August 10, 2015 Volume xxi, #31

“The toughest adversary is myself. The competition is first of all with myself.”
—Hugo Girard (Quebec strongman and six-time winner of Canada’s Strongest Man competition, and speaker at the upcoming Hardlines Conference, 1971- )

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SUMMER PUBLISHING SCHEDULE

There will be no weekly edition of HARDLINES on August 3, 17, or 31. The World Headquarters will remain open, however, during this time as we gear up for our incredible 20th Anniversary Hardlines Conference. The regular weekly schedule will resume September 7.

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Lowe’s hires supply chain VP, plans DC relocation

TORONTO — With 39 stores already and another 14 planned for the next 10 to 18 months, Lowe’s Canada is beefing up its supply chain. That includes a new, larger distribution centre—and a new executive to oversee that side of the business. Gregor Stuart has joined as vice president, supply chain, a newly created position. He will be responsible for overseeing the supply chain function and distribution centre for Lowe’s Canada.

Stuart previously held various senior roles in logistics and supply chain at Loblaw, Hudson’s Bay Company, and Canadian Tire. He was most recently with The Bargain! Shop.

Lowe’s has also announced it will move its distribution facilities in Milton, Ont., just west of Toronto. Part of the company’s recent acquisition of 12 former Target sites included Target’s own distribution centre, which is also in Milton. Currently in a 635,000-square-foot facility, Lowe’s relocation to the former Target site will give it 1.3 million square feet, more capacity to better serve its growing number of stores in this country. Lowe’s expects to move to the new DC in November 2015.

The company said in a release that, “Stuart’s appointment supports Lowe’s continued growth in Canada, while ensuring the optimal supply chain infrastructure is in place to serve Lowe’s current stores and expansion plans.”

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Leadership a key theme of upcoming Hardlines Conference

TORONTO ― Understanding where the home improvement market is headed will be the focus of the upcoming Hardlines Conference, which celebrates its 20th anniversary this year. But a Canadian strongman and an American former retail executive will offer their own unique perspectives.

The event, which will be held October 21 and 22 at the Westin Bristol Place Toronto Airport Hotel near Toronto Pearson International Airport, will feature some of the industry’s top thought leaders. It will also be the forum for the “Profiles in Leadership” series, which showcases first-person accounts of personal and professional achievement.

In this series, you'll hear from Joe Scarlett and Hugo Girard. Joe Scarlett held leadership roles at Tractor Supply Company from 1979 until his retirement in 2007. He played a key role in the initiative to return the company to profitability through improved customer service and focused product selection as part of a classic leveraged buyout in 1982.  Joe also led the successful 1994 effort to take the company public and during his 10-plus years as CEO, the company’s revenues quadrupled and the price of its stock increased 10-fold. Today, as a founder of The Leadership Institute, he is passionately committed to improving business leadership skills—with a strong emphasis on ethical behaviour.

Hugo Girard is a Canadian strongman. Although beloved as a folk hero in his native Quebec, his achievements are international. They include a Strongman Super Series world champion, winner of North America’s Strongest Man, a four-time World Muscle Power champion, and he was Canada’s Strongest Man for six years in a row. Girard is a policeman in Gatineau, Que., and a spokesperson for causes that aid sick children. He is also the spokesperson for Quebec-based retailer BMR.

Delegates at the 20th annual Hardlines Conference will learn from both these individuals about the qualities of determination, vision, ethics—and heart.

(Sign up now for the Hardlines Conference in Toronto October 21 and 22—and join Hardlines as we celebrate our 20th anniversary!)

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Feds promise permanent reno tax credit

OTTAWA ― Just days after calling a federal election, the Conservative government has said it will re-introduce a popular tax credit for home renovations. The Home Renovation Tax Credit was first introduced in 2009 as the country was still recovering from the worldwide recession of a year earlier. It lasted for just one year, and let homeowners get a tax credit of up to $1,350 on materials and labour up to $10,000.

At the time, the tax credit was lauded for giving a tangible boost to home improvement sales and for helping discourage the underground economy, which is considered prevalent in renovation contracting.

The new tax credit would apply to home renovations costing between $1,000 and $5,000.

The Quebec building materials association, AQMAT, welcomes Prime Minister Stephen Harper’s pledge to introduce a permanent tax credit for home renovations, while warning against possible adverse effects. According to AQMAT President Richard Darveau, the proposed program would provide incentives for homeowners to hire contractors, but its usefulness is undermined by a cap on the eligible amount of $5,000―half the limit of the previous tax credit.

The association has suggested removing the caps while limiting the credits to renovations on a principal residence. The proposed program has attracted further criticism because the Harper government admits it can’t afford to implement the tax credit until mid-way through the 2016-2017 fiscal year. The 2009 program cost the government about $3 billion in foregone tax revenue. The Conservatives estimate the new program would cost $1.5 billion annually.

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Canadian Tire provides sneak peak of Christmas lineup
TORONTO — At its annual “Christmas in July” event last month in Toronto, Canadian Tire revealed its holiday season products for 2015. In addition to the “Gifts for the DIYer” they’re promoting this year—including the Rockwell Sonicrafter oscillating tool that sands, grinds, and cuts, and several products from the house Maximum brand—the company has expanded its exclusive holiday style and décor brand, Canvas.

This Christmas season’s colour is arctic teal, which Tracy Platt, design manager with Canadian Tire, says has a “nice, snowy feel to it.” The teal theme was picked up, along with white and silver, in the Canvas table setting, complete with plates, silverware, glasses—and was especially evident in the various tree decorations and trees themselves. Platt adds that it pairs well with white, navy, and metallics like gold, silver, and copper.

With a mix of both real and artificial trees on display, there was an emphasis on how life-like Canadian Tire’s artificial trees appear. The company even designed an app, “Timber”, for the event—modeled on the dating app Tinder—that challenged players to guess whether photos of trees were real or artificial.

Another corner of the space was set up for event-goers to view all of Canadian Tire’s inflatables—from Santa and his sleigh, to a 9-foot tall Olaf from the Disney’s Frozen—in virtual reality. With goggles and a hand-held controller, users were able to view the items inflated and within the context of a winter setting both during daytime hours and at night.

It’s a technology inspired by Canadian Tire’s innovation hub in Kitchener, Ont., and is currently using at its flagship store in Edmonton, Alta., to help customers design their patios. “Selling these big things in store is hard, we have a 9-foot tall inflatable in here, how do you show that without having a huge space?”
Haney adds they’re currently gathering feedback from the Edmonton store and as the content and technology develops and becomes more realistic, Canadian Tire may find more ways to take advantage of virtual reality in its stores.

“Sometimes people tell me, ‘I can’t believe I’m having my first virtual reality experience at Canadian Tire’,” Haney says.

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FROM THE ARCHIVES: This week in 1995


Murray Bozniak, who once headed Beaver Lumber, gets appointed VP merchandising for Home Depot Canada. Lansing Buildall’s third employee, Orville Black, retires after 44 years with the Toronto-area building supply chain. Only Micky Cohen, CEO of parent company Molson, made more money in 1994 than Beaver Lumber president Ralph Trott. Click here to read these historic nuggets from our industry's past!

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Ed Parkes has retired from EAB (formerly Exchange-A-Blade) after eight years with the company as regional sales manager for Ontario, Manitoba, and Atlantic Canada. He has been replaced by Rick Byers, who joins as new regional sales manager. He was formerly director of sales at Peak Installations.

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CLASSIFIED ADS

Product Merchandising Coordinator – Retail (St-Jean-sur-Richelieu, QC)

The Product Merchandising Coordinator is responsible for the structure and positioning of the product lines in accordance with regional electrical codes requirements (residential and light commercial markets) by accounts. He has an excellent understanding of the major home improvement retailers.

Responsibilities

• Serve as product expert
• Manage the product portfolio according to performances objectives
• Produce analysis with multiple inputs
• Develop excellent collaboration with the Sales team and excellent communication with internal and external clients

Projects

• Develop the product structure for the introduction of a new line of products including all related activities
• Participate in the development of added value strategies in consideration of line revisions
• Develop planograms for each client and product line
• Identify and coordinate cost saving projects
• Identify and communicate stock management improvement projects according to the clients’ needs
• Prepare a price list based on price increases or reductions, according to the established strategy

Qualifications

• College Diploma or Bachelor Degree in Marketing
• 5 years of experience in portfolio management or similar experience
• French and English: written and spoken
• Organization and excellent ability to manage and perform multiple tasks

Thank you in advance for sending your resume to hr_canada@tnb.com, quoting the position title in your email.

For further information on our company, please consult our web site at www.tnb.ca.

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POSITION AVAILABLE

SALES ANALYST - RETAIL

We have an immediate opening for a Sales Analyst in our Retail group.

Reporting to the Director of Retail Sales, you will work together with the Sales Team to analyze specific account(s) and their sales growth, account planning and results within the team. You will work with the Sales Team to drive engagement with customers in order to grow relationships, and achieve sales results, profit and market share targets.

Responsibilities will include, but not be limited to the following:

• Ensure monthly and quarterly sales targets are tracked with assigned accounts/products.
• Work with the Sales Team to assist on development and execution of account plans, budgets, forecasts, promotional planning and pricing. Also coordinate internally with all stakeholders to achieve objectives with Supply Chain, Marketing and Finance.
• Provide timely responses to customer questions and daily feedback as required.
• Assist the Sales Team to collaborate with stakeholders and accounts on joint business planning, brand and promotional planning and messaging, in-store merchandising and retail sales execution.
• Analyze high priority account performance monthly
• Work closely with marketing to maximize sales results and new initiatives with each specified account.
• Manage and analyze weekly product forecast by model by account and ensure inventory forecast matches promotional calendar by account.
• Must be able to analyze and provide feedback on weekly, monthly, quarterly forecast numbers by category by model.
• Work closely with the Director of Sales to strategically grow our Quebec retail business.

Requirements:

• Knowledge of Plumbing products and competitors.
• Strong communication skills in both English and French
• High Level Proficiency (Intermediate to Advanced) in Excel, Word, PowerPoint.
• 2-5 years industry experience in the Home Improvement sector.
• Must be capable of planning, organizing and prioritizing multiple projects and assignments.
• Must be highly self-motivated and capable of team/independent work.
• Looking for a career growth plan in sales.
• Valid Driver’s License

Additional Skill Requirements:

• Ability to prioritize work load efficiently and effectively
• Previous Sales experience in Home Improvement products
• Accuracy and attention to detail
• Excellent attendance record
• Effective Team Player

Location: Head Office in St. Thomas Ontario, Sales & Marketing Office, Mississauga Ontario
Interested candidates should submit your resume with cover letter to recruiting@mascocanada.com
Final date for submissions is July 30th, 2015

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