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April 7, 2014 Volume
xx, #14
“He who will not reason is a bigot; he who cannot is a fool; and he who dares not is a slave.” —William Henry Drummond (Canadian poet, 1854-1907)
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Appointments enhance TIM-BR MART’s dealer connection
CALGARY — Last week’s announced promotions of Dave Dingwell and Phil Temple to regional dealer support roles mark an important step in TIM-BR MART Group’s strengthening of its relations with its member dealers. Dingwell, who had been a business development manager for TIM-BR MART since 2007, was named regional director of member services (RDMS) for Atlantic Canada. Two days later, Temple’s promotion from Prairie sales manager to the same role for Western Canada was also announced.
Both individuals will act as the liaison between TIMBER MART dealers and vendors, and the TIM-BR MART Group management team.
The latest appointments come just weeks after Daniel Rioux was hired back to serve in the RDMS role for the buying group and wholesaler in Quebec and Eastern Ontario. Rioux recently worked as general manager, Quebec for TIM-BR MART Group, before moving briefly to hardware supplier PrimeSource.
Temple, Dingwell, and Rioux are charged with ensuring the TIM-BR MART member dealers in their regions get maximum value from their membership and fully leverage the distribution and retail services resources available to them. They all report to Randy Martin, TIM-BR MART Group’s VP operations.
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RONA dealers give back during Jamaica trip
BOUCHERVILLE, Que. — Every year, with the support of its suppliers, RONA takes its dealers on a getaway to promote networking and the sharing of best practices. Meetings, training sessions, and networking activities are on the agenda and, for the second consecutive year, so is a community event.
Last year, the dealers went to Akumal, Mexico, where they contributed to the cleaning and renovation of the local library. “We wanted to establish an initiative that would engage all the participants in a very tangible way while offering the local community where our event took place a lasting gift that would make a real difference,” said Luc Rodier, executive vice president retail, at RONA.
Based on the success of that event, the company reprised the goodwill initiative at this year’s getaway meeting in February in Montego Bay, Jamaica. This time, the beneficiary of the attendees’ hard work was the Montego Bay Boys’ and Girls’ Club, thanks to a partnership between RONA and the Sandals Foundation.
More than 130 volunteers from RONA, including dealers, suppliers, and employees, cleaned and painted sections of the facility, and did landscaping to brighten up the exterior.
“With contributions from civil society becoming less and less, it was really a joy when RONA and the Sandals Foundation decided to contribute to the upgrading of our property, which needs a lot of work,” said Carl Mathews, chairman of the board for the Montego Bay Boys’ and Girls’ Club.
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Castle adds member in Alberta
MISSISSAUGA, Ont. — Castle Building Centres Group Ltd. welcomes a new member, Wolf Creek Building Supplies Ltd., a lumber and building materials retailer and manufacturer owned and operated by John deRegt and his family.
The business has two retail locations in Alberta. The first is a full-service 9,000-square-foot lumber, building materials and hardware outlet in Lacombe that sits on five acres. The second is a designer window and door showroom in Red Deer.
The business has grown to include truss manufacturing and an insulation supply and install company. Wolf Creek Building Products is also a drywall and ceiling texture installation supplier, which includes its own installation company.
The addition of Wolf Creek is considered “a significant step for Castle in Western Canada” as the buying group continues to grow in that region.
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Better margins boost Canadian Tire sales
TORONTO — Canadian Tire ended 2013 on a high note, with profits up, helped in part by healthy margins on the retail side. The improvements occurred in a tough competitive environment, which sees new players like Target gaining a foothold. While industry players such as RONA tightened their own margins last year, Canadian Tire’s ability to improve its margin position came from careful management of its promotions.
In fact, CTR has been focusing for well over a year on margin management. The gains, says Allan MacDonald, COO of Canadian Tire Corp., have come from improved promo activity. That doesn’t mean the company has pulled away from promos, “but being much more thoughtful and selective in how we're promoting our products to drive traffic,” says MacDonald. He explained the strategy during a call to analysts following the release of Canadian Tire’s annual results.
Despite its positioning as a hardlines mass merchant, the company has been targeting key categories as destinations for Canadian Tire shoppers. Foremost among these has been automotive. But CTR has also introduced a strategy for its Living division, and boutiqued sporting goods in a “Pro Shop” strategy. “Our ‘Tested for Life in Canada’ products are really resonating with customers,” he adds.
He attributes some of the improvement to capitalizing on the seasonal opportunities that come from the severity of this past winter. “But primarily I’d attribute it to just much more careful management of our promo strategies.”
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National Hardware Show adds emergency preparedness
NORWALK, Conn. — The National Hardware Show has added a new category, “Emergency Preparedness & Disaster Recovery,” to this year’s show, May 6-8 at the Las Vegas Convention Centre.
Show organizers have watched the rise of this category, as regions of North America get hit yearly by storms, floods, and power outages, creating a retail niche for merchants who supply their communities with the necessary survival and recovery supplies. Some of the companies exhibiting in this category will include Absorbent Specialty Products, Adventure Medical Kits, Aquamira Technologies Inc., Biocide Labs, Briggs & Stratton, CSA US Corp, Eton Corp., Shield Fire Protection, Statgear, and Swiss+Tech Products.
According to Richard Russo, vice president of the National Hardware Show, the decision to feature the new category was a natural extension to the show. “We have a fantastic representation of manufacturers that understand the importance of providing products that help communities when disaster strikes.” (To register for NHS, click here.)
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