Third-quarter sales for West Fraser Timber Co. were $1.44 billion, compared with $1.71 billion in the second quarter. The company had a loss of $83 million, dropping from earnings of $105 million in the previous quarter. The company said revenues were impacted by low selling prices for southern yellow pine.

“I think Canada can breathe a sigh of relief,” said Bank of Canada governor Tiff Macklem yesterday, after the BOC announced a cut in its key “policy rate” to 3.75 percent, half a percentage point (or 50-basis-points) lower than its previous 4.25 percent.

The “sigh of relief” that Macklem was talking about referred to the central bank’s battle against inflation, which was 1.6 percent in September, StatCan said. The BOC has said that keeping inflation below 2.0 percent would partially guide its interest rate decisions.

The inflation was caused, principally, by the end of the pandemic. The BOC policy rate was 0.25 percent in March 2022. After a relentless series of interest rate hikes designed to stem inflation, it climbed to 5.0 percent by July 2023.

Suppliers and retailers from across Canada gathered last night at the 2024 Outstanding Retailer Awards, presented during a gala dinner at the annual Hardlines Conference. The event was held at the Fairmont Le Manoir Richelieu in La Malbaie, Que. The winners are:

• Best Hardware or Paint Store – Cloverdale Paint Store #71, Saskatoon, Sask.
• Best Building Supply or Home Centre under 15,000 square feet – BMR Pro Brae-Con Building Supplies, Elmvale, Ont.
• Best Building Supply or Home Centre over 15,000 square feet – Brideco BMR, St-Honoré, Que.
• Best Contractor Specialist – Mission Building Supplies (Castle Building Centres Group), Edmonton, Alta.
• Best Large Surface Retailer – E.G. Penner Building Centre (Sexton Group), Steinbach, Man.
• Retail Spirit Award – RONA Forget, Mont-Tremblant, Que.
• Young Retailer of the Year – Phylip Savard-Tremblay, Quincaillerie Tremblay Laroche Inc. (Castle Building Centres Group), Métabetchouan-Lac-à-la-Croix, Que.
• Marc Robichaud Community Leader – Buck’s Home Building Centre, Bridgewater, N.S.

The 28th Annual Hardlines Conference brought together 175 of the industry’s top leaders and dealer-owners. The event, beginning yesterday, captured the latest trends and challenges facing the home improvement retail sector, particularly focusing on building business success.

Themes of change and leadership pervaded the speaker sessions. Peter Norman, economist and president of the Altus Group, highlighted how the sector is healthy despite recession fears. Richard Darveau, president of AQMAT and founder of Well Made Here, gave a forward-thinking talk on the importance of independence and supporting a made-in-Canada approach to doing business.

The Hardlines Conference continues today.

Sarah McGoldrick

Faucet manufacturer Bélanger has announced a rebranding, along with the launch of new product collections under its Bélanger Pro and Bélanger Essential lines. The new visual identity highlights the company’s “commitment to craftsmanship, simplicity, and enduring design,” according to a release. “We are embracing a fresh vision for the future,” said GM Lidia Pedicelli.

Sexton Group has found a new partner to help it grow inside the Quebec market. The Winnipeg-based buying group has allied with Évolution Distribution, a regional distributor and buying group headed by Geneviève Gagnon.

Combining the Sexton and Évolution Distribution names, the new entity is called EvoX and marries the strengths of the two companies to provide a fresh option for Quebec dealers.

Both sides say the new, long-term partnership will ensure competitive programs that have the strength, flexibility, and reliable support needed to drive growth for independent dealers in their respective markets.

“It has been an honour to work alongside Geneviève to create a unique offer for the province of Quebec,” said Eric Palmer, president of Sexton Group Ltd. “I sincerely believe that EvoX offers a new and original initiative that will prove to be the right choice for many retailers.”

The program of the 28th Hardlines Conference begins today, following last night’s RONA Pub Night event at Fairmont Le Manoir Richelieu in La Malbaie, Que. Speakers include workplace leadership expert Pierre Battah and Alain Ménard (pictured left with Hardlines president Michael McLarney), RONA’s SVP for affiliated dealers. This evening, the Outstanding Retailer Awards will be presented at a gala dinner to retailers who have stood above the pack in the past year.

Montreal-based JRTech Solutions, a major supplier of electronic shelf labels (ESL) in Canada, today announced a partnership with San Diego-based technology firm Brain Corp, to bring “autonomous inventory management solutions to retailers in the Canadian market.”

Under the agreement, JRTech “will become the exclusive provider to retailers in Canada of Brain Corp’s Brain OS Sense Suite, an end-to-end inventory management platform that helps retailers autonomously manage their in-store inventory with robots and artificial intelligence,” a joint release from the companies said.

The Retail Council of Canada has released the results of a survey of 750 small and medium-sized businesses (SMBs), and almost half of the participating owners expect sales growth this year. It also found that 50 percent of SMBs favour selling from bricks-and-mortar operations.

“Web store ranks as the second most popular method at 41 per cent,” the RCC said in a release. “However, SMB sellers can now effortlessly enhance these sales channels with online marketplaces, click-to-buy features on social media, and other easy-to-use alternatives.”

The most important annual conference for home improvement retailers and vendors kicks off tonight in La Malbaie, Que, with a pub night sponsored by RONA at Fairmont Le Manoir Richelieu.

Tuesday and Wednesday will feature two days of thought-leadership presentations and networking, including a Gala Dinner for the Outstanding Retailer Awards, tomorrow night.

This is the first time in its nearly 30-year history that the Hardlines Conference is being held in the province of Quebec.