BOLTON, Ont. — LBM buying group TORBSA has secured a new member, its first in Quebec after an absence from that province over recent years.

Matériaux de Construction Létourneau Inc., with two locations in the Sherbrooke area of Quebec’s Eastern Townships, is now part of the group, whose members specialize in contractor-oriented and commercial dealers. The principals of Létourneau are Jocelyn Létourneau and Yannick Godbout.

Létourneau, which was founded in 1974, is already a member of hardlines buying group OCTO through its affiliation with Evolution Distribution, which joined OCTO at the beginning of the year. That regional distributor, located in St-Jérôme, is headed by Geneviève Gagnon, who also helms Groupe Yves Gagnon, a chain of five stores in smaller centres in Quebec.

According to an internal memo from TORBSA, it has been processing payments for Létourneau through the group since June 19. The new member has been getting products and programs aligned through TORBSA’s vendors. Where Octo programs are already in place—for product categories including plumbing, electrical and safety products—purchases will continue to be processed by OCTO through its affiliation with Evolution Distribution.

TORBSA has a dozen members representing about 45 locations. The last big addition to its ranks was in 2015, when Crown Building Supplies, based in Surrey, B.C., joined the group. Owned and operated by Gary and Gurpreet Sangha, it is the group’s largest member—and its only one west of Ontario. Last year, TORBSA lost its last member serving the Quebec market when Morin Bros. Building Supplies in the National Capital Region left to join TIMBER MART.

WINNIPEG — Sexton Group has recruited Rosenort Co-operative Ltd. in Rosenort, Man., as its newest member. The co-op provides building materials, hardware, farm supplies and a selection of athletic gear to a mix of agricultural and industrial customers.

“We joined Sexton Group because we feel it will give us greater buying power with a broader scope of vendors and manufacturers,” said General Manager Joe Rempel, “as well as better access to the quality products that our members are looking for.”

Sexton has been very proactive in recent years in terms of recruitment and brand awareness. For the first decades of its existence, it worked largely behind the scenes to find dealers who fit best with the group’s mandate to support independents. But it has been investing in raising its profile in recent years, and its expansion has followed suit.

And the dealer-members have also been keeping active.

Besides bringing on Rosenort, Sexton has seen another member, Sunshine Building Products, open a new location in Edson, Alta., recently. The 15,000-square-foot building includes a storefront, office space and a paved yard. Since 1993, Jerry and Marya Kielstra have been building their family business. Today, the second generation is also involved in running the business.

These latest expansion efforts follow changes at head office at the beginning of the year, when Eric Palmer was put in charge of the buying group, as vice president and general manager. He stepped in after Steve Buckle, who had been president of Sexton Group since 2014, moved into the role of CEO for the Sexton parent company.

WINNIPEG — The Western Retail Lumber Association (WRLA) has launched a “shop local” campaign on social media and through its member dealers. The public awareness campaign urges people to “build up” their community by shopping at their local building supply store.

WRLA President Liz Kovach says this kind of awareness is more important than ever. While the industry is seeing a boost from sales during the COVID-19 pandemic, she warns that this situation may not last. “There’s so much activity in the industry right now, with a lot of disruption, but I expect it to decline in the fall,” she says. “So I think it’s really important to educate consumers on the importance of supporting our members.”

She adds that the initiative has been important to helping dealers understand the importance of belonging to an association. “This is an important issue and it’s engaging members, regardless of their banner.” And it’s helped the WRLA bring in some new members as well.

“Local businesses are the foundation of our community,” adds Kovach. “When we shop local, we are not just giving money to a giant corporation, but we are helping people in our community. And these local businesses in turn give back to their neighbourhoods through sponsorships, fundraisers and volunteering.”

SPECIAL REPORT — The year was not a great one for the economy. Housing starts were down 15 percent and mortgage rates were going through the roof, all factors that did not make 1995 a good year for home improvement dealers. Nor, for that matter, was it a great time to start a newsletter for said dealers. But 25 years ago, Hardlines was in its first months of existence—and keeping track of this industry did not always mean good news.

That news included a slowdown of the expansion of big box stores, including one homegrown banner, Revy.

A spinoff of Revelstoke Building Centres, a chain of home centres based in Western Canada, the Revy banner was quickly proving to be the main competitor to the Home Depot’s ascendancy in Canada. The company was opening big boxes in major cities, with a total of seven planned by the end of 1995. But the slowdown in the Canadian economy was slowing expansion. However, despite the slowdown, Revelstoke’s big boxes were faring well, while its traditional home centres were down 20 percent by mid-year.

In Atlantic Canada, some large independents were also making the news in Hardlines that week. Hickman’s in St. John’s was enjoying strong contractor activity in Newfoundland. General Manager Sid Wells reported that contractor business had grown from less than one-third of his company’s sales to more than half over the past year and a half. Six years later, Hickman’s three stores would be acquired by another St. John’s dealer, Chester Dawe, which had four stores of its own.

In 2006, RONA would get its first foothold in Newfoundland by buying up Chester Dawe.

At Ace Hardware Corp., Alison Dowell, currently VP of Operations, has been promoted to the role of president and general manager of Emery Jensen Distribution, a division of Ace Wholesale Holdings LLC. She will report to Ace Chief Merchandising and Sales Officer John Surane. She joined Ace Hardware in 2017.

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MISSISSAUGA, Ont. — Castle Building Centres has welcomed its newest member in the Maritimes. Homestar Group is located in Quispamsis, N.B., a suburban community outside Saint John. Homestar began as a small operation back in 2002 and grew over the years into a full-service residential and commercial home improvement company with more than 100 staff. Founder and CEO Mark Hatfield said he chose Castle based on positive feedback from his suppliers.

NATIONAL REPORT — With several Canadian locales requiring masks to be worn indoors, and more U.S. retailers adopting similar policies banner-wide, confusion reigns over who is responsible for their enforcement. Reports of harassment and assault against employees have made retailers even more reluctant to add even more to the demands of their front-line workers. In the event that a customer refuses outright to abide by the rules, retailers have few options beyond calling the police or refusing service.

SUPPLIER NEWS

ST. PAUL, Minn. — 3M Co.’s Q2 earnings reflected a plunge in demand only partially offset by sales of N95 respiratory masks. Net sales for the quarter fell to $7.2 billion, compared to $8.2 billion in Q2 of 2019. Net income increased to $1.29 billion, from $1.13 billion a year ago. In the consumer goods segment, sales declined by 6.2 percent to $1.2 billion, but earnings rose by 4.8 percent to $287 million.

VANCOUVER — West Fraser Timber reported Q2 sales of $1.28 billion, down from $1.32 billion a year ago. Earnings of $0.70 per share reversed a loss of $0.85 per share in Q2 of 2019. Operating income came to $83 million, compared to an $84 million loss in the previous Q2. In the lumber segment, operating income totalled $66 million.

MILKWAUKEE — Briggs & Stratton has entered into a sale agreement and initiated voluntary company reorganization under Chapter 11. The company is the world’s largest manufacturer of gasoline engines for outdoor power equipment and was founded in 1908. An affiliate of private equity firm KPS Capital Partners will acquire all of the company’s assets and certain liabilities.

CLEVELAND — Sherwin-Williams Co. reported Q2 earnings of $7.10 per share, up from $6.57 in the comparable quarter last year. Sales declined by 5.6 percent to $4.6 billion, topping estimates of $4.53 billion. Same-store sales in the U.S. and Canada were down by 6.9 percent.

LANCASTER, Pa. — Armstrong World Industries reported that Q2 sales fell 25 percent to $203.2 million, while operating income tumbled by 28 percent to $62.4 million. At the same time, the company announced its acquisition of Turf Design, Inc. The Chicago-based firm designs commercial interiors and makes custom felt ceiling and wall solutions.

NOTED

The electric performance of Shopify’s shares has solidified the e-commerce platform’s position as Canada’s most valuable company, surpassing RBC, the Globe & Mail reports. Founder Tobias Lutke is inching closer to becoming the richest Canadian, currently coming in at number three. According to the Bloomberg Billionaires Index, Alibaba co-founder Joseph Tsai is the richest individual Canadian.

OVERHEARD...

“Jeff Bezos [head of Amazon] is on his way to become the world’s first trillionaire. We should try and put the brakes on that.”
—Liz Kovach, president of the Western Retail Lumber Association. Her organization is currently working to encourage consumers to shop locally and support retailers within their communities.