BOUCHERVILLE, Que. — Our Meet the Buyers Breakfast next month will feature presentations from four of Lowe’s Canada’s top merchandisers. The event will be held March 26 at the Imperia hotel in Boucherville, Que., just minutes from the head office of Lowe’s Canada.

Igor Halencak, EVP, Merchandising and Marketing, will kick off with updates on changes at Lowe’s Canada and within his team. Carol Crystal, who heads up the Seasonal and Appliances team, has expertise in categories ranging from lawn and garden to heating and cooling. Josée Dumas will speak about paint, lighting and other home décor lines. Marc Gingras is responsible for Building and Maintenance, including LBM and plumbing tools. 

Igor Halencak joined Lowe’s Canada in October 2013 as Head of Merchandising and Marketing. Today, as Executive Vice President, Merchandising and Marketing, he is responsible for the organization’s entire merchandising and marketing structure, including field merchandising, merchandising operations, e-commerce operations and marketing for the Lowe’s, RONA, Reno-Depot, Dick’s Lumber and Ace Canada banners.

Carol Crystal joined the RONA merchandising team in April 2014. She held progressive roles in Fashion Lighting, Appliance and the Seasonal categories at Lowe’s Canada following the acquisition of RONA. In 2018, she worked with the Reno-Depot banner, leveraging assortments from both Lowe’s and Reno-Depot to bring great products to customers across Canada. She is now Vice President of Merchandising for Seasonal and Appliances for Lowe’s, RONA and Reno-Depot.

Josée Dumas has extensive leadership experience in the retail sector, having worked at RONA since the beginning of her career. She began in 1998 as a replenisher for Paint and developed a passion for merchandising. As the Vice President of Merchandising for Home Décor, she is now responsible for the home décor team for Lowe’s, RONA and Reno-Depot.

Marc Gingras has several years of leadership experience in merchandising, sales and marketing in both the retail and manufacturing sectors. He started working at RONA in 2013 as a procurement director responsible for Seasonal and Plumbing & Kitchens negotiations. Today, as Merchandising Vice President for Building and Maintenance, he is responsible for the Lowe’s, RONA and Reno-Depot banners.

(The 2019 Meet the Buyers event is being produced in collaboration with the Quebec industry association AQMAT and the Bureau de Quebec, with the sponsorship of RDTS. For more information and to register for this exclusive, vendor-only event, please click here.)

TORONTO — With more than 1,000 dealers and vendors in attendance, TIMBER MART hosted its ninth annual national buying show from February 15 to 16 at the Toronto Congress Centre.

Some 200 vendor booths filled the 80,000-square-foot show floor, attracting dealers from close to 280 TIMBER MART locations across the country.

The show’s appeal for members, says TIMBER MART President and CEO Bernie Owens, is the value of the specials being offered by the suppliers. “We’re driving it to be a true buying show,” he points out.

Attractions included Orgill’s new plumbing and electrical assortments. The hardware wholesaler had racks displaying full assortments of these core categories. TIMBER MART’s Store on the Floor featured merchandised displays of more than 2,000 SKUs of building materials and hardlines products. The show also served as a launching pad for member-exclusive pool buys.

At the centre of the floor, the TIMBER MART area encompassed hubs for all of TIMBER MART’s services and programs, including: TIMBER MART’s charitable foundation, Timberkids, LBM solutions, TIMBER MART Essentials, dealer marketing, merchandising and banner support.

The day before the show, TIMBER MART hosted a national dealer meeting, where members got the latest updates on the group’s activities. A new Timberkids Scholarship Fund program was unveiled, followed by a series of hosted educational sessions on TIMBER MART’s new marketing programs, including options for dealers to promote across digital and print media. A new payables package suitable for stores with 25 or more staff was also introduced, along with a benefits package that can be adapted for both staff and senior management.

TIMBER MART’s annual dinner and awards ceremony was held the following day, where multiple dealers and vendors were recognized by the buying group. The event also featured an appearance by Canadian Football League Commissioner Randy Ambrosie and the Grey Cup, which was displayed both on the show floor and at the dinner and awards ceremony.

TORONTO — As dealers across the country gear up for the busy spring selling season, Canada’s two largest home improvement retailers have announced their plans to increase their ranks, as well.

The Home Depot Canada is hiring more than 5,500 new associates across the country to support its busy spring season, while Lowe’s Canada says it will recruit an additional 6,350 people to staff its stores across all its banners. These positions are in addition to some 150 jobs currently being staffed as Lowe’s Canada completes the consolidation of operations at its head office in Boucherville, in the Greater Montreal Area.

Lowe’s Canada held a national hiring day on February 23 in its 67 Lowe’s stores, close to 200 RONA corporate stores and 22 Reno-Depot stores across the country. In addition, a number of independents affiliated with the RONA and Ace banners will host career days of their own.

Home Depot Canada is also hosting job fairs at its 182 stores nationwide. But it’s also using mobile technology to attract candidates. Called “Text-To-Apply”, the feature allows job seekers to apply, self-schedule phone screens, receive job fair invitations and get interview reminders. Interested candidates can simply text “Home Depot Jobs” (“HD Emplois” in Quebec) to 97211 to get started.

“We know convenience is key when applying for a job,” said President Jeff Kinnaird. “This spring, our new Text-To-Apply will make it easier than ever for people with a passion for delivering an excellent customer experience to join our values-driven team.”

Available roles include: sales, checkout, overnight freight, lot and garden centre associates. Eligible full- and part-time employees have access to competitive benefits, including company-paid health and dental benefits, profit-sharing programs, tuition reimbursement and employee assistance programs.

TORONTO — Canadian Tire posted its annual results earlier this month that included a healthy uptick in annual revenue. Overall sales from the company’s various divisions reached $14.1 billion, up 5.9% from 2017. Gas sales helped push that number up, but even excluding petroleum, revenues climbed 5.1%.

The Canadian Tire Retail division saw retail sales increase 2.4% for the year, while comparable sales were up 2.1%. The increases came despite a slow end to the year: Canadian Tire Retail’s fourth-quarter sales nudged up only 0.6% and comp sales were up just 0.2%.

In a call to analysts following the release of the company’s results, CEO Stephen Wetmore noted some of the accomplishments of the previous year. These included the launch of Canadian Tire’s Triangle rewards program and growth in areas like toys and games.

According to Allan MacDonald, executive vice president-retail, those categories enjoyed a bump during the fourth quarter, tying in with the Christmas selling season. Other areas that benefited included pet care and cleaning products.

“Canadian Tire also took top spot as the most searched retail brand in Canada leading into Black Friday,” MacDonald said, reflecting the company’s efforts to secure a strong online presence.

The company continues to grow its house brands in the fourth quarter, which included the launch of “type A”, Canadian Tire’s own line of home storage products. “In Q1, we’ll be proudly launching our new line of Paderno countertop appliances; Vermont Castings will be launching a premium line of barbecues; and Golfgreen will launch a new line of innovative gardening products,” MacDonald added.

“Owned brands are an important part of our strategy and we’ll be continuing our efforts to build world-class owned brands and assortments.”

Lee Harney, formerly with Lowe’s Canada working for the RONA banner, has joined Moffatt & Powell, a large RONA affiliated dealer based in London, Ont., as vice president of operations. Through his career with RONA, Harney had worked his way up from a warehouse manager and store manager to working with both corporate and affiliate RONA stores as a director of market development. Most recently, he served as market director for RONA’s proximity stores in Ontario and Atlantic Canada.

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MISSISSAUGA, Ont. — Castle Building Centres Group has announced its first new member location of 2019. Maple Country Home & Farm, in Inverary, Ont., has been serving Frontenac County since 2016. Owners Kevin and Suzanne Bovey sought a buying group that would give them access to a larger pool of suppliers while maintaining their independence and brand identity. “Having access to almost anything that the consumer is looking for will help us to provide better service to our customers,” said Kevin Bovey.

BENTONVILLE, Ark. — Walmart reported that sales at stores open more than a year rose by 4.2% (excluding fuel) in the holiday quarter. Adjusted earnings per share came to $1.41, compared with analyst estimates of $1.33 per share. Online sales surged by 43% as the retail giant held its own against competition from Amazon. In Canada, net sales edged up by 1.5% and comparable sales by 1.1%, but overall earnings fell due to higher expenses. The results make for Walmart’s 18th consecutive quarter of growth in the U.S., a streak unmatched by any other retailer.

TORONTO — Hudson's Bay Co. has announced it will close all 37 of its Home Outfitters stores in Canada by the end of this year. A company spokesperson told the CBC that almost all areas served by the housewares banner also have a nearby Bay store.

SUPPLIER NEWS

DELSON, Que. — Goodfellow has announced an exclusive distribution agreement with OX Engineered Products to distribute OX products nationally. OX specializes in the manufacturing of thin wall sheathing marketed under Thermo-Ply and structural polyiso insulation panels marketed under the brand OX-IS (formerly SI-Strong).

NORWALK, Conn. — True Value Company CEO and President John Hartmann will be a keynote speaker at the upcoming National Hardware Show in May. Hartmann’s presentation will take place on the morning of May 7 on the stage in the NRHA Village at the Las Vegas Convention Center. Entitled “Unlocking True Value,” it will highlight how returning the majority of its members’ equity and devising a new company structure has enabled True Value to optimize its investment.

LAVAL, Que. — LM2 Marketing has signed to rep Holland Imports in Ontario, Quebec and Atlantic Canada. The move bolsters the national presence for Holland Imports, which is based in Burnaby, B.C., and its commitment to the entire dealer channel. LM2 will promote a range of lines, including Holland Imports’ own Rok brand of power tool accessories.

FERNIE, B.C. — CanWel Fibre VP Jake Blackmore was among those addressing a community meeting about the company’s logging activities on a slope north of this Kootenay city. He sought to assuage concerns raised by conservation group Wildsight about the lack of provincial regulation over private logging activity compared to the public lands that make up most of B.C.’s forestry sites. Blackmore countered Wildsight’s charge that CanWel was doing the “bare minimum”, saying that the company’s voluntary standards already outstrip provincial rules.

ECONOMIC INDICATORS

Retail sales for December in the U.S. showed a surprise 1.2% drop in activity from November. That figure marks the sharpest decline since September 2009, in the aftermath of the Great Recession. Compared with December 2017, retail sales were up 2.3%. (U.S. Commerce Department)

OVERHEARD...

“Lumber markets have begun to recover in the first quarter of 2019 and we remain encouraged by the long-term outlook for lumber as we focus on the activities that generate the best outcomes for all our stakeholders.”
―Ted Seraphim, CEO of West Fraser Timber, on the prospects for the company after reporting a 2018 year-end that included a 19% increase in sales, despite declines in softwood lumber prices during the year.

NOTED

Home Depot Canada has stated that more than 75% of its store managers started as hourly associates. The company is gearing up to hire some 5,500 people for the coming spring selling season.