SPECIAL REPORT — Charlie Hotham runs Hotham Building Materials, a Sexton dealer in Windsor, Ont. He admits the current situation, as large construction projects have ground to a halt during the COVID-19 crisis, “has offered us some new and interesting challenges.”
Those challenges aside, Hotham says he is keeping busy. Nor has he had to lay anyone off. But he did shut down the showroom and now offers curbside pickup only. “We’re really lucky because so much of our business is commercial/industrial construction. We’re less reliant on the residential reno market.”
Hotham Building Materials is busy with a lot of infrastructure projects. Windsor, which sits across the St. Claire River from Detroit, Mich., is in the process of building a new replacement bridge to join the two cities. And there’s road and sewer work under way. “So much of our industry that we supply has been deemed essential,” Hotham notes.
Tim Urquhart (shown right), president of Slegg Building Materials, with 10 outlets on Vancouver Island, is another exception. He’s happy that construction remains an essential service in British Columbia. Eighty percent of Slegg’s business is with contractors and builders, “so our business has been okay,” he says.
But maintaining that business under current conditions comes at a cost. Urquhart says the stores have reduced hours and reduced staff. In addition, all the required safeguards have been put in place. He’s proud of the fact that his team was ahead of a lot of retailers in installing plexiglass shields at checkout and striped markers on the floors to ensure physical distancing.
“We had done so much of what has come afterward at other businesses.”
While it’s difficult to generalize trends nationally, pockets remain that are keeping dealers busy through the pandemic. Urquhart remains positive. “We’ve had good weather, so the stores have been packed. So far so good.”
