| DAILY UPDATES ON RETAIL AND INDUSTRY NEWS
THAT MATTER TO YOU. |
|
KEEP INFORMED.
VISIT hardlines.ca - EVERY DAY!
|
| IRLY EXPANDS NON-MEMBER SALES |
 Surrey, BC - While its member sales remain steady, the greatest growth by Irly Distributors has been to its non-member customers.
Irly's wholesale division has grown quietly over the past several years, to the point that Irly now ships to 82 accounts in British Columbia. In 1997, it had only 16 such customers. The growth has not just been organic. Irly is devoting more energy to cultivating this business, to the point of adding a dedicated sales person on the road, complementing the efforts of the existing team.
While buying groups that do their own warehousing are more common in Québec, the practice is almost non-existent elsewhere in the country. That makes Irly unique. From a 185,000-sq.ft. warehouse, it ships most of its product to its 56 member stores, which operate under the name Irly Building Centres.
Stuart Joule, executive vice-president and general manager of the group, says Irly's local 24-hour delivery service has appeal for a growing number of dealers, including those with other affiliations.
"They're doing it very simply for convenience. We're pricing very aggressively and we're convenient," he says. "Shipping from the east can take four to five days." Back orders can end up taking weeks to refill. "When a retailer has an empty shelf, he wants it filled," Joule adds, noting that Irly's fill rate is running at more than 96% this month.
By shortening lead times for replenishment of high-moving items, Irly has established itself as a handy alternative. The most popular products shipped are hardware, paint and adhesives. They also ship "bits and pieces of lumber. We've seen an opportunity as wholesale activity of our competitors in the province has centralized back to Ontario," he says. |
| ALLROC LOOKS FOR DEALERS ON BOTH SIDES OF THE BORDER |
Calgary, AB - With its focus on "non-retail," Allroc Building Products Ltd. is enjoying growth of its membership, half of which is gypsum supply dealers. However, the privately owned buying group is looking for a mix of both GSD and traditional building centres.
The focus, says Bob Hancock, vice-president of purchasing, sales and marketing, is on gypsum and related products, both to GSD and traditional building centre customers. In fact, about half the group's 95 members are building centres, often with a strong commercial orientation.
Allroc recently added two stores in the West, one in Grande Prairie, AB and in the U.S., in Bloomington, MN. That's the eighth Allroc member south of the border. Six of those stores are part of Winroc Corp., Allroc's wholesale arm, and in a nice bit of vertical integration, one of the group's largest members.
Ron Kent, operations manager, Allroc East, says the U.S. expansion is important to the group. "It's a trend in the U.S. Buying groups are growing there. They're not as widespread in the U.S. as they are here. They've operated more as associations in the past. They haven't really maximized their buying power."
Kent says buying groups serve the industry much more effectively in Canada than in the U.S. The smaller size of the Canadian market has made pool buying more necessary.
Allroc is also adding stores in the East. Two of them were recently signed in Northern Ontario, Cochrane and New Liskeard, putting the total number of Allroc members in that province past 20. In Atlantic Canada, a couple of key accounts are expected to be signed in the coming months. |
| CONSTRUCTION EXPECTED TO SLOW IN 2003 |
| Ottawa - Construction in Canada in 2002 will grow by 3.2% this year, led by a strong residential market, says the latest study from the Canadian Construction Association. The residential market is showing signs of losing the momentum it has had for the past two years, but non-residential construction is expected to enjoy fairly stable growth from both public and private sector sources.
Growth in 2003 is expected to reach 1.6%, followed by 1.3% in 2004. Because of Voisey's Bay, Argentia, and White Rose, Newfoundland and Labrador will experience the strongest construction growth of all provinces. Rising interest rates, coupled with reluctance by the private sector to invest in capital structures, will contribute to the slowdown in coming years.
|
| COMPANY |
52-WEEK HIGH |
52-WEEK LOW |
CLOSE (FRI.) |
| Canadian Tire |
33.15 |
18.50 |
30.75 |
| Canfor |
11.70 |
8.08 |
10.55 |
| Emco |
12.77 |
3.71 |
11.00 |
| Goodfellow |
13.99 |
8.00 |
12.75 |
| Home Depot |
52.60 |
28.00 |
28.81 |
| Hudson's Bay |
20.10 |
12.50 |
13.29 |
| Lowe's Cos. |
49.99 |
24.99 |
35.86 |
| Sears Canada |
25.10 |
12.50 |
21.24 |
| Sodisco-Howden |
2.20 |
0.75 |
1.31 |
| Taiga Forest |
13.50 |
7.49 |
13.35 |
| West Fraser |
44.42 |
26.13 |
40.00 |
|
|
| COMPANIES IN THE NEWS |
 TruServ Canada Cooperative Inc. has created a new logo that incorporates a stylized Canadian maple leaf in place of a five-pointed star. The new look reflects the 100% Canadian ownership of the Winnipeg-based co-op since it repatriated ownership from TruServ Corp. in Chicago in October 2001.
West Fraser Timber reported 2Q earnings of $71 million on sales of $420 million, compared with earnings of $78 million on sales of $416 million in 2Q 2000. The earnings for the quarter include a reversal of duties of $17 million related to the softwood lumber trade dispute. However, earnings for the first half of 2002 were $98 million on sales of $800 million, up from $74 million on sales of $791 million in the first half of 2001. The company showed a loss on discontinued operations for the sale of its Revy division, but still has some real estate to sell off.
Total revenues for Sears Canada in its second quarter ended June 29 were $1.593 billion, a 0.5% increase over $1.585 billion last year. Merchandise sales increased 0.7%, but same-store sales fell 3.0%. Earnings reached $24.8 million, compared with $8.8 million last year.
On sales of more than $900 million, Shoppers Drug Mart made $40.9 million during the three-month period ended June 15, more than double the $17.6 million of a year earlier.
For the year ended May 31, The Jean Coutu Group had sales of $3.6 billion, compared with $2.9 billion for the same period last year, an increase of 22.6%. Net earnings reached $139.9 million. |
| PEOPLE ON THE MOVE |
| Robert Harritt, executive vice-president and CFO of Sodisco-Howden Group Inc., has left the company and a search is under way for his replacement. This latest move reportedly marks the end of the restructuring process that began under CEO Jos Wintermans, who took the helm just over a year ago. (514-286-8986)
Bill Mair has joined the Imperial Manufacturing Group as product manager - venting categories. Mair was previously national sales manager - retail division with Kanalflakt Inc. He reports to Richard Lépine, executive vice-president, sales & marketing. (506-523-9117)
Fred Archer is no longer with Balmer Studios, the retail division of the Balmer Group of companies, where he had served as president. (He can be reached at 416-458-9629) |
| MARKET INDICATORS |
| Businesses and governments spent nearly $6.3 billion on non-residential construction in the second quarter, down 1.7% from the first, says Statistics Canada. While government spending was up, investment by the business sector declined sharply.
Wholesalers sold $34.5 billion worth of goods and services in May, a drop of 1.2% from the previous month, says Stats Canada. However, May's decline follows six months of consecutive growth. Both the hardware, metals and plumbing and heating category and lumber and the building materials category were down 1.3%. However, these categories were up year over year (2.6% and 6.8% respectively).
|
| OVERHEARD |
| "We're not a co-op. We're a buying group in which the member is not responsible for anyone else's credit. Allroc is responsible for that credit. And because we're responsible for the credit, we're pretty tough on the members as far as creditworthiness goes." - Ron Kent, operations manager, Allroc East, on the unique selling proposition of Allroc Building Products to new members. |
|
****HARDLINES MARKETPLACE****
Check out Hardlines Classifieds on the web:
https://hardlines.ca/html/classifieds_new.asp
HELP WANTED
FIELD SALES MANAGER - EASTERN CANADA
Porter-Cable Delta, a recognized leader of quality woodworking, portable electric, equipment and air tools products, currently requires an enthusiastic professional as Field Sales Manager - Eastern Canada.
A resourceful individual able to organize and communicate successfully, you will direct the industrial sales operations for Eastern Canada. A high achiever, you have a minimum of 5 years sales experience in the hardware, automotive and/or HVAC industry. Your minimum of 3 years supervisory experience, bilingual spoken and written skills (English/French) and exceptional computer literacy will allow you to direct the Eastern Canada sales force and key accounts to meet strategic objectives. You are located within commuting distance to Guelph, Ontario for weekly meetings (approximately 2days per week); you have a willingness to travel, a valid driver's license and a post secondary degree/diploma preferably in Business.
If you are looking for a progressive organization and a competitive compensation package, please contact Wolf Gugler in complete confidence, quoting file number C-11. Wolf Gugler & Associates Limited, 1370 Don Mills Road, Suite 300, North York, Ontario M3B 3N7. Phone: 416-386-1719 email: resumes@wolfgugler.com. web site:
www.wolfgugler.com
************************************************************************************
EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR, WRLA
Simpson McGrath Inc. has been commissioned by the Western Retail Lumber Association (WRLA) to assist in the appointment of a new Executive Director as the incumbent moves to retirement in early 2003. The effective date of the appointment will be December 1, 2002.
The WRLA is a Not-for-Profit Association whose mission is to serve the needs and promote the common interests of the Canadian Lumber Building Materials and Hard Goods Industry on the Prairies (See www.wrla.org for additional detail). Founded in 1890, and now with 472 Retail Members and 264 Associate Members, WRLA is poised for a new era of growth. It is expected that the Annual Prairie Showcase, Trade Show and WRLA Convention will continue to be dynamic cornerstones of the Association’s future along with its scholarship and educational initiatives.
The Executive Director is the Chief Operating Officer of the Association and is expected to provide leadership and direction while nurturing and serving Association interests. Major responsibilities include the following:
· Direction and management of all WRLA major functions including internal affairs, the Annual Prairie Showcase and Trade Show, special events, services to members and the uniquely important educational and training programs
· Management of external communications and support of WRLA Board functions.
The successful candidate for this position will be able to demonstrate a combination of the following qualities and characteristics:
· Demonstrated ability to lead and manage a dynamic organization
· Personal and professional integrity of the highest order
· A sense of urgency and orientation to the task at hand, and a proven team player.
Resumes should be forwarded to Simpson McGrath Inc, 1780 Wellington Avenue, Suite 99, Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada, R3H 1B3 Telephone direct line (204) 940 - 3420 confidential facsimile (204) 940-3429; E-Mail smi@mim.ca Confidential enquiries are welcome and should be directed to Mr. Leslie A. Johnson, CMC.
************************************************************************************
CUSTOMER SERVICE SUPERVISOR
Position available for a Customer Service Supervisor, 5-7 years supervisory experience in a corporate customer service environment, familiar with SAP, JD Edwards or Oracle, bilingual French an asset. team environment with a
world leading brand manufacturer located on the Mississauga/Oakville border.
Please email resume with salary requirements to tmedeiro@mlock.com
***********************************************************************************
NORAL INSTORE:
Don’t leave your products’ display management
to chance! Let Noral Instore take care
of your instore merchandising.
Visit http://www.noralmarketing.com
or call Al Vanderveen at 519-439-6800 ext. 201
**********************************************************************************
SELL YOUR COMPANY - OR BUY ONE - WITH HARDLINES CLASSIFIEDS!
DO YOUR EXECUTIVE SEARCH, FIND NEW LINES OR GET NEW REPS IN THE HARDLINES MARKETPLACE.
ONLY $18 PER LINE FOR THREE WEEKS!
TO PLACE YOUR AD, CALL US AT 416-489-3396 OR EMAIL: bev@hardlines.ca
|
vol. viii, #29 July 22, 2002