April 17, 2017 Volume xxiii, #16

“If at first you don't succeed, blame your parents.”
—Marcelene Cox (American humourist and columnist for Ladies’ Home Journal, 1899-1998)

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Meet the Buyers: update on our event with Lowe’s top decision makers

WORLD HEADQUARTERS, Toronto — At our upcoming Meet the Buyers Breakfast, HARDLINES is proud to present senior buying executives from Lowe’s Canada. The event will take place April 26, from 7:30 to 10 a.m., at the Hilton Mississauga-Meadowvale hotel near Toronto’s Pearson International Airport.

We do want to announce one change to the lineup as originally presented. Igor Halencak, Vice President National Procurement, Central Merchandising, and Global Sourcing for Lowe’s Canada, will be replaced by Maxime Harvey, Lowe’s Canada’s Director of Building Materials.

Harvey joins these other top buying influences: Alan Blundell, Divisional Vice President, Merchandising, Lowe’s; Marc Gingras, Divisional Vice President, RONA Proximity Stores; and Christian Dauphinais, Divisional Vice President, Merchandising for Réno-Dépôt.

This vendor-only event is a must-attend for any supplier looking to grow their business with one of this country’s second-largest home improvement retailer.

(Cost for this once-in-a-lifetime vendor-only event is just $129. Click here to reserve your spot now!)

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Canadian Tire puts push on private-label products

TORONTO — A decade ago Canadian Tire was, like many retailers, getting behind its private-label products, in an effort to drive margins for dealers. But in those days, many of those house brands were also part of the feeding frenzy that was coming out of China. And, like many of its competitors, private label became another name for cheap. Back then, under Mark Foote, the company was gaining about 25% of its sales from house brands, and aspiring for 50%.

Then, with a notion to return to quality, many retailers distanced themselves from putting their names on Asian imports and began looking again at national brands, as well as beefing up their private label.

So, by Q4 2016, private label accounted for one-third of Canadian Tire’s sales, with fully 88% of its Christmas products.

The camping category had become “fairly stagnant” for Canadian Tire, said Allan MacDonald, president of Canadian Tire Retail, in an analysts’ call following the release of the company’s year-end results. Woods is the company's own brand in this category. He noted that other categories that need a shot in the arm could likewise benefit from the introduction of an in-house brand. He wouldn’t confirm which categories might be considered “underperforming.”

Categories such as home décor have benefited from the rollout of the Canvas line three years ago, while Canadian Tire has expanded into cleaning products and consumables—everything from paper towels to snack foods—with its Frank line, introduced in 2014.

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Buyers cite outdoor living as a strong growth category

SPECIAL REPORT — When winters are as long and harsh as they can be in Canada, it’s natural that summer becomes a highly anticipated season. One trend retailers have picked up on in recent years is that Canadians are eager to make the most of their longer days by effectively living outside during the summer months.

Valérie Brien, BMR’s director of purchasing for hardware, says the company started to focus on outdoor living and seasonal back in 2012, and launched its first seasonal catalogue the following year. “People want to make the summer last as long as they can and they want to spend their time outside,” says Brien. “We see changes in the sales; we’re seeing increases in sales of sectionals and seating sets because people want to sit outside, comfortably.”

At Home Depot Canada, Megan Schroeder, divisional merchant for patio, has noticed the same thing. She says the trend right now is to turn the patio space into an outside living room, complete with garden décor items like carpeting, lanterns, and string lights to give it that homey feel. And she adds shoppers are not looking to sacrifice style, either.

Other major retailers have been responding to the demand for stylish outdoor furniture and accessories. Canadian Tire for its part has been releasing more trendy outdoor items under its Canvas brand, promoting all the accessories to make an outdoor space a “stylish retreat” such as lanterns, throw pillows, and planters.

(This story is excerpted from the latest issue of our sister publication, Hardlines Home Improvement Quarterly, which has just been mailed to more than 11,000 dealer-owners and managers across Canada. For more information, click here!)

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Lowe’s finds Canadian division’s diverse formats ideal for testing new ideas


BOUCHERVILLE, Que. — Lowe’s announced last week the roll-out of its new Holoroom How-To technology at a second Canadian store, after an initial Boston-area pilot. Building on the first generation of the Holoroom program released in 2014, the How To app combines the former’s augmented and virtual reality visioning capabilities with instructional features and real-time practice for DIY users.

The Holoroom How To, which has made its debut in the Toronto area and is coming to a store outside Montreal in the next few weeks, is “a different experience” from the original Holoroom, with a different objective―actually teaching how to do home improvement projects, says Claire Bara, VP of Strategy and Business Insights for Lowe’s Canada.

Bara has already taken it for a spin herself. “It really feels like you are actually doing the tiling of the shower yourself, with the sensation of the tools in your hand.”

Bara says the system is great for customers who lack the skills, or even just the confidence, to take on a DIY project on their own: “The beauty of it is you can mess up, because it’s not real!” She notes that consumer tests compared the Holoroom How To experience against a control group who simply watched tutorial videos on YouTube.

“Customers who used the Holoroom How To had a 36% better recall” of the steps involved, compared with the YouTube viewers, Bara told HARDLINES, a result she attributed to the value of muscle memory. “People learn more easily by doing. This is why the virtual reality is so efficient.”

The Canadian launch of the Holoroom How To represents “a true partnership” between Lowe’s Canada and Lowe’s Innovation Labs in the U.S., according to Bara, and Canadians “can expect to see more innovation” out of that collaboration.

The lab is especially interested in Lowe’s Canadian operation because of its diversity of store types and customer profiles. With Lowe’s operating a single banner in the U.S., the Canadian company offers unique opportunities for the lab to test out new devices, applications, and innovations. That makes the Canadian stores “a nice playground,” says Bara.

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Brampton, Ont.-based door manufacturer Renin has named Mitchell Burke as chief sales officer. Burke was previously VP of sales and customer service for the company’s retail division. He has assumed responsibility for the global sales operations of all Renin’s divisions.

Mark Spanswick has been appointed president and general manager of Ace Wholesale Holdings LLC. He joins Ace from W. W. Grainger, where he spent the last 27 years in a variety of leadership roles. Also at Ace: Kerilyn M. Johnson has been promoted to the position of vice president, general counsel, and secretary. In her new role, Johnson will lead legal affairs at Ace Hardware. Johnson joined the company in 2013 as senior corporate counsel and was promoted to assistant general counsel in 2015.

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