June 22, 2015 Volume xxi, #25

“It is in love that we are made, in love we disappear.” —Leonard Cohen (Canadian poet, songwriter and novelist, 1934- )

______________________________________________________________________

AQMAT congress brings Quebec dealers and suppliers together

BECANCOUR, Que. — At a small resort hotel in Quebec’s central region, The 6th annual Decision Makers Conference by AQMAT, the home improvement industry association of Quebec, welcomed more than 100 people, including dealers, vendors, and service providers.

The highlight of the first day was the results of AQMAT’s latest annual survey of dealers in the province. Richard Darveau, president and CEO of the association, led delegates through the detailed findings of the research. The comprehensive survey measured everything from sales per store, per square foot, and per employee to dealers’ involvement in online sales.

And some of the results were surprising. Ninety-two percent of dealers said they have a point-of-sale system, which may seem high, but another 8% do not. Barely half of dealers surveyed stay open on Sunday (49%). That number is even less among smaller stores and for stores in smaller centres. Almost one-quarter of dealers said they are selling online, but e-commerce accounts for less than 3% of their sales.

From the standpoint of store operations, 14% of dealers said they had any kind of career plan for their key employees, while barely 5% have any plans for store renovations or improvements over the next three years.

The conference continued on day two with a presentation by HARDLINES’ own intrepid editor, Michael McLarney, who talked about the changes over the past 20 years in the industry that affected the fates of so many dealers that are no longer in existence. McLarney cited names like Pascal, Beaver Lumber, Lansing Buildall, Marchands Unis, Matèriaux à bas prix, and others, many of which were affected, either directly or indirectly, by the arrival of Home Depot and Walmart to Canada in 1994. He likened the effect of these U.S. retailers to the impact made by a giant asteroid that landed on earth 65 million years ago. It is believed to have dramatically disrupted the earth’s climate, causing the extinction of the dinosaurs.

Winning companies, he said, learned to focus on details of doing business that were not even considerations for most independents before the arrival of big boxes. Those details include strong marketing and promotion, sales training for staff, creating a strong in-store experience, and online marketing savvy.

back to top

______________________________________________________________________

______________________________________________________________________

Peavey Mart plans two more openings by autumn

RED DEER, Alta. — Peavey Industries plans to open two new Peavey Mart stores in the fall, in Strathmore, Alta., and Kamloops, B.C. They will join the 32 stores the company already operates across Western Canada.

The new 35,000-square-foot outlet in Kamloops is a part of the company’s goal of expanding in British Columbia—its only other shop in the province is in Dawson Creek, which has already been in the northeastern B.C. community for 40 years.

Based in Red Deer, Alta., where it has a 200,000-square-foot distribution centre, Peavey has stores that range in size from 10,000 to 35,000 square feet and feature a wide assortment of hardware, farm and pet, automotive, and home improvement products.

back to top

___________________________________________________________________

_________________________________________________________________

HBC CEO says bricks and mortar will remain important

TORONTO — As the largest employer in Canada, at more than two million people strong, the retail industry is grappling with how best to sell on a still-shifting landscape.

But Gerald (Jerry) Storch, the CEO of Hudson’s Bay Company, kicked off the Retail Council of Canada’s Store 2015 conference earlier this month with the declaration that the retail landscape hasn’t changed as much as has been previously reported. He recalls the early days of the internet and a lot of talk about how online retail was going to make the bricks-and-mortar stores redundant. While a few have fallen by the wayside over the years, even in the age of the internet, the vast majority of stores are still making money. And most of those transactions are happening in actual stores, rather than online.

He says that’s due to the fact that shopping is still an experience—a lot of times when people are bored or they just want to get out of the house, they go shopping. Physicality still matters; consumers still want to shop and interact with their purchases—a need best served in a bricks and mortar store.

But they have to be able to find your store. In one of STORE’s concurrent sessions, Steve Buors, the CEO and co-founder of Reshift Media, explained how crucial it is to have an updated and search-friendly website.

“When they look for you online, people want to go to your location,” says Buors. “That means they’re ready to buy. What will they find? What’s Google saying about you?”

While he says it may seem like the most obvious thing, it’s crucial that you have a website for each individual retail location (if you have multiple), complete with store information—especially your address.

Without key details like your address, your digital footprint will shrink in comparison to the other, more web-friendly competition out there.

The lesson? Retailers have to maintain a strong presence both online and in their bricks-and-mortar locations. The retailers that are doing it best are the ones that are constantly thinking about one thing: how to make life easier for their consumers.

“The internet is as much an opportunity as it is a threat for traditional retailers,” says Storch. “But we have to be aggressive.”

back to top

______________________________________________________________________

____________________________________________________________________

Canadian Tire CEO says more acquisitions possible

TORONTO — Buoyed by solid Q1 financials, including the highest quarterly same-store sales in 10 years, Canadian Tire Corp. remains on the lookout for acquisitions, says its president and CEO, Michael Medline.

Same-store sales in all retail divisions were healthy, despite being historically the company’s “smallest quarter.” Same-store sales were up 4.7% for CTR and 5.5% for its apparel division, Mark’s. But the hottest growth was within Canadian Tire’s sporting goods group, which saw same-store sales up 8.6% in the first quarter.

Growth in sporting goods has been stoked by rapid growth through acquisition, most famously of Sport Chek from Forzani Group in 2011. Along with Mark’s, which the company bought in 2001, Canadian Tire began a program five years ago to increase the strength of those brands and increased sales have followed. With that in mind, says, Medline, the company would consider other acquisitions if it found a retail brand that had good consumer acceptance and potential for growth.

back to top

____________________________________________________________________

FROM THE ARCHIVES: This week in 1995

Home Depot Canada’s hottest outlet; Henkel Canada buys up LePage’s Canada; Sears and Eaton’s exit the sporting goods business as category killers Sport Chek and Sportmart gain ascendancy; and Home Depot managers are becoming millionaires thanks to the company’s stock and bonus plans. Click here to read this blast from the past yourself!

back to top

___________________________________________________________________

CLASSIFIED ADS