The latest episode of our podcast series What’s In Store goes online this week. In this edition, we talk to Geneviève Gagnon about her trajectory from law school to the multiple businesses she now manages and her passion for supporting palliative care. Geneviève is one of our carefully curated selection of speakers at the upcoming Hardlines Conference in Whistler, B.C. Sign up now to get updates about the latest podcasts in your inbox!

RONA inc. held board cuttings last week in Ontario to mark the conversion of 15 more of its former Lowe’s stores to the new RONA+ banner.

The latest stores to adopt the yellow-bannered RONA+ brand were in Barrie, Belleville (pictured), East Gwillimbury, Kanata, Kingston, London North West, London South West, Maple, Nepean, Orleans, Oshawa, Ottawa Gloucester, Pickering, Sudbury, and Whitby.

“The conversion of the former Lowe’s stores to the brand-new RONA+ banner is part of a wider plan aimed at redefining how Canadians shop for home improvement and represents a significant local investment,” RONA said in a release.

The Home Depot is hosting an online promotion leading up to the holiday season that targets the retailer’s home décor and accessories products. “Décor Days” is an online-only sales event which offers its “biggest style savings of the year.” It runs from Oct. 5 to Oct. 9 and will feature deals on furniture, home décor, and related products.

Home Depot promises deals on some 10,000 décor products, along with the retailer’s free buy online, pick upp in store (BOPIS) service and hassle-free returns.

Registration is open for the Western Retail Lumber Association’s 30th Anniversary Building and Hardware Showcase. The show returns in January to Winnipeg’s RBC Convention Centre for days of learning, networking, and presentations by top manufacturers, distributors, and service providers. The show will kick off with a new feature: a day-long à la carte selection of business workshops. Click here to register.

West Fraser Timber Co. and Atlas Holdings announced an agreement for the sale of West Fraser’s Quesnel, B.C., and Slave Lake, Alta., pulp mills to Atlas. The deal includes related woodlands operations and timber holdings in Alberta and a long-term fibre supply agreement for the Quesnel facility. Upon closing of the US$120 million transaction, the mills will be operated by Millar Western Forest Products. Edmonton-based Millar Western, which has been in business for more than a century, joined Atlas in 2017.

Amazon has announced that it is expanding its logistics network to allow selling partners to ship products from its storage service to outside warehouses and bricks-and-mortar stores. The new service, dubbed Multi-Channel Distribution, leverages the e-retail giant’s existing Amazon Warehousing Distribution, which previously allowed only for shipping directly to the consumer. It’s part of a strategy by Amazon to tackle end-to-end fulfilment, including customs clearance and ground transportation.

Quebec will not follow the federal government in waiving taxes on building materials for rental housing, Premier François Legault said this week. “We are looking at several [other] scenarios to help tenants,” said the premier. “We don’t think it would be the most effective measure in the short term.” Prime Minister Justin Trudeau announced earlier this month that GST on materials for the construction of new rental buildings would be eliminated, reviving a shelved 2015 campaign promise. Finance minister Eric Girard estimated that a similar move by Quebec would cost the province $1.5 billion.

Home Hardware Stores Ltd. and its dealer-owners once again joined Tree Canada this year to mark National Tree Day and engage in nationwide community tree-planting events.

Twenty-four Home stores across nine provinces planted trees to mark National Forest Week. These initiatives will continue into the fall.

“Year after year, we are inspired by the dedication of our dealers’ commitment to bringing their communities together in moments of shared social responsibility,” said Kevin Macnab, Home Hardware CEO, in a release.

Retail sales increased by 0.3 percent to $66.1 billion in July, according to StatCan data. Sales increased in seven of the nine subsectors and were led by a 1.3 percent hike at food and beverage retailers. LBM and garden sales rose by 0.9 percent for the month.

Special hotel rates for the upcoming (Oct. 17 and 18) Hardlines Conference at the Fairmont Chateau Whistler expire by end of day. Our room allotment is 90 percent booked, guaranteeing that this will be one of the best-attended Hardlines Conferences in our 27-year history.

If you haven’t secured your spot at the premier networking and educational event in our industry, you’ve only got until tonight to take advantage of our special group rates. This year’s conference, the first one in history in B.C., is being held in partnership with the Building Supply Industry Association (BSIA) of B.C.

As the industry regathers in person after an unprecedented year of structural and ownership changes among our retailers, distributors, and vendors, this Hardlines Conference will be a crucial networking and educational opportunity. Don’t miss out!