April 24, 2017 Volume xxiii, #17

“Blues means what milk does to a baby. Blues is what the spirit is to the minister. We sing the blues because our hearts have been hurt, our souls have been disturbed.”
—Alberta Hunter (African-American jazz and blues singer, 1895-1984)

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Ace Canada team takes shape amidst move to Lowe’s Toronto-area offices

TORONTO — Following the announced closing of Ace Canada’s Winnipeg operations later this year, Ace’s operations are in the process of relocating, mainly to Lowe’s Canada’s Toronto-area offices. That facility, known officially as Lowe’s customer support centre, is also in the process of moving from its original digs in Toronto to 5150 Spectrum Way, Mississauga, Ont. The move-in is expected to happen by May 1. The new offices will have new phone numbers as well. (Watch the pages of HARDLINES for further updates. —Editor)

Bill Morrison, who has headed up Ace (and its previous incarnation as TruServ Canada) since 2004, is moving to Toronto. His title is divisional vice president. Also moving: Guy Lichter, director, dealer support. Reporting into the Mississauga office, he will continue to travel extensively to the various regions across the country. Debra Raven, who heads up training for Ace Canada, will also move.

New to the Ace team is Kim Leclair, who has just joined Ace Canada as merchandising director. Her retail merchandising background includes Ikea, Hudson’s Bay, and, most recently, Home Depot Canada.

Ace’s management includes Christian Roy, VP of shared services and operations, who will spend his time travelling between Boucherville, Mississauga, and Winnipeg; and Josée Desrosiers, Ace’s director of business development, who remains based in Boucherville. Her team of business development managers consists of Tony Perillo for the West, Chris Morton, Ontario, Marc Blouin, and Serge Vezina in Quebec and the Eastern regions.

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Orgill begins shipping from Post Falls DC, promising freight reduction to Western Canada

MEMPHIS — Orgill, Inc. has announced that its Post Falls, Idaho, distribution centre is now fully operational and serving customers throughout Western Canada. Because of the efficiencies created by the new facility, says Orgill, retailers throughout this region can expect an immediate 25% reduction in their freight costs, as well as shorter delivery times and more efficient service.

“We are very pleased that customers throughout Western Canada will now have access to a broad assortment of products that they can have delivered in a timely manner and in a very cost-effective way,” says Ron Beal, Orgill president, chairman and CEO. “By locating a facility this far west, we are able to offer a significant savings to retailers on freight costs.”

According to Randy Williams, Orgill’s general manager of distribution, dealers can also expect faster order turnaround times. Customers in British Columbia will receive their deliveries within two days, Williams says. Trucks will service Alberta and Saskatchewan customers within three business days of their orders filling.

Using Orgill’s own truck fleet to deliver the majority of shipments out of Post Falls also offers benefits to customers, Williams says. They will be able to rely on a familiar driver and a consistent pre-scheduled delivery route. Customers will also benefit from heated trailers to protect product from damage due to freezing temperatures.

The Post Falls facility is Orgill’s seventh distribution centre overall and, together with the London, Ont., DC, provides service to Orgill’s retail customers throughout Canada.

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Unique products, including bees, help Peavey’s expansion with new Winnipeg store

RED DEER, Alta. — Peavey Mart’s second Winnipeg location will carry on the company’s agricultural focus when it opens this fall. The new location is closer to home for the many customers who travel from the south end of the city to the existing store.

The primarily rural chain is known in Western Canada for offering everything from honeybees to baby chicks.

Peavey began importing live bees from Tasmania, one of only a handful of regions from which bees can be brought into Canada, about three years ago. At the time, it “seemed like a crazy idea,” Peavey’s customer experience director Jest Sidloski told the Winnipeg Free Press. “But our customers said there just weren’t many places across Western Canada where you can get bee supplies. So we got into it and it’s been successful year after year after year.”

The Winnipeg store represents continued greenfields expansion by Peavey Industries, following the acquisition last year of a controlling interest in TSC Stores, a farm and hardware retailer based in London, Ont.

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Gypsum dealers still feel the impact of tariffs in Western Canada


SPECIAL REPORT — While Canada’s international trade regulator has upheld complaints made by a domestic drywall manufacturer about the dumping of U.S. gypsum in the Western provinces, the ruling continues to impact Western dealers.

The original complaint was filed by CertainTeed Gypsum, which has six gypsum board manufacturing facilities in Canada, including plants in Vancouver, Calgary, and Winnipeg.

The Canadian International Trade Tribunal found the dumping injurious to the domestic industry and recommended imposing final duties, which were initially as high as 276%. However, a final ruling by Finance Minister Bill Morneau reduced those tariffs.

In an effort to support rebuilding efforts in Fort McMurray, the tribunal suggested that the government could grant a special remission to alleviate the effect of the tariffs on rebuilding efforts in the wildfire-affected area.

However, the impact on dealers remains onerous. According to Dave Boyce, general manager of Delroc Industries, his dealers are facing shortages in Western Canada, where most of his group’s dealers are located. “We’re seeing some Atlantic Canada board come into British Columbia,” he says, as a result of both high costs and lessening availability in the West. “It’s been pretty disruptive to the industry.”

Doug Skrepnek of WSB Titan, which has locations across the country, warns that a lot more board will come in from Eastern Canada. And though the cost of gas, trucks, and other logistical considerations will increase the cost, it’s still cheaper than board in the West because it has no tariff. “It’s not the way it should have gone,” he says of the CITT ruling. “Titan is taking a massive beating.”

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At Lowe’s Canada, Kim Leclair has been appointed the new merchandising director for Ace Canada. Leclair joins Ace with more than 25 years’ experience with national retailers. Most recently the merchant for storage and organization at Home Depot Canada, she has also worked in the merchandising divisions at Ikea and Hudson’s Bay Co.

Christine Joannou has been promoted to director of sales, retail for Canada at MAAX Bath. She was formerly key account manager for retail sales at the Lachine, Quebec-based tub and shower maker.

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