HARDLINES™ Five years serving Canada's home improvement industry July 24, 2000 - Volume vi, #29 Michael McLarney, Editor & Publisher Ph: 416-489-3396 Fx: 416-489-6154 E-mail: buzz@hardlinesfax.com  
Check out our incredible Classifieds section!
HARDLINES HAS MOVED! Thanks to the tremendous support we've received from you, our subscribers, over the past five years, we are very excited to be able to expand into a new location. Please note the new address of the World Headquarters:   542 Mount Pleasant Rd., Suite 302 Toronto, Ontario, Canada M4S 2M7 (Phone and fax remain the same) phone: 416.489.3396 fax: 416.489.6154 * * * * * * * IN THIS ISSUE: * Westburne to sells to giant French wholesaler * Verschuren new keynote at Hardlines Conference * Revelstoke cites flat sales in second quarter * Walters front-runner for next head of Sears Roebuck * * * * * * FIFTH ANNUAL HARDLINES MARKETING CONFERENCE: September 14, 2000. An incredible one-day symposium featuring some of North America's leaders in retail, including the executive team from Home Depot Canada, McMillan/Doolittle, Gardener's Supply, J&H Builder's Warehouse (an amazing Tim-BR-Mart dealer from Saskatoon), Tim Silk from UWO's Ivey Business School - and much more! Expect about 200 retail and vendor executives to attend! * * * * * * Just thought I'd mention it again for the record: HARDLINES HAS MOVED! Please note the new address of the World Headquarters: 542 Mount Pleasant Rd., Suite 302 Toronto, Ontario, Canada M4S 2M7 (Phone and fax remain the same) phone: 416.489.3396 fax: 416.489.6154 * * * * * * HARDLINES SEMINAR AT CAN-SAVE We are pleased to be part of the Can-Save Summer Buying Expo 2000 at Can-Save's new warehouse in Barrie, ON on August 22. We'll present a seminar called: "Winning strategies of independents who compete alongside the big box" (or something like that!). We share the bill with Canadian Contractor magazine, which will do a presentation on "Installed Sales." For more information about the day, call Can-Save at 1-800-461-5411. - Michael * * * * * * COTTAGE FOR RENT: LAKE HURON Available August 19-26 and August 26-September 2, this 3-bedroom lakefront cottage sleeps 5 and has shallow-entry sandy beach ideal for kids, TV, fireplace, canoe. Pets ok. On Howdenvale Beach, near Owen Sound and north of Sauble Beach at the foot of the Bruce Peninsula. $775 for each week. For more information, contact Hardlines at: 416-480-3396, or e-mail: buzz@hardlinesfax.com  
FRENCH WHOLESALER BUYS WESTBURNE   Montréal-based plumbing and electrical wholesaler Westburne Inc. has struck a deal to sell all outstanding shares of Westburne to Rexel S.A. The cash sale is valued at $987 million and is expected to close by the end of September. Westburne has itself been aggressively buying up companies in both Canada and the U.S. over the past two years, pushing total sales in 1999 to $2.47 billion. It is a leading distributor of electrical supplies in Canada and through acquisition has fortified its position as a distributor of plumbing, waterworks, refrigeration and HVAC, and industrial products. Rexel, a subsidiary of the Pinault-Printemps-Redoute group, is an electrical distributor with revenues of $8.5 billion, 70% of that from outside France - including about $3 billion in the U.S. With a presence on four continents and 30 countries, Rexel has 20,000 employees and a network of more than 1,600 branches. * * * * * * VERSCHUREN AND NEW VP WILL SPEAK AT HARDLINES CONFERENCE Pat Farrah, the outspoken and colourful senior vice-president of merchandising at Home Depot in Atlanta, has unexpectedly pulled out of this fall's Hardlines Marketing Conference. But the two top executives from Home Depot's Canadian division have agreed to take his place. The one-day event will now feature Annette Verschuren, president of Home Depot Canada, and her vice-president of merchandising, Eric Petersen, as the keynote presenters during lunch at the conference. The fifth annual Hardlines Marketing Conference is Canada's premier symposium for the home improvement industry that no competitive minded retailer or vendor will want to miss (who writes this stuff?-MM). It will be held at the Eaton Centre Marriott Hotel in Toronto on September 14. A full lineup of retailers and retail experts from across North America will round out the day. * * * * * * REVELSTOKE RECORDS FLAT SALES IN SECOND QUARTER For the second quarter ended June 30, West Fraser Timber had sales of $634 million, compared with $590 million in 1999. Earnings reached $43 million, compared with $37 million in the same period last year. For the first half, earnings were $85 million on sales of $1.185 billion, up from $51 million on sales of $1.034 billion. The Revelstoke retail home improvement division generated earnings before interest and taxes for the quarter of $21 million, comparable with last year. Poor weather throughout much of Canada during the quarter and declining building materials prices resulted in same-store sales being relatively flat.  
COMPANIES IN THE NEWS   Taiga Forest Products Ltd. had sales for the first quarter ended June 30 of $245.5 million, compared with $228.7 million for the same period in the previous year, the highest quarterly sales ever reported by the company. Earnings for the quarter were $273,000, down from $2.6 million in 1999. Castle Building Centres Group has been rolling out its installed sales program to its members. Called All-Install, it involves branding reno and repair services through the store, supported by select contractor customers. About half of Castle's 200-plus stores are offering installed sales, with more than a dozen adopting the All-Install program to date. Can-Save will host its annual Summer Buying Expo at its new warehouse in Barrie, ON on August 22. Dealer customers from across Ontario and the Maritimes are expected to attend a day of seminars, food, golf and entertainment. Rona Inc. has appointed Montréal-based BCP as its new ad agency. BCP will be responsible for all of Rona's advertising and promotional campaigns, business that's valued at $20 million. The agency will also handle the rollout of the Rona chain in Ontario. Sears Canada had revenues for the 13 weeks ended July 1 of $1.546 billion, compared with $1.403 billion last year, an increase of 10.2%. This marked the company's 12th consecutive record quarter for both revenues and earnings. Unaudited net earnings for the quarter improved by 15% to $45.9 million from $39.9 million last year. During the quarter, the company finalized its accounting for the acquisition of Eatons, which cost an estimated $180 million net of tax. The estimated value of the tax losses acquired exceeds the acquisition cost by $70 million. In the second quarter, $8.9 million was recorded in income. For the first half of 2000, Sears posted a profit of $69.4 million, compared with $57.1 million last year. Revenues were $2.981 billion, up 12% from $2.662 billion. According to a report from CBS, Paul Walters, "the highly regarded CEO" of Sears Canada, is considered the front-runner in the search for the next head of Sears Roebuck & Co. in the U.S. Current CEO Arthur Martinez will retire at the end of this year. Sears Roebuck owns 55% of Sears Canada. Wal-Mart Stores plans to add 50 new stores to the 95 it now operates in Germany and double its market share within three years, says a report in last week's Wall Street Journal. The possibility it might consider acquiring Metro AG, Germany's largest retail group, was not discounted by a Wal-Mart spokesperson.
  CANADIAN STOCK WATCH
COMPANY 52-WEEK HIGH 52-WEEK LOW CLOSE (FRI.)
       
Canadian Tire 43.40 18.40 22.20
Canfor 19.80 10.10 12.20
Goodfellow 12.55 8.75 10.30
Home Depot 70.00 35.75 57 1/8
Hudsons Bay 23.85 12.50 15.50
Lowe's Cos. 67.25 40.40 45 1/8
Sears Canada 42.50 29.00 33.30
Taiga Forest 14.75 8.05 8.40
West Fraser 41.00 28.00 30.50
    "I have made it a rule never to smoke more than one cigar at a time." - Mark Twain (1835 - 1910)
PEOPLE ON THE MOVE   Jay Gregg has moved over from Owens Corning Canada, where he served as marketing and communications manager, to become director of marketing, panel products for Longlac Wood Industries Inc. He is responsible for the company's finished and unfinished panel board business. (905-542-2700) Bob Kendall has been promoted to the position of general manager of Ipex HomeRite Products. He was formerly director of sales … Steve Barker has joined Ipex as national accounts manager - Canada. He will be responsible for developing the company's plumbing and electrical lines to the retail trade. He was formerly national accounts manager at Delta/Porter-Cable. (905-670-7676) Evergreen Building Materials has elected the following shareholder representatives to its 2000-2001 board of directors: Terry Elliott of Delroc Industries Ltd. is president; Stuart Joule of Irly Distributors Ltd. is vice-president; Claude Gingras of Coopérative Fédérée de Québec is treasurer. Evergreen is an umbrella buying group whose members comprise a group of LBM buying groups and co-ops. CLARIFICATION: Richard Friesen has in fact retired from his position as president of Cameron Ashley Canada. (905-677-4545)  
MARKET INDICATORS   Housing starts in the U.S. fell 2.6% in June, a result of rising mortgage rates and a slowdown in the economy, according to the U.S. Commerce Department. Housing starts declined to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 1.55 million last month, with a big drop in single-family home construction, which fell to a rate of 1.21 million. The level of housing starts in June declined to its lowest point since May 1998. Housing permits were unchanged in June after falling in four consecutive months.  
OVERHEARD...   "I think the buy-in was pretty significant. There is a recognition that installed sales is an opportunity and a good way to improve gross margins on building materials sales." - Dave Morton, marketing manager for Castle Building Centres Group. The group recently offered "All-Install University" to educate members about its new installed sales program.  
HARDLINES WHO'S WHO: Directory of Canadian Hardware & Home Improvement Retailers, Wholesalers, Buying Groups and Mass Merchants. This has become an industry standard. With more than 100 listings of the key companies in the country, including executives, buyers, sales and more. No salesperson should be without this little beauty in their briefcase. Third edition available in July.   HARDLINES INDUSTRY REPORT: HOME IMPROVEMENT RETAILING IN CANADA: Back by popular demand! This incredible report is a soup-to-nuts on how the home improvement business works in Canada. It tells who the players are, what the trends are, how the industry is responding to the big boxes, etc. It also updates home improvement and renovation spending and figures out just how big this business is! FIFTH ANNUAL HARDLINES MARKETING CONFERENCE: September 14, 2000. An incredible one-day symposium featuring some of North America's leaders in retail, including Home Depot, McMillan/Doolittle, Gardener's Supply, J&H Builder's Warehouse and much more! Expect about 200 retail and vendor executives to attend! THE WOMEN'S CONSUMER PRODUCTS NETWORK August 15: Breakfast meeting during the CGTA Show. Featuring the proven communication methods of Robin Kennedy, vice-president of Communicare. September 21: "Fully Alive From 9 to 5!" Featuring author Louise LeBrun. Details coming soon. Meanwhile, check out her website at: www.partnersinrenewal.com For more information about these events, please phone: (905) 212-3826; fax: (905) 274-7646; email:wcpn99@yahoo.com, or check out their website: www.wcpncanada.org  
Hardlines Classifieds   Got new products? Looking for new staff or lines? Hardlines Classifieds are read each week by North America's key decision makers in home improvement retailing and manufacturing. If you want to build your sales team or find new agents or new lines, this is the place! Only $16 per line. Call Beverly at 416-489-3396, ext. 2, for more details. * * * * * * * HARDLINES™ the electronic newsletter. www.hardlinesfax.com phone: 416-489-3396; fax: 416-489-6154. E-mail: buzz@hardlinesfax.com Michael McLarney, Editor & Publisher (extension 1): mike@hardlinesfax.com Beverly Allen, Marketing Manager (extension 2): bev@hardlinesfax.com Nancy Wright, Administrative Assistant: nancy@hardlinesfax.com Hardlines is published weekly (except monthly in December and August) by McLARNEYCOM 542 Mount Pleasant Rd., Suite 302, Toronto, Ontario, Canada M4S 2M7 © 2000 by Michael McLarney. Reproduction in whole or in part is very uncool and strictly forbidden and really and truly against the law. Call for information on a site license for your company. Subscription: $185+$12.95 GST = $197.95 (or $27.75 HST = $212.75) per year (GST #13987 0398 RT). (Please make cheque payable to McLarneyCom.)  
  HARDLINES™ Five years serving Canada's home improvement industry July 24, 2000 - Volume vi, #29 Michael McLarney, Editor & Publisher Ph: 416-489-3396 Fx: 416-489-6154 E-mail: buzz@hardlinesfax.com  
Check out our incredible Classifieds section!
HARDLINES HAS MOVED! Thanks to the tremendous support we've received from you, our subscribers, over the past five years, we are very excited to be able to expand into a new location. Please note the new address of the World Headquarters:   542 Mount Pleasant Rd., Suite 302 Toronto, Ontario, Canada M4S 2M7 (Phone and fax remain the same) phone: 416.489.3396 fax: 416.489.6154 * * * * * * * IN THIS ISSUE: * Westburne to sells to giant French wholesaler * Verschuren new keynote at Hardlines Conference * Revelstoke cites flat sales in second quarter * Walters front-runner for next head of Sears Roebuck * * * * * * FIFTH ANNUAL HARDLINES MARKETING CONFERENCE: September 14, 2000. An incredible one-day symposium featuring some of North America's leaders in retail, including the executive team from Home Depot Canada, McMillan/Doolittle, Gardener's Supply, J&H Builder's Warehouse (an amazing Tim-BR-Mart dealer from Saskatoon), Tim Silk from UWO's Ivey Business School - and much more! Expect about 200 retail and vendor executives to attend! * * * * * * Just thought I'd mention it again for the record: HARDLINES HAS MOVED! Please note the new address of the World Headquarters: 542 Mount Pleasant Rd., Suite 302 Toronto, Ontario, Canada M4S 2M7 (Phone and fax remain the same) phone: 416.489.3396 fax: 416.489.6154 * * * * * * HARDLINES SEMINAR AT CAN-SAVE We are pleased to be part of the Can-Save Summer Buying Expo 2000 at Can-Save's new warehouse in Barrie, ON on August 22. We'll present a seminar called: "Winning strategies of independents who compete alongside the big box" (or something like that!). We share the bill with Canadian Contractor magazine, which will do a presentation on "Installed Sales." For more information about the day, call Can-Save at 1-800-461-5411. - Michael * * * * * * COTTAGE FOR RENT: LAKE HURON Available August 19-26 and August 26-September 2, this 3-bedroom lakefront cottage sleeps 5 and has shallow-entry sandy beach ideal for kids, TV, fireplace, canoe. Pets ok. On Howdenvale Beach, near Owen Sound and north of Sauble Beach at the foot of the Bruce Peninsula. $775 for each week. For more information, contact Hardlines at: 416-480-3396, or e-mail: buzz@hardlinesfax.com  
FRENCH WHOLESALER BUYS WESTBURNE   Montréal-based plumbing and electrical wholesaler Westburne Inc. has struck a deal to sell all outstanding shares of Westburne to Rexel S.A. The cash sale is valued at $987 million and is expected to close by the end of September. Westburne has itself been aggressively buying up companies in both Canada and the U.S. over the past two years, pushing total sales in 1999 to $2.47 billion. It is a leading distributor of electrical supplies in Canada and through acquisition has fortified its position as a distributor of plumbing, waterworks, refrigeration and HVAC, and industrial products. Rexel, a subsidiary of the Pinault-Printemps-Redoute group, is an electrical distributor with revenues of $8.5 billion, 70% of that from outside France - including about $3 billion in the U.S. With a presence on four continents and 30 countries, Rexel has 20,000 employees and a network of more than 1,600 branches. * * * * * * VERSCHUREN AND NEW VP WILL SPEAK AT HARDLINES CONFERENCE Pat Farrah, the outspoken and colourful senior vice-president of merchandising at Home Depot in Atlanta, has unexpectedly pulled out of this fall's Hardlines Marketing Conference. But the two top executives from Home Depot's Canadian division have agreed to take his place. The one-day event will now feature Annette Verschuren, president of Home Depot Canada, and her vice-president of merchandising, Eric Petersen, as the keynote presenters during lunch at the conference. The fifth annual Hardlines Marketing Conference is Canada's premier symposium for the home improvement industry that no competitive minded retailer or vendor will want to miss (who writes this stuff?-MM). It will be held at the Eaton Centre Marriott Hotel in Toronto on September 14. A full lineup of retailers and retail experts from across North America will round out the day. * * * * * * REVELSTOKE RECORDS FLAT SALES IN SECOND QUARTER For the second quarter ended June 30, West Fraser Timber had sales of $634 million, compared with $590 million in 1999. Earnings reached $43 million, compared with $37 million in the same period last year. For the first half, earnings were $85 million on sales of $1.185 billion, up from $51 million on sales of $1.034 billion. The Revelstoke retail home improvement division generated earnings before interest and taxes for the quarter of $21 million, comparable with last year. Poor weather throughout much of Canada during the quarter and declining building materials prices resulted in same-store sales being relatively flat.  
COMPANIES IN THE NEWS   Taiga Forest Products Ltd. had sales for the first quarter ended June 30 of $245.5 million, compared with $228.7 million for the same period in the previous year, the highest quarterly sales ever reported by the company. Earnings for the quarter were $273,000, down from $2.6 million in 1999. Castle Building Centres Group has been rolling out its installed sales program to its members. Called All-Install, it involves branding reno and repair services through the store, supported by select contractor customers. About half of Castle's 200-plus stores are offering installed sales, with more than a dozen adopting the All-Install program to date. Can-Save will host its annual Summer Buying Expo at its new warehouse in Barrie, ON on August 22. Dealer customers from across Ontario and the Maritimes are expected to attend a day of seminars, food, golf and entertainment. Rona Inc. has appointed Montréal-based BCP as its new ad agency. BCP will be responsible for all of Rona's advertising and promotional campaigns, business that's valued at $20 million. The agency will also handle the rollout of the Rona chain in Ontario. Sears Canada had revenues for the 13 weeks ended July 1 of $1.546 billion, compared with $1.403 billion last year, an increase of 10.2%. This marked the company's 12th consecutive record quarter for both revenues and earnings. Unaudited net earnings for the quarter improved by 15% to $45.9 million from $39.9 million last year. During the quarter, the company finalized its accounting for the acquisition of Eatons, which cost an estimated $180 million net of tax. The estimated value of the tax losses acquired exceeds the acquisition cost by $70 million. In the second quarter, $8.9 million was recorded in income. For the first half of 2000, Sears posted a profit of $69.4 million, compared with $57.1 million last year. Revenues were $2.981 billion, up 12% from $2.662 billion. According to a report from CBS, Paul Walters, "the highly regarded CEO" of Sears Canada, is considered the front-runner in the search for the next head of Sears Roebuck & Co. in the U.S. Current CEO Arthur Martinez will retire at the end of this year. Sears Roebuck owns 55% of Sears Canada. Wal-Mart Stores plans to add 50 new stores to the 95 it now operates in Germany and double its market share within three years, says a report in last week's Wall Street Journal. The possibility it might consider acquiring Metro AG, Germany's largest retail group, was not discounted by a Wal-Mart spokesperson.
  CANADIAN STOCK WATCH
COMPANY 52-WEEK HIGH 52-WEEK LOW CLOSE (FRI.)
       
Canadian Tire 43.40 18.40 22.20
Canfor 19.80 10.10 12.20
Goodfellow 12.55 8.75 10.30
Home Depot 70.00 35.75 57 1/8
Hudsons Bay 23.85 12.50 15.50
Lowe's Cos. 67.25 40.40 45 1/8
Sears Canada 42.50 29.00 33.30
Taiga Forest 14.75 8.05 8.40
West Fraser 41.00 28.00 30.50
    "I have made it a rule never to smoke more than one cigar at a time." - Mark Twain (1835 - 1910)
PEOPLE ON THE MOVE   Jay Gregg has moved over from Owens Corning Canada, where he served as marketing and communications manager, to become director of marketing, panel products for Longlac Wood Industries Inc. He is responsible for the company's finished and unfinished panel board business. (905-542-2700) Bob Kendall has been promoted to the position of general manager of Ipex HomeRite Products. He was formerly director of sales … Steve Barker has joined Ipex as national accounts manager - Canada. He will be responsible for developing the company's plumbing and electrical lines to the retail trade. He was formerly national accounts manager at Delta/Porter-Cable. (905-670-7676) Evergreen Building Materials has elected the following shareholder representatives to its 2000-2001 board of directors: Terry Elliott of Delroc Industries Ltd. is president; Stuart Joule of Irly Distributors Ltd. is vice-president; Claude Gingras of Coopérative Fédérée de Québec is treasurer. Evergreen is an umbrella buying group whose members comprise a group of LBM buying groups and co-ops. CLARIFICATION: Richard Friesen has in fact retired from his position as president of Cameron Ashley Canada. (905-677-4545)  
MARKET INDICATORS   Housing starts in the U.S. fell 2.6% in June, a result of rising mortgage rates and a slowdown in the economy, according to the U.S. Commerce Department. Housing starts declined to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 1.55 million last month, with a big drop in single-family home construction, which fell to a rate of 1.21 million. The level of housing starts in June declined to its lowest point since May 1998. Housing permits were unchanged in June after falling in four consecutive months.  
OVERHEARD...   "I think the buy-in was pretty significant. There is a recognition that installed sales is an opportunity and a good way to improve gross margins on building materials sales." - Dave Morton, marketing manager for Castle Building Centres Group. The group recently offered "All-Install University" to educate members about its new installed sales program.  
HARDLINES WHO'S WHO: Directory of Canadian Hardware & Home Improvement Retailers, Wholesalers, Buying Groups and Mass Merchants. This has become an industry standard. With more than 100 listings of the key companies in the country, including executives, buyers, sales and more. No salesperson should be without this little beauty in their briefcase. Third edition available in July.   HARDLINES INDUSTRY REPORT: HOME IMPROVEMENT RETAILING IN CANADA: Back by popular demand! This incredible report is a soup-to-nuts on how the home improvement business works in Canada. It tells who the players are, what the trends are, how the industry is responding to the big boxes, etc. It also updates home improvement and renovation spending and figures out just how big this business is! FIFTH ANNUAL HARDLINES MARKETING CONFERENCE: September 14, 2000. An incredible one-day symposium featuring some of North America's leaders in retail, including Home Depot, McMillan/Doolittle, Gardener's Supply, J&H Builder's Warehouse and much more! Expect about 200 retail and vendor executives to attend! THE WOMEN'S CONSUMER PRODUCTS NETWORK August 15: Breakfast meeting during the CGTA Show. Featuring the proven communication methods of Robin Kennedy, vice-president of Communicare. September 21: "Fully Alive From 9 to 5!" Featuring author Louise LeBrun. Details coming soon. Meanwhile, check out her website at: www.partnersinrenewal.com For more information about these events, please phone: (905) 212-3826; fax: (905) 274-7646; email:wcpn99@yahoo.com, or check out their website: www.wcpncanada.org  
Hardlines Classifieds   Got new products? Looking for new staff or lines? Hardlines Classifieds are read each week by North America's key decision makers in home improvement retailing and manufacturing. If you want to build your sales team or find new agents or new lines, this is the place! Only $16 per line. Call Beverly at 416-489-3396, ext. 2, for more details. * * * * * * * HARDLINES™ the electronic newsletter. www.hardlinesfax.com phone: 416-489-3396; fax: 416-489-6154. E-mail: buzz@hardlinesfax.com Michael McLarney, Editor & Publisher (extension 1): mike@hardlinesfax.com Beverly Allen, Marketing Manager (extension 2): bev@hardlinesfax.com Nancy Wright, Administrative Assistant: nancy@hardlinesfax.com Hardlines is published weekly (except monthly in December and August) by McLARNEYCOM 542 Mount Pleasant Rd., Suite 302, Toronto, Ontario, Canada M4S 2M7 © 2000 by Michael McLarney. Reproduction in whole or in part is very uncool and strictly forbidden and really and truly against the law. Call for information on a site license for your company. Subscription: $185+$12.95 GST = $197.95 (or $27.75 HST = $212.75) per year (GST #13987 0398 RT). (Please make cheque payable to McLarneyCom.)