June 11, 2018 Volume xxiv, #23

 “Fortune knocks but once, but misfortune has much more patience.”
— Laurence Peter (Canadian educator and management theorist who gave us the Peter Principle, 1919-1990)

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Top online sellers added to speaker roster for 23rd annual Hardlines Conference

WORLD HEADQUARTERS, Toronto — Three powerhouse sessions have been added to the 2018 Hardlines Conference, finalizing the roster of top-level speakers who will present at this national forum on November 13 and 14 in Niagara-on-the-Lake, Ont.

Ace Hardware in the U.S. made news last fall when it invested as the majority shareholder of an online retailer, The Grommet. Why would a dealer-owned co-op hardware chain, with deep roots in bricks and mortar, choose to buy a company that exists solely online? Delegates at the conference will hear from The Grommet’s co-founder and CEO, Jules Pieri. Under her guidance, The Grommet has launched more than 2,800 consumer products since 2008.

Anthony Stokan is a familiar name to past conference attendees. And no wonder: Stokan represents one of the keenest retail minds in the country. His firm, Anthony Russell and Associates, has been a major consultancy to some of the most ambitious shopping centre developments and retail initiatives of the past 20 years. Stokan has agreed to join us this year for a “fireside chat” about the future of bricks and mortar, and particularly what role shopping centres, now under siege in the U.S., will play as retail grows into the online space.

Finally, we are very excited to have eBay Canada join us again this year. Closing out the 2018 Hardlines Conference, Robert Bigler, COO and director of product for eBay Canada, will present “Staying Competitive in the Age of e-Commerce”. He’ll provide an overview of the e-commerce and retail landscape, demonstrating how eBay is innovating to create new experiences that are relevant to both buyers and sellers. Most important, Bigler will examine how online marketplaces play into omni-channel sales strategies for traditional retailers looking for a competitive edge.

The Hardlines Conference will be held at Queen’s Landing in Niagara-on-the-Lake, Ont., November 13 to 14. (Click here for more information about the 23rd annual Hardlines Conference.)

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Federated continues management re-org with promotion of Ron Healey as VP

SASKATOON — Federated Co-operatives Ltd. announced the appointment of Ron Healey as VP of agricultural and consumer business, effective July 3. He was formerly associate vice president.

In this new role, Healey will lead FCL Food, Crop Supplies, Fertilizer, Feed, and The Grocery People (TGP), while continuing to head up Home and Building Solutions. Healey began his career with Archer Daniels Midland Company as a grain merchandiser before joining FCL in 1998 as a retail sales coordinator in the Edmonton Region.

After taking a hiatus from the company to earn his MBA at the University of Alberta, he returned in 2002 as human resources manager for the Edmonton area. He moved to the company’s Saskatoon head office the following year, where he served in a series of roles, most recently as associate VP of ag and home.

The promotion comes less than a month after the appointment of Cody Smith to home and building solutions director, reporting to Healey. Smith has been with the co-op for the past 15 years in a variety of buyer roles, most recently as category development manager. He took over in his new position from Tony Steier, who retired at the end of April, after 40 years of service with the organization.

Federated Co-op is one of the Top 20 home improvement groups in Canada, with home improvement sales through its Co-op Home Centres exceeding half a billion dollars annually (source: the Hardlines Retail Report, being updated as we speak for release in just a couple of weeks. —Your ever-helpful Editor).

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Latest dealer conversions mark big wins for RONA as it ramps up recruitment efforts

NATIONAL REPORT — Recent announcements of the recruitment and expansion amidst its affiliated dealer base, along with new hires within its dealer development team, all point to a concerted effort by Lowe’s Canada to step up its dealer recruitment for its RONA banner.

Lowe’s Canada is currently hiring regional business development directors for every part of Canada:  Western Canada, Ontario, Quebec, and the Atlantic region. These reps will be charged with presenting the RONA and Ace banners as options for independents.

RONA’s approach to dealer affiliations tends to focus on larger retailers with multiple stores, which are willing to expand further, often with help from RONA itself. For example, RONA recently signed the five stores owned by Groupe Godin. Founded in 1979, Groupe Godin did belong to RONA before joining Castle Building Centres in 2010.

Quincaillerie Godin first opened in Namur, in the Outaouais region. Through expansion of existing stores and strategic acquisitions, including two Matériaux à Bas Prix stores in 2014, the chain has grown. Today, the company operates five home improvement centres, three of which are in Quebec and two in Ontario.

Insiders close to the deal indicated that RONA made a generous offer to bring Godin back into the fold. During the heydays of RONA’s expansion efforts under Robert Dutton in the early part of this century, some of the offers were legendary for their large size.

Late last year, Lowe’s Canada secured another affiliate dealer with multiple stores. Dennis Doidge, formerly with TIMBER MART, owns Doidge Building Centres Ltd. & Mahood Lumber Company Ltd., with six locations in Ontario. The stores range in size from 6,000 square feet to 16,000 square feet of retail with yards as big as 12 acres. Doidge cited a desire to expand his e-commerce business and the strength of RONA’s brand among his reasons for making the move.

The company has been actively working with existing affiliate dealers to expand and upgrade their stores. This spring, Vernon, B.C., and Leduc, Alta., were converted to RONA’s latest store format, and the company expects to convert eight more stores by year’s end. And most recently, Ray Cyr, president of Fraser Valley Building Supplies in British Columbia’s Lower Mainland, completed a $3 million expansion of his store in Hope, B.C. That store had been a corporate RONA outlet until Cyr bought it in 2017.

Along with the RONA program, Lowe’s Canada has been actively recruiting dealers for its Ace banner. It’s typically offered as an option for smaller stores. They are primarily hardware stores, but many have building materials, as well. The most recent Ace recruit was a Co-op store in Owen Sound, Ont., which also represented a milestone for the banner as the 100th Ace store in Canada.

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Lowe’s shift from methylene chloride puts pressure on paint stripper makers



SPECIAL REPORT — Lowe’s has committed to stop selling paint solvents containing chemicals that have been linked to deaths. The company announced May 29 that, by the end of 2018, it would no longer sell paint strippers with methylene chloride and N-Methylpyrrolidone (NMP).

Lowe’s already sells paint removal products that do not contain the chemicals, and “has plans to bring more options to consumers by year-end,” the company says. Since 1980, about 50 people in North America have died while using the product. The U.S. Environment Protection Agency proposed to prohibit the use of methylene chloride in paint removers in 2017, but later decided against a ban. The product is not banned in Canada, either.

Lowe’s Canada has confirmed that it “will indeed mirror Lowe’s efforts in the U.S. in phasing out paint removal products with the chemicals methylene chloride and NMP from its global product selection,” says Valérie Gonzalo, spokesperson for Lowe’s Canada.

The move has taken manufacturers by surprise. “Methylene chloride products are still safe to use, when taking necessary precautions,” says Sébastien Plourde, president of Super Remover in Granby, Que. His products, he notes, are clearly marked and instructions advise users to work in a well-ventilated environment.

For consumers, the stronger formulation of traditional strippers continues to be much more effective than more environmentally friendly alternatives. That alone may drive shoppers to other retailers besides Lowe’s.

Plourde says his company is “being proactive and is has been working closely with a university in the U.S. to introduce a new, safe product that is similar in strength to our product with methylene chloride.” He’s confident this new formulation will revolutionize the paint remover industry. However, final testing and processing of the new line is still some weeks out.
 
Nevertheless, Lowe’s Canada will go ahead with the move to eliminate products with methylene chloride. “Over the next few weeks, the products in inventory will progressively be removed from our shelves and we will update our planograms accordingly,” Gonzalo confirms.

“Lowe’s Canada currently has several paint remover alternatives without methylene chloride available today and has plans to bring more options to consumers by year-end.”

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TIMBER MART has promoted Alexandra Kazan, currently corporate messaging specialist, to the role of corporate communications manager. In addition to her current responsibilities of conducting media relations and producing corporate internal and external communications, Kazan will now manage and oversee all aspects of TIMBER MART’s communications and trade media advertising, including the media, messages, and strategies used by the organization. (Alexandra.Kazan@timbrmart.com)

At Empire Company Limited, with its wholly-owned subsidiary, Sobeys Inc., Lyne Castonguay has been promoted to executive vice president, store experience, responsible for store operations, distribution centres, and customer satisfaction across Empire’s traditional grocery banners outside Quebec. She previously served as EVP of merchandising for Sobeys. Until 2016, when she joined Sobeys, Castonguay held progressively senior positions with The Home Depot both in Canada and the U.S. She reports to Empire President and CEO Michael Medline.

Marshall Croom, CFO of Lowe’s Cos., has announced he will retire as of October 5. A 21-year veteran of the company, he will stay on after that date while a replacement is named to help with the transition period.

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CLASSIFIED ADS

Sales Territory Managers | Atlantic Canada

Regal Ideas is the innovative leader in Aluminum Railing and associated outdoor living products to the Canadian Home improvement Industry. We require experienced Building Materials Professionals to expand our sales team and drive sales growth across Canada. If you are a motivated and highly organized team player then we want to speak with you.

Please send resume and salary expectations to Marketing@regalideas.com and you will be contacted if qualifications are commensurate with our requirements.

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TIMBER MART is looking for a Sales Development Agent based in Langley, BC who will play an integral role in the following areas that support our dealers and customers:

* Establish and build strong relationships with our dealers and customers

* Promote the purchase and utilization of our products and services

* Actively pursue new business opportunities and strengthen our current ones

* Work with our sales team to meet and exceed monthly sales initiatives

* Conduct sales calls and store visits

* Communicate customer concerns, questions and ideas clearly

* Review monthly sales reports to identify opportunities

Qualifications:

* A minimum of 3 to 5 years’ experience in the building material industry

* Competency in Microsoft Office and basic computer skills

* A valid driver’s license and a clean abstract

* Business to Business (B2B) sales experience

* Purchasing experience

* Specific knowledge of the lumber and panel market

* Post-secondary education or equivalent experience

* Formal sales training

If you are a motivated team player who is looking for a challenging and rewarding opportunity, please forward your resume to hr@timbrmart.com.

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COMMODITY TRADER (#765ON)

About Home Hardware Stores Limited
Home Hardware Stores Limited is Canada’s largest Dealer-owned cooperative with close to 1,100 Stores and annual retail sales of over $6 billion.

Located near Kitchener/Waterloo, Ontario, Home Hardware remains 100% Canadian owned and operated.  Home hardware has received designations as one of Canada’s Best Cultures and Best Managed Companies and is committed to providing local communities with superior service and quality advice.

Responsible to the Commodity Manager for:

Marketing Wood Products to targeted Dealers.

Contacting vendors for up-to-date prices and trends. Providing analysis and input to Commodity Manager, determining when the time is right to buy.

Providing input on Block Buys and Commodity Offerings.  

Advising Home LBM Dealers on market conditions and assisting them in making buying decisions.

Purchasing lumber and sheet goods on behalf of the Home Hardware LBM Dealers in Ontario.

Purchasing lumber, sheet goods and allied products for the Kitchener LBM Distribution Centre.

Making outgoing sales calls to Dealers.

Inputting purchase orders and other records as required. Creating and running reports as required.

Qualifications:

Secondary School Diploma or equivalent with post-secondary courses in business and negotiation.
Five to ten years of retail and/or wholesale business experience.
Full knowledge of softwood lumber products.  Strong Eastern and Western mill connections essential.
Ability to analyze economic reports, commodity reports and information received from various industry sources, including those generated internally.
Highly motivated and able to problem solve.

Interested applicants, please submit your resume to Dayna Weber, Recruitment, Human Resources at hr@homehardware.ca.
Full posting available at www.homehardware.ca.
Phone: 519-664-4975
34 Henry St W, St. Jacobs, ON, N0B 2N0

*While we appreciate all applications received, only those to be interviewed will be contacted.

We will accommodate the needs of qualified applicants under the Human Rights Code in all parts of the hiring process.

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