WINNIPEG — A series of changes has been made at the upper management levels of the Sexton Group, all of which reflect the company’s efforts to stay positioned for the changes ahead in the marketplace.

Brian Kusisto, formerly CEO, has assumed the role of chairman of the Sexton parent company, and Steve Buckle has taken over as CEO. He was previously president of the Sexton Group. 

Hardlines recently sat down with Buckle (shown here, left, with Brian Kusisto) to get his insights into the changes, and what they mean for the national buying group.

A significant passage for the company was the death in July 2019 of founder Ken Sexton. He had been chairman of the overall business, and Kusisto’s move into that role was a natural next step. But, says Buckle, the changes had been planned even before Sexton’s passing.

“We looked for a way to transition that was the least disruptive to the business and the members,” he says.

Buckle’s assumption of the CEO role puts him in charge of not just Sexton Group, but also other holdings that are related to that business, all created by Ken Sexton. Now, Buckle oversees the entire Sexton family of companies. These consist of Sexton Group Ltd., the buying group based in Winnipeg with 400 members across the country; Kenroc Building Materials, a gypsum specialty dealer serving contractors in Western Canada; Builders Choice, a wholesale distributor supplying materials to drywall specialists and lumber yards across Canada; and Sexton Transport, a North American trucking company.

Buckle has been with the Sexton Group for 14 years, taking over as general manager from Bob Mondy, who had run the group since Ken Sexton founded it in 1985. Buckle was named president in 2014.

Stepping in to manage the day-to-day operations of the Sexton Group is Eric Palmer. Formerly senior manager, purchasing, he has been named vice president and general manager and reports to Buckle.

Under Buckle’s leadership, the company had focused on three areas: obtaining the best pricing for members, working on their behalf to sort out issues with vendors and ensuring that rebates and payments back to members occur in a timely fashion.

With those fundamentals in place, he says the group went to market with “a solid business proposition” for dealers—and leaves a solid legacy for Palmer to step into.

Looking to the future of the group, Buckle admits, “We have to evolve.” That requires changes from both the dealers and the vendors. “On the vendor side, there’s lots of increased consolidation. Those companies—big and small—have to be able to deliver volume reliably,” he says.

“The ones that get that have a future.”

On the dealer side, there has to be a shift away from a group merely saying they’ll provide volume and then expecting a rebate. “Members have to be able to deliver on their volume commitments. You’ve got to pull together.”

That puts pressure on the group itself to deliver, he notes. “We have to celebrate those independents. But we must prove to them that there’s value in bringing their volume to us.”

SPECIAL REPORT — In February 1995, a lot of familiar companies were making news—just as they do today. The regular chronicling of those companies and this industry began with the first issue of Hardlines on February 13, 1995.

The first headline of the very first issue featured Castle Building Centres. The LBM buying group continues to thrive to this day, representing sales in excess of $2 billion from approximately 300 dealer-members across the country. Twenty-five years ago, Hardlines reported on the group’s partnership with Cotter Canada, a subsidiary of Cotter and Company in the U.S., to supply products to Castle members. Under the leadership of Pro Wylie, the newly hired general manager of the group, a deal was struck with Dan Cotter, chairman of the U.S. wholesaler.

Another company that made the news in the inaugural issue (and gave us the first of a decades-long legacy of typos, courtesy of the publication’s dyslexic editor) was Sodisco-Howden. Under the headline, “Howden-Sodisco [sic] finalizes its ownership,” terms of the latest financing for the struggling hardware wholesaler were laid out. Sodisco-Howden was later purchased by building materials distributor CanWel, which in turn sold it to TIMBER MART in 2011. The business was eventually sold to U.S. hardware wholesaler Orgill.

Other companies referenced in the first issue included Beaver Lumber (purchased by Home Hardware in 2000), Toronto-area chain Lumberking (now defunct), Price/Costco (renamed Costco) and erstwhile mass merchant Bi-Way.

At its inception, Hardlines was sent out by fax from a basement office in mid-town Toronto. Using a fax distribution software—at the time a state-of-the-art program—each send would take up to 26 hours to dial up the hundreds of fax numbers on the publication’s growing subscription list. Within a couple of years, the publication would make the move to email, becoming a pioneer in electronic content delivery.

WORLD HEADQUARTERS, Toronto ― At Hardlines Inc., we are proud to announce the appointment of our new Marketing and Events Manager. Michelle Porter, our former Office Manager, has taken on this new role, overseeing our promotional and marketing efforts. She will also manage our growing range of events, including the upcoming Orgill Canada Night in Orlando, Fla., and our annual Hardlines Conference, which marks its 25th anniversary this year.

Michelle has been with Hardlines since October 2017. Arriving just two weeks before that year’s Hardlines Conference, she hit the ground running. She quickly proved her ability to think creatively and work efficiently, immediately becoming an invaluable member of the team. She’s used her discerning eye and attention to detail to improve Hardlines’ website, streamline internal processes and generally whip the company into shape.

We’re delighted to watch Michelle grow into this new position and continue to take on a leadership role within the organization.

BOUCHERVILLE, Que. ― Amidst recent changes at head office (see lead story in our last issue. ―Editor), Lowe’s Canada is driving its business as usual at the merchandising level. That includes the release of the latest trends in home décor for the year ahead at its Lowe’s and RONA stores.

Under the direction of Cindy Jardim, style and trends director at Lowe’s Canada, the company has identified four décor themes for 2020. They are “Pure,” the merging of pastels and modern earth materials; “Wild,” which combines rustic wood grain and metals with feminine and natural hues; “Brave,” called “a perfect mix of traditional and modern”; and “Noble,” which introduces bohemian and geometric elements.

Colours and designs extend to everything from shelves and curtain rods to porcelain tiles, cabinets and even heavy appliances. The company is also putting a push on peel-and-stick wallpapers.

In every case, the styles of furniture and accessories are paired with paint colours from the Sico paint brand.

At Freud Canada, Silvano Marone has joined the sales team as senior account manager – retail. He will be focused on the major national accounts and the field strategy to support them. Marone comes over to Freud after several years at Bosch Canada, in the automotive and power tools divisions, and Newell Rubbermaid before that.

Trent Ogilvie, president of ROCKWOOL North America, has decided to retire after 25 years at the helm of the stone wool insulation manufacturing company. Rory Moss, currently managing director at ROCKWOOL Nordics, will step into the role of president of the North American business. He will relocate from Denmark to assume his new position effective April 1. 

DID YOU KNOW...

... that Hardlines offers several ways for you to stay up to date on the industry? Make sure you are subscribed to: our Daily News (free); monthly dealer newsletter (free); and our print magazine, Hardlines Home Improvement Quarterly (free to dealers)! For more information on all of our news, visit hardlines.news.

JERSEY CITY, N.J. — Several home improvement retailers made Canada’s 2020 Best Employers list. The Forbes survey is compiled by electronically surveying 8,000 Canadians working for businesses with more than 500 employees. Home Hardware came in at number 114, Lowe’s Canada made number 152, Lee Valley Tools was 172, Calgary Co-op made 190, Home Depot came in at 236 and Canadian Tire was 255.

SASKATOON — Federated Co-operatives Ltd.’s Co-op Community Spaces program is open for applications as it enters its sixth year. Launched in 2015 to help protect, beautify and improve spaces across Western Canada, it has provided $8.5 million to 115 projects, including parks, greenhouses and sports fields.

MILTON KEYNES, England — IKEA will close its Coventry store this summer, the company’s first closure of a major U.K. outlet. The retailer said the store has been making “consistent losses” since it opened in 2007, citing “the changing behaviour of customers in the area who prefer to shop in retail parks and online,” leading to fewer visits than expected.

SUMMERSIDE, P.E.I. — Callbecks Ltd., which owns a Home Hardware Building Centre in Prince Edward Island’s second-largest municipality, is expanding into the Charlottetown market. Its newly announced acquisition of Charlottetown Home Hardware is a joint venture with Charlottetown’s Metro Home Building Centre.

SAN FRANCISCO — The Home Depot has dropped its antitrust suit against DuPont de Nemours, Inc., suggesting the parties are prepared to settle. The suit alleged that DuPont and Millennium Inorganic Chemicals Inc. conspired with two other chemicals firms to fix the price of titanium dioxide, a paint ingredient.

SUPPLIER NEWS

MALVERN, Pa. — Saint-Gobain has announced that its acquisition of Continental Building Products has obtained approval from Continental’s shareholders, while the statutory waiting period for the merger has expired. Upon completion of the approximately $1.4 billion transaction, Saint-Gobain will acquire all the outstanding shares of Continental for $37 per share in cash.

BURLINGTON, Ont. — St-Laurent, a maker of dual-toned finished fibre cement siding products, has selected Nicholson and Cates Ltd. as its exclusive distributor in Ontario.

SAINT PAUL, Minn. — 3M Co. reported that profits plunged by 27 percent in the fourth quarter, taking a hit from restructuring and legal costs. Net income declined to $970 million from $1.35 billion a year ago. Sales rose by 2.1 percent to $8.1 billion.

QUEBEC CITY — Desjardins is now the majority shareholder of Reno-Assistance, a company that pairs clients with contractors for large-scale residential or commercial renovation projects from a pool of more than 1,000 pros. The financial giant is supporting Reno-Assistance’s plan to increase its footprint outside the Greater Montreal, Greater Toronto and Quebec City regions.

CLEVELAND — Sherwin-Williams Co. reported Q4 profits of $248.6 million, up from $101 million a year ago. Same-store sales in the U.S. and Canada rose by 4.6 percent. Total revenues increased by 1.2 percent to $4.11 billion, compared with $4.06 billion the previous Q4.

OUT & ABOUT

Our VP & Publisher David Chestnut, and our trusted field reporter Geoffrey McLarney, will be at the TIMBER MART National Buying Show at the Palais des congrès in Montreal this week. Got a scoop or a new product? Look for them on the show floor!