million. That deal was announced on July 21, 2001.

Dollarama says its Q3 earnings came to $275.8 million, or $0.98 per share. That’s up from $261.1 million ($0.92) a year earlier and on par with analyst estimates. Sales rose by 5.7 percent to $1.56 billion, also meeting expectations, with comp sales up 3.3 percent. At the same time, the discount retailer announced it will acquire a property in the Calgary area that will serve as a new logistics hub for Western Canada.

Lee Valley Tools has launched four pop-up stores across Ontario. The locations in St. Laurent Shopping Centre in Ottawa, Devonshire Mall in Windsor, and Toronto’s Centerpoint Mall and Scarborough Town Centre are “designed to bring a curated selection of our products closer to local communities, “according to a statement from the company.

The stores will not carry the company’s full inventory of products, instead offering a hybrid shopping experience with the most popular and distinctive Lee Valley Tool items. The pop-ups will operate until Dec. 26.

Sarah McGoldrick

Decking and railing manufacturer Trex is teaming up with Alexandria Moulding to expand its Canadian distribution network. The companies say the partnership will bring Trex’s products to a wider audience of Canadian retailers, homeowners, and contractors.

“By combining Trex’s high-quality products with our strong distribution network, we can provide more coverage to the Canadian market with the best possible outdoor living solutions,” Chris Gerhard, EVP of Alexandria Moulding parent Specialty Building Products, said in a release.

Bernie Owens, president and CEO of TIMBER MART, has issued a statement on succession planning. “In recent years, we’ve witnessed companies lose the essence of their corporate cultures, that once formed their foundations, due to outsourcing their talent and ultimately not being successful in transferring the knowledge and experience from within to external hires,” he writes.

“At TIMBER MART, we believe in hiring from within when possible and pursuing progress through people because it nurtures our positive company culture and values.”

Investment in U.S. construction rose by 0.4 percent in October, according to the U.S. Commerce Department, exceeding estimates of 0.2 percent by economists in a Reuters poll. Residential construction spending spiked by 1.5 percent, including a 0.8 percent increase in the single-family sector. On a year-over-year basis, total investment was up 5.0 percent in October.

Walmart Canada will open one or “most probably” two new Toronto-area Supercentres in the coming year, CEO and president Gonzalo Gebara has told Retail Insider. “We believe that the Supercentre concept is where the one-stop shop concept continues to be relevant for Canadian customers,” he said. The confirmed location is to open in Port Credit, Ont. The retailer has also greenlit three new Alberta stores for the next few years.