BP Canada has launched Signature, a new line of nature-inspired, multi-toned shingles. The colours from BP Canada’s Chroma Colour Lab range from nuanced blacks and greys to multi-toned browns and neutrals. The lab’s proprietary new Profusio design patterns create customized roofing by combining selected Signature shades. Profusio merges two shingle colours and alternates them over successive rows to create a third colour that produces a complementary or contrasting visual effect.

Regal ideas has won gold at the 19th Annual Davey Awards, an international award which honours outstanding creative work from agencies worldwide. Regal, a Canadian firm known for its leading aluminum and glass railing products, won the award for its “Power Strategies” campaign.

The campaign “involves over a decade of development and encompasses all the tools, learnings, and blueprints into one turnkey tool,” said EVP Andrew Pantelides. “Top home improvement retailers and distributors that have trusted these strategies … have experienced seven to 10 times the growth in their markets.”

The Power Strategies was not the only winner for Regal ideas at the Davey Awards. It also took a silver award in the consumer magazine category for its Look Book, co-developed by Canadian celebrity designer Marc Atiyolil, from the Mark and Mandy Show.

RONA has completed another round of store conversions as it phases out the Lowe’s name in Canada. The stores, all in the Greater Toronto Area, have new RONA+ signage, effective this week.

Executives from RONA’s Boucherville, Que., head office, including VP marketing Catherine Laporte, president and CEO Andrew Iacobucci, and Jean-Sébastien Lamoureux, SVP, RONA affiliates, wholesale and public affairs (shown here on right at the Mississauga Central store with store manager Paul Swan), each attended different store re-openings. The Toronto stores are at Golden Mile Plaza, Castlefield Avenue, Etobicoke South, and Scarborough North. The other stores, all in the GTA, are Brampton South, Brampton North, Mississauga Central, Milton, and Burlington.

Board-cutting ceremonies took place simultaneously at all stores involved at 10:30 a.m. yesterday.

Last weekend, Quebec hardware chain Gagnon – La Grande Quincaillerie (Gagnon – The Great Hardware Store) held a big celebration to mark the company’s 50th anniversary. The event drew some 320 people, including the entire team from the chain’s five stores along with family members, who gathered at a ballroom in the Marché Bonsecours in Montreal.

The soirée was hosted by TV personality Guy Mongrain and surprise guest Rita Baga, a popular Quebec drag queen. The night included a video history of the company, and a tribute to Yves Gagnon, who had taken over a single store from his father in 1973 and built it into a thriving chain of home centres. The business is currently run by Yves’ daughter, Geneviève Gagnon.

(Shown here: Rita Baga, Yves Gagnon, and Guy Mongrain)

Trex Company, the composite decking and railing company, recently earned three high-profile accolades for its ongoing commitment to sustainability. Lowe’s Cos. honoured Trex with its 2023 Sustainability Award; the company was named one of the 100 Best ESG Companies for 2023 by Investor’s Business Daily; and, two days ago, Trex was ranked by Newsweek magazine as one of America’s Most Responsible Companies.

The Western Retail Lumber Association has named Murray Finkbiner as the 2023 Industry Achievement Award recipient. This award recognizes someone who has contributed to their business, the building supply industry, the WRLA, and the communities in which they live.

Finkbiner has been an active member of the building supply industry since he began working at his father’s lumber yard 51 years ago. After working his way up to becoming the manager of Northwood Building Materials in Calgary, he joined AFA Forest Products in 1988. In 2014, he took over as president and COO, and led the company until its acquisition by Gillfor Distribution in 2022. Finkbiner remained with Gillfor as a senior advisor until his retirement in June of this year.

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

On Dec. 8, 2003, 20 years ago tomorrow, we reported that Home Depot had agreed to acquire Economy Maintenance Supply (EMS), a business in Sterling, Va., that had been in operation since 1985. EMS’s specialty was plumbing specialty parts but it also featured electrical, HVAC, lighting, sundries, and tools. A lot of EMS’s customers serviced the hospitality industry. The acquisition gave Home Depot a growing presence in the MRO (maintenance, repair, and operations) business, which it has since expanded substantially over the years.

The latest edition of Hardlines Dealer News went out yesterday and, wow, what an issue! It’s filled with great stories of how dealers across the country are growing and coping in today’s economy.

Russ Jones, a RONA dealer in British Columbia, has added stand-alone showrooms in his market, driving appliance and kitchen sales through the roof. Barry Eidt, an Ace dealer in Ontario, has helped his dad expand as an equity partner in two acquisitions, including one he got involved in when he was only 19 years old!

Plus: a cedar-lined merchandising coup, smashing pumpkins, and more! You can subscribe to Hardlines Dealer News at no charge. (Click here now!)

Patrick Morin, the founder of the retail home improvement chain of the same name, died last Saturday at the age of 96. Morin, along with his wife, Denise Benny, opened their first store in Ste-Marcelline-de-Kildare, in Quebec’s Lanaudière region, in 1960. Over time, the Patrick Morin stores grew to comprise one of the largest privately-held retail home improvement companies in Canada. Today, the company has 22 stores in Quebec, in the Montreal region and north to Trois-Rivieres.

In 2021, Groupe Turcotte, which owns a group of Home Hardware stores in Quebec, bought the family-owned Patrick Morin business with additional investment from Home Hardware’s head office. Morin is survived by his wife and two sisters, along with eight children, 20 grandchildren, and 27 great-grandchildren.

Gillfor Distribution has forged a multi-year national sales and distribution partnership with IKO Industries. With this deal, Gillfor consolidates its shingle and roofing products segment across Canada in order to work exclusively with IKO to service Gillfor’s independent retail customers.

“This agreement aligns well with many of our customers’ buying preferences and supports our mission of partnering with best-in-class vendors to support our customers from coast to coast,” said Mike Schneider, Gillfor’s VP of business development. “This represents one of the final pieces in our series of national product line reviews and is truly an exciting step forward for Gillfor Distribution, our account managers, and the customers they serve.”

Gillfor has an extensive network of account managers who work consultatively with thousands of independent Canadian retailers from coast to coast. Through these partnerships, the company offers growth strategies supported by premier LBM brands.