WINNIPEG — The Western Retail Lumber Association (WRLA) has announced it will be moving its annual trade show to Winnipeg in 2021.

The show will be hosted in Winnipeg in 2021, 2022 and 2023. Next year’s show will be held one more time in Calgary’s BMO Centre, from January 22 to 24.

“We feel it is important for the WRLA to engage with all of its members from Western Canada, to provide venues that present new business development opportunities and experiences that will also help to expand the industry community,” says WRLA President, Liz Kovach. “Winnipeg offers a great combination of location and services that will bring enormous value to the membership attending the annual show, while enhancing the community feel of the event, as well.”

The show had its start in Regina in 1994. After two years, it was moved to Saskatoon, where it resided for the next 18 years. It was relocated again in 2015 to its current home in Calgary.

Kovach stresses that the change was made with input from the industry. “We are excited about the move as it will provide an opportunity to freshen up the show and provide vendors the opportunity to expand their customer base.” And given the huge geography her association represents, a fresh location makes sense, she adds.

“So far the feedback is positive. People like the idea of moving every few years and, from our perspective, we see the niche that each location has to offer to help keep the show fresh.”

Proposals from Calgary, Edmonton, Saskatoon and Regina were considered before the WRLA settled on Winnipeg as the show’s next host city. The association is currently working with Economic Development Winnipeg to help support the transition.

ST. JACOBS, Ont. — Amidst ongoing change at the upper management levels and a recent shakeup of its hardlines buying team, Home Hardware Stores Ltd. has made a strategic realignment of its LBM merchandise manager roles. Susan Ryan has been appointed to the newly created position of merchandise manager, millwork, and Mark Pardue has been promoted to merchandise manager, building materials.

Ryan joins the company with more than 20 years of millwork experience at RONA and Lansing. Prior to his appointment, Pardue was Home’s merchandise manager for LBM, Ontario. Both individuals report to Merchandise LBM Director Doug Shantz.

“We believe that this realignment will serve to enhance our strong national and regional LBM merchandise programs, optimize our supplier partnerships and enable us to execute on our vision to be Canada’s most trusted and preferred home improvement retail brand,” said Marianne Thompson, VP of merchandise LBM.

This shuffle is just the latest in a series of changes transforming Home Hardware’s senior executive and buying teams. That includes the hiring of Thompson herself, who only joined the company in January. As both a company outsider and someone from the vendor side, her appointment was an indicator that Home Hardware was prepared to make significant changes under the direction of President and CEO Kevin Macnab, who took the helm last autumn.

Barely a month ago, Home Hardware reshuffled its hardlines buying team. Brian Straus and Dave Martin were appointed as directors, merchandise hardlines, with Richard Sweeney and Mike Morin named merchandise managers, both reporting directly to Martin.

MISSISSAUGA, Ont. — In a time when traditional retail is barely flat—volume growth in the retail home improvement industry in 2018 was just ahead of the rate of inflation—while online sales grew 22% last year, how can retailers truly measure the performance of their traditional retail footprints?

According to Doug Stephens, the “Retail Prophet”, stores can actually help retailers cut through the clutter of messages and products that exist online. As digital gets “crowded and noisy”, the challenge of breaking through that clutter increases. He spoke late last month at the Retail Council of Canada’s annual STORE conference.

“How do digital sellers insert their message in that crowded marketplace?” Stephens asked his audience during the opening keynote. The answer, he said, is in those stores. The metrics of how many impressions a store makes on people who come in can be multifarious, ranging from exposure to new products and project ideas to meaningful interaction with store associates.

Stephens went on to note that many of the functions performed by staff in a store can likely be replaced by artificial intelligence (AI), but these will be limited to tech duties and routine jobs. Staff must be enabled to be brand leaders and storytellers for one’s store. They are the ones who will create the customer engagement that will make coming into a store a worthwhile experience.

MISSISSAUGA, Ont. — The online experience should not be distinct from a retail store. It’s all part of a journey by the customer to find the right product for their needs.

That was just one of the observations that Shawn Stewart, VP, loyalty and customer insights at Canadian Tire, shared at the Retail Council of Canada’s annual convention, held late last month. He was part of a panel moderated by Paula Courtney, product founder at consumer insights company WisePlum.

Courtney asked Stewart what customer interaction with the Canadian Tire website looks like. He explained that it can range from web browsing by a consumer looking for information—for a purchase that may happen days or weeks out—to someone frantically trying to buy a shovel in the midst of a big snowstorm.

A big hurdle for Canadian Tire as it tested digital shopping was how to sell a product online while including the local associate dealer in the sale. The solution has been found in the increased visits and add-on sales that online sale can generate for the associate dealer. As buy online, ship to store has become a wider reality, dealers enjoy the added traffic from those online customers coming into their stores—where they typically buy more once they’re there.

Canadian Tire has been investing heavily in its e-commerce platform in recent years, rolling out a deliver-to-home program six months ago. Online sales had a hand in driving the company’s first-quarter results.

Stewart fully expects online to become an integral part of the customer experience, one that ties in with the offering and features of bricks and mortar. He says the online window can draw people to the store for a meaningful experience, where they can touch and feel products, benefit from the expertise of associates and get exposed to Canadian Tire’s wide range of home brands.

(We’re super excited to announce that both Paula Courtney of WisePlum and Shawn Stewart of Canadian Tire will join us at the Hardlines Conference, November 13 and 14 at Kingbridge Centre near Toronto. Courtney will conduct a “fireside chat” with Stewart to help us understand the challenges and benefits of good data collection through loyalty programs. Click here for more info about the conference!)

EAB Exchange-A-Blade has added two territory managers to its sales team in Canada. Heather Rodman joins the company as territory manager for Sudbury and Northern Ontario, bringing with her more than 20 years of experience in outside sales in the consumer goods retail industry. Gerry Deagnon is the new territory manager for Southern Alberta and the Kootenays. His experience includes 22 years in power tool and power tool accessories sales.

Derby Building Products has named Perry Smyth as retail territory sales manager, Ontario. In this role, Smyth will manage the growth of Derby’s Novik brand of exterior cladding to home improvement dealers in the province. Smyth brings more than 15 years of experience to the Novik sales team, including time as territory manager for Nestle and Coca-Cola.

...you can read our sister publication, Hardlines Home Improvement Quarterly, online? This magazine gets mailed to 11,000 dealers and managers across the country four times a year. But you can access back issues of HHIQ anytime on our website—and they go all the way back to 2013. Check them out here!

BOUCHERVILLE, Que. — La Coop Alliance officially opened its new BMR store in Saint-Georges, Que., last week, the result of a merger of two BMR stores in the town. The new location has a clean storefront design with a large window to give customers a sidewalk view of the interior. A designated space has been set up to make in-store pick-ups easier for online orders.

BOUCHERVILLE, Que. — In time for Father’s Day, Lowe’s Canada is adding 300 new products to its Craftsman tools and accessories. The new assortment includes a larger selection of key Craftsman lines such as mechanics’ tools, pliers and wrenches, levels and squares, hand saws, hammers, screwdrivers, electronic measuring tools, mitre saws and outdoor power equipment. It also includes new categories like garage organization, air compressors and cordless pneumatic nailers. The products are produced under license by Stanley Black + Decker and sold exclusively in Canada through Lowe’s Canada’s various banners.

HOFFMAN ESTATES, Ill. — Sears has cut the ribbon at the first three stores under its new Sears Home & Life banner. The smaller-format stores range in area from 10,000 to 15,000 square feet and omit apparel categories in favour of a focus on appliances, mattresses, tools and smart home products. The new stores are in Lafayette, La.; Overland Park, Kan.; and Anchorage, Alaska.

BOUCHERVILLE, Que. — Lowe’s Canada presented $1.13 million to Children’s Miracle Network and Opération Enfant Soleil following its second fundraising campaign. From March 24 to April 30, Lowe’s, RONA, Reno-Depot and Ace Canada corporate stores and participating affiliate dealer stores collected donations from customers to support 14 children’s hospitals across the country. The company also participated in the Opération Enfant Soleil telethon in Quebec and the B.C. Children’s Hospital Foundation Miracle Weekend telethon in British Columbia.

ISSAQUAH, Wash. — Costco had April net sales of $11.67 billion in May, an increase of 5.9% from $11.02 billion last year. For the 39-week year to date, net sales reached $111.56 billion, up 8.0% from $103.26 billion. Comparable sales for the month were up 4.2% and up 6.3% year to date.

SUPPLIER NEWS

VANCOUVER — West Fraser Timber has announced temporary production curtailments during which all mill activities will be curtailed for one week in June at five B.C. sawmills: Chetwynd, Quesnel, Williams Lake, Smithers and Fraser Lake. The company cited sustained weak pricing in global lumber markets and high log cost in making the decision. Lumber production is anticipated to be reduced by approximately 30 million board feet.

ECONOMIC INDICATORS

U.S. construction spending remained unchanged in April as homebuilding activity fell. Government spending on public infrastructure offset the decline in home construction. April’s lack of movement follows on a slight uptick of 0.1% in March. All told, spending in the private sector fell 1.7%, the largest decrease in six years. It was the fourth consecutive monthly decline for residential construction. (U.S. Commerce Dept.)

OVERHEAD

“The idea of lining up people at cash registers is an outdated one.”
—Doug Stephens, retail analyst with Retail Prophet, on the need to arm store employees with mobile checkouts increase the ability of staff to effectively represent a store’s brand. He spoke at the recent STORE convention in Toronto.