Doug Graham, VP of e-commerce and marketing at The Home Depot Canada, has been named the chair of The Home Depot Canada Foundation’s board of directors. He has served on the board for the past six years. Graham joined The Home Depot Canada in 2010 as the director of merchandising for décor after a series of positions at Canadian Tire Corp.

Sarah McGoldrick

Western Forest Products Inc. reported a Q2 loss of $5.7 million, better than the $20.7 million loss it posted a year earlier. Revenues of $309.5 million were up from $276 million during the comparable period of last year. At the same time, the Vancouver-based firm announced the appointment of Glen Nontell as CFO, effective today. Nontell joined the company in 2018 and was most recently VP of corporate development.

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

In our July 28, 2014, Hardlines Weekly Report we reported on a change to RONA’s annual fall show. “The upcoming RONA show will have a different emphasis than in years past. Traditionally, the event has been a showcase for new products, strategies, and merchandising programs from RONA that focus on store managers and big box retailers. This year, it’s all about the independent,” said Philippe Element, senior director, wholesale sales.

“It’s focused on proximity stores, whether they are independents or corporate, and affiliated stores only. It’s going to be a buying show for these dealers only.” RONA continues to emphasize independents (which it calls “affiliates”) at its fall show today, now called Connexia.

Peavey Mart announced last week that it was opening its parking lots to those displaced by the Jasper, Alta., wildfires. “We hear that many hotels, motels, and RV parks are at capacity in centres near wildfire evacuation locations,” the company stated.

“In an effort to assist wildfire evacuees who have had to flee their homes, we are offering our parking lots for daytime/overnight RV parking should anyone need temporary space.” The company added that store washrooms will be available for water and light clean-up during store hours.

Sarah McGoldrick

W.W. Grainger reports its Q2 earnings were $649 million, down 1.8 percent from a year earlier. Adjusted for one-time restructuring costs, earnings edged up 0.6 percent to $665 million. The industrial supplies distributor’s sales for the quarter rose by 3.1 percent to $4.31 billion.

About a third of the structures, including the local Home Building Centre, in the Alberta mountain town of Jasper were destroyed in a wildfire starting last week that has forced the evacuation of 25,000 people. (Photo of fire entering the town courtesy of Jasper National Park.)

Ross Derksen, the dealer-owner, is currently safe with his family in Salmon Arm, B.C., and the staff of the building supply has been similarly evacuated. “We anticipated that the fire was coming,” Derksen said. “So when we learned about the store burning down, our top priority was the wellbeing of our staff.”

“Now, our main focus is to be a part of the rebuilding solution,” Derksen said. “We aim to get Jasper Home Building Centre restored and operational as soon as possible. While we don’t have an official timeline yet, we’re ready to get to work as soon as we receive notice that it’s safe to return to town. The residents of Jasper will need local supplies more than ever, so the goal is to rebuild the store quickly to ensure the community can access the tools they need without having to travel.”

“A huge thank you to our community members, fellow dealers from the Home Hardware network, and supporters from across Canada who have reached out or offered words of encouragement,” Derksen said.

Home Hardware head office has been directing people to the following Red Cross link for donations. The governments of Canada and Alberta will match the donations.

As part of a brand refresh, Best Buy has unveiled a new tagline, “Imagine that.” At the same time, it has updated its visual branding with colours like magenta, teal, and red alongside its familiar blue and yellow. The electronics retailer also introduced a new hologram spokesperson, Gram, who will be featured in back-to-school marketing across TV, online, and social media.

Rebecca Dumais

Stanley Black & Decker has reported a Q2 loss of $11.2 million, or $0.07 per share, compared to earnings of $177.5 million a year earlier. Adjusted for one-time costs, earnings amounted to $1.09 per share. Total revenues of $4.02 billion were up from $4.16 billion in the comparable period of 2023.

Cloverdale Paint, headquartered in Surrey, B.C., has made two announcements with regard to its industrial coatings business.

The largest family-owned coatings company in North America has announced a new, exclusive distribution agreement with Tnemec Company, a manufacturer of heavy duty industrial coatings based out of Kansas City, Mo. Cloverdale will have exclusive distribution rights for the western provinces and the Yukon and Northwest Territories.

At the same time, Cloverdale has made three appointments to its industrial sales personnel. Norm Walline has been named industrial sales manager. Shawn Tripp and Mike Johnson will join as reps.

The number of available workers in construction trades is at an all-time high, but there aren’t enough projects to keep them employed, the Financial Post reports. The Canada Mortgage and Housing Corp. recently noted that even with “a record high 650,000 construction workers” last year, the country saw just 240,267 new homes built. The data turns on its had what until recently had been conventional wisdom: that a shortage of skilled workers was limiting the pace of construction.