MONCTON — A new 100,000-square-foot Kent Building Supplies store is being planned on a property owned by parent company J.D. Irving Ltd. The property will replace a truck terminal that currently sits on the site, CBC News reports.

According to a report presented to Moncton city council, the company is aiming to open the store by 2022. A second phase of the plan provides for an additional 150,000 square feet of retail space and 10,000 square feet of restaurants to be developed by 2025. The property is northwest of what is known as the Vision Lands, a 1,400-acre wooded lot which the city is looking to develop into a mid-rise, mixed-use residential and retail community.

This will be the 10th big box for Kent, a dominant retail chain in Atlantic Canada. The company owns both large-format and traditional-sized stores. But the return to building big boxes is relatively recent. Kent originally opened seven big boxes in the mid-’90s to head off potential expansion by then-newcomer Home Depot, which was busy expanding in central Ontario. Kent then switched its focus for several years to smaller markets and more traditional-sized home centres.

Then, in July 2014, Kent opened a 100,000-square-foot big box in Charlottetown, its first large-format store in Prince Edward Island and its first big box in almost two decades. In the summer of 2018, the company opened a new big box in the Halifax market at Dartmouth Crossing (shown here).

At the beginning of 2017, Central Supplies, a fixture in Nova Scotia since 1976, became part of Kent. That group includes one large-format store as well.

Following reorg, Sexton Group stays focused on needs of independents

WINNIPEG — A recent shuffle at the Sexton Group has resulted in a change in management, but not in the buying group’s mandate to grow and support independent dealers across the country.

Former Sexton Group President Steve Buckle has been appointed CEO of the Sexton family of companies, while Eric Palmer, formerly senior manager, purchasing, has been put in charge of the group as vice president and general manager. (See our last blazing issue for the full story on the latest changes at Sexton.―Editor)

One area that remains important to the group is growing its ranks. To that end, Tom Bell is being promoted to vice president of business development. In this role, he will continue to focus on the needs of the members, as well as recruitment activities. He now reports to Palmer.

Buckle stresses that the biggest part of Bell’s job is staying close to the needs of existing members. “Yes, recruitment is important. But working with our existing members is the lion’s share of the role.”

While it started as a Western group, it gradually expanded its reach, “and that’s led us to Ontario, where we’ve made some important inroads in recent years,” Buckle says.

One area where Sexton Group has made gains has been with ready-to-assemble and prefab house builders, which now account for 27 members. “We’d be the biggest buying group by far for those types of companies,” says Buckle. Working with these businesses and meeting the demands of that type of business has its own set of challenges, he adds.

“Getting used to these businesses is not the same as working with a traditional dealer. It requires more supply chain management to accommodate their tight building schedules.”

TORONTO ― Canadian Tire turned out healthy year-end results, including strong performance by Canadian Tire-bannered stores.

“We had an exceptionally strong Q4 that capped off a solid last half of 2019,” said Stephen Wetmore, president and CEO of Canadian Tire Corp. He gave a lot of credit to the company’s Triangle Rewards program, a branding strategy to attract customers across all channels, including online and bricks and mortar. “Customers are engaging with us more frequently, both in our stores and digitally, driving our top-line growth, as well as making us one of Canada’s largest e-commerce players.”

Fourth-quarter consolidated revenue for the entire company reached $4.3 billion, up 4.5 percent, and annual revenue was up 3.4 percent to $14.5 billion. While holiday season sales rebounded after a weaker showing in 2018, results were dampened somewhat by the petroleum business. Not including petroleum, Q4 sales were up 5.1 percent and up five percent for the year.

Wetmore also gave a nod to the retail business for its strong results. For the fourth quarter, Canadian Tire Retail (CTR) saw sales increase 6.6 percent, while comparable sales were up 4.8 percent. For the year, retail segment revenue increased by 3.1 percent. Excluding petroleum, retail segment revenue was up 4.8 percent. Sales by Canadian Tire stores increased 4.5 percent, while comparable sales increased 3.8 percent.

“Our ability to deliver remarkably consistent growth at CTR is due to our strong partnership with our associate dealers and their knowledge of our customers’ expectations in virtually every community in Canada.”

SPECIAL REPORT — There’s no such thing as too soon when it comes to succession planning. The earlier you start preparing for the inevitability of a transition of power, the smoother and easier that transition will go.

“The best time to start your succession planning is immediately,” says Dave Ryan, vice president and financial planner with PIB Financial. PIB, which is owned by Home Hardware, advises Home dealers across the country in all aspects of investment, wealth management and insurance.

The best plan, Ryan says, is to have a very profitable and attractive business. For PIB’s part, that means asking Home Hardware dealers if they’re taking advantage of all the programs the banner offers. That includes ensuring the store is merchandised properly and signage is up to date, indicators to an outsider that the business is being run well, regardless of their projected timeline for retirement.

Jon Irwin is TIMBER MART’s vice president of member services. Irwin says there are some specific steps for preparing a business for a handover, including setting up a team to help carry out the plan and developing a learning plan for your identified successor.

“The learning plan for a successor should have measurable goals, clear objectives, reasonable timelines, as well as specific people identified and held accountable for taking actions towards it,” says Irwin.

At Lowe’s Canada, Josée Desrosiers, the national director of business development for RONA and Ace dealers, says succession planning is something her team discusses in the early stages of a store joining either banner. Sadly, Desrosiers says, there’s no foolproof solution to that final question. But like Ryan, she agrees that if you’re asking yourself when the right time is to start planning—the answer is right away.

“There is no miracle solution for identifying a successor,” says Desrosiers. “Each situation is unique, and various succession scenarios may arise. To avoid being caught short, you need to think far in advance.”

(This article is excerpted from a larger feature in the next issue of our sister publication, Hardlines Home Improvement Quarterly magazine. HHIQ is mailed out four times a year to 11,000 dealers and store managers across the country. Click here for more info!)

Charlie Hart has joined Ledvance as president and CEO. He comes over from Uponor Ltd., where he spent eight years as general manager, Canada. His background prior to that includes TTI Canada, Irwin Industrial Tools and Ipex. Hart replaces John Preville.

Barry Hill has been named Canadian sales manager for bio-based Natures Broom and Biochar Abatement products at Nature’s Broom Absorbent. The lines will be represented through Barry Hill Sales Associates, based in Truro, N.S.

DID YOU KNOW...

... Eisenwarenmesse, the International Hardware Fair in Cologne, Germany, is on this year from March 1 to 4? It’s one of the world’s largest trade shows for the hardware and home improvement industry. Hardlines will once again host a Canada Night International Reception on site at the show. It’s a great way for Canucks to gather and meet colleagues from around the world! (Email Michael for more info and to RSVP!)

SUPPLIER NEWS

VANCOUVER — West Fraser Timber reported its Q4 sales totalled $1.29 billion. Its operating loss was $31 million, compared with a $54 million loss the previous quarter and earnings of $15 million for the comparable quarter of 2018. In the lumber segment, the company narrowed its loss to $23 million from $53 million in Q3. West Fraser’s panels business generated earnings of $8 million, down from $9 million in the previous quarter. The pulp and paper division’s loss widened to $12 million from $8 million in Q3.

MONTREAL — Intertape Polymer Group has reached a deal to acquire Nortech Packaging for approximately $36.5 million. The privately held, Chicago-based Nortech manufactures, assembles and services automated packaging machines under the Nortech Packaging and Tishma Technologies brands. The acquisition is expected to close during the present fiscal quarter.

BRISTOL, England — Bemis Co. posted earnings of $186 million for the second quarter, or $0.12 per share. Revenues for the quarter totalled $3.04 billion. Australian-based Amcor, which purchased Bemis last year, pointed to the merger as key to its success as it posted above-forecast earnings of $699 million for the second half of 2019. 

IN MEMORIAM

Steve Duplantis, long-time partner at Canadian Pro Marketing, has died. He is survived by his granddaughter Sierra. Duplantis was tragically predeceased by his son, celebrated pro golf caddy Steve Duplantis, Jr., who died in 2008 at the age of 35.

ECONOMIC CONDITIONS

The seasonally adjusted annual rate of housing starts was 213,224 units in January, an increase of 8.8 percent from 195,892 units in December. Urban starts, seasonally adjusted, increased by 9.8 percent in January to 202,407 units. Multiple urban starts increased by 13.6 percent to 155,140 units while single-detached urban starts decreased by 0.9 percent to 47,267 units. (CMHC)

The total value of building permits issued by Canadian municipalities increased 7.4 percent to $8.7 billion in December. Increases were reported in five provinces, led by Ontario, where permits rose 10.5 percent, and Quebec, which saw a 15.8 percent increase. The value of permits for multi-family dwellings was up 15.9 percent, mostly due to large projects in the Montreal and Vancouver areas. Conversely, the value of permits for single-family dwellings decreased 3.2 percent, with the largest decline in Ontario. (StatCan)