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June 23, 2014 Volume
xx, #25
“The most dangerous strategy is to jump a chasm in two leaps."
―Benjamin Disraeli (British politician and writer, 1804-1881 )
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TIM-BR MART and Ace terminate their relationship
CALGARY — TIM-BR MART Group has announced to its members that it will no longer support the Ace banner program. According to letters sent out to its dealers on June 19 by TIM-BR MART president Bernie Owens, the move comes from dissatisfaction with Ace International, through which the partnership has long been structured.
The deal ends August 31. After that time, TIM-BR MART Group will no longer purchase Ace related products, or provide Ace programs and services.
“For some time we have been unhappy with that relationship,” says Owens in the letters. “Efforts to make it more functional have been unsuccessful.” However, the letters indicate that Ace, which is based in Oak Brook, Ill., actually made the first move. It sent a notice to terminate the commercial relationship with TIM-BR MART earlier this month. TIM-BR MART in turn issued a notice to rescind and cancel the deal from its end.
Owens declined to comment on the move.
TIM-BR MART dealers get product from Ace International, which handles all Ace dealers outside the U.S. After establishing a distribution centre in Shanghai in 2006, it began shipping import product to TIM-BR MART dealers in Canada, as well as serving Ace dealers in more than 60 countries worldwide.
The version of the letter sent to TIM-BR MART dealers that carry the Ace banner did not shut the door on future options, however: “If you wish to renew your association with Ace, naturally you may do so directly.”
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Nelson Lumber joins Sexton Group
WINNIPEG — Sexton Group Ltd. continues its strategic growth vector with the addition of a key former TIM-BR MART dealer, Nelson Lumber Company. Nelson Lumber joins Winnipeg-based Sexton Group effective July 1.
Nelson went into operation in Lloydminster, Alta, in 1949, and under its founder Ray Nelson was one of the original members of TIM-BR MART when that group started in Vancouver in 1967.
Since its inception, Nelson has grown into a major lumber and building materials retailer and component manufacturer in Canada, with a strong manufactured housing business. Today, under current president Dennis Patterson, Nelson Lumber has five retail locations throughout the province, plus four truss plants and two locations producing manufactured housing.
This is actually the second time Nelson has joined Sexton. A number of years ago it joined Sexton; then, nine years ago, under then-president Brian Holterhus, Nelson Lumber and its sister company SRI Homes Inc. rejoined TIM-BR MART Group.
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RONA completes overhaul of Réno-Dépôt stores
BOUCHERVILLE, Que. — RONA inc. has completed the transformation of its 16 Réno-Dépôt stores in Quebec. The process, which began in January, required an investment of more than $20 million and generated 300 jobs across the province. The last stores to be transformed as part of the banner’s repositioning were in Brossard, Candiac, Quebec City, Beauport, and Sainte-Foy.
“The repositioning of the Réno-Dépôt stores has led to a quick upward sales trend for the banner,” says RONA president and CEO Robert Sawyer. “This is why we advanced the schedule and completed the transformation of all our stores in just six months, rather than the 12 months initially planned."
What differentiates the new Réno-Dépôt concept is a focus on brand-name products, a new procurement policy to ensure that products remain in stock, and a redesign of the store’s interior to widen aisles and lower sight lines, better signage and more staff. “The enthusiastic response of consumers and, in particular, professionals and contractors has prompted plans to introduce this business model elsewhere in Canada, beginning in 2015,” Sawyer says.
To support the new-look stores, a new advertising campaign has been launched in the Quebec City region. The campaign centres around remaking hockey history, which the company calls “the opportunity to rectify the biggest mistake in Quebec City’s hockey history:” a goal scored by the Quebec Nordiques’ Alain Côté against rivals the Montreal Canadiens in an historic game in 1987 that was disallowed. The ad campaign reunites Côté with Michel Bergeron, former coach of the Nordiques, and Kerry Fraser, the referee who disallowed the goal.
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Lowe’s launches in-store “Holorooms”
TORONTO — Lowe’s Canada has introduced Lowe’s Innovation Labs and the first concept to come out of the lab, the Lowe’s Holoroom. Lowe’s created Lowe’s Innovation Labs to build new technology to solve common consumer frustrations while working alongside start-ups, universities, specialized professionals and other companies.
The Lowe’s Holoroom is a home improvement simulator which applies 3-D and augmented reality technologies to provide homeowners an intuitive, immersive experience in the room of their dreams.
“We know that for many homeowners, the struggle to visualize a completed home improvement project or to share that vision with others can stop a project in its tracks,” said Kyle Nel, executive director of Lowe’s Innovation Labs. “The Holoroom is our solution, enabling consumers to visualize their project and share that vision with family and friends.”
The Lowe’s Holoroom will be introduced in select Toronto stores in 2014, and equipped with thousands of products to help customers plan a bathroom remodel. Additional product categories and rooms will be added to the Holoroom to help plan projects throughout the home over the next 12 to 18 months.
A customer will begin by choosing their preferred products before viewing and experiencing those products in the Holoroom. While in the Holoroom, they can make changes to the room design or finalize their plan. A take-home printout will allow customers to view a 3-D model of their room at home, and share the model with family and friends, by downloading a free app available on iOS or Android devices.
“We use the power of science fiction narratives to predict future possibilities and explain complex technologies in a way everyone can understand,” said Ari Popper, founder and co-CEO of SciFutures.
“Using this science fiction prototyping process we collaborated with Lowe’s to see the world could look like, and their determination to bring that vision to life led to the Holoroom,” Popper adds.
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Canadian Tire updates its online sales strategy
TORONTO — Canadian Tire Corp.has finally rolled out online sales, with a system of buying online and picking up the order in-store.
The challenge for Canadian Tire, one that is being faced by other groups such as Home Hardware, is how to generate sales from a corporate level online and then push those sales—and customers—into the local stores, all of which are independently owned.
Consequently, there is no option for home delivery, at least not for now, on products ordered online from canadiantire.ca. The program is called "Pay & Pick Up."
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Classified Ads
Fusion Products Limited
General Manager
Fusion Products Ltd. is a leading supplier of landscape lighting to North America retailers, with head office in Mississauga, Ontario. We are seeking a dynamic individual to fill this role.
You will report to the owners and:
- be responsible for successfully directing all facets of our business.
- have a financial background, hr experience and strong leadership style.
- have industry sales experience to manage key accounts, a sales team and client base to achieve sales and financial goals
- be familiar with supply chain management, Asian factory import experience and product development skills.
Experience required:
- Post secondary education in Business and/or equivalent experience,
- 3+ years operational experience at an equivalent level
- Strong distribution experience in the hardlines channel,
- Strong organizational, interpersonal and computer skills,
- Vendor and third party contract management experience,
- Ability to travel,
- desire to exceed customer expectations
Competitive compensation package is offered. To apply for this exciting opportunity, please send your resume and cover letter to: zaf@fusionproducts.ca
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Sales Manager (French Speaking) in Shawinigan, Quebec
Experience Required:
- 5+ yrs of Managing Sales Organization & Account Management
- 5+ yrs of management experience
Knowledge of Regional Accounts in Canada
Distributor & Account Management
- Experience
Regional Sales & Account Strategy Development
- Proficient in Microsoft Word, Powerpoint, and Excel
- Preferred: Paint related experience
Education Required: College Degree; University Preferred
Travel Required: Yes – 75%
Apply online at: http://careers.sherwin-williams.com/jobs/17733
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National distributor of wood, metal and automotive
machinery and accessories. Seeks an experienced
TERRITORY SALES REPRESENTATIVE
for British Columbia
Ideal career opportunity for an agg\ressive,
self-motivated individual with excellent interpersonal
and communication skills.
Please forward cover letter and resume to:
Ted Fuller
E-Mail: tfuller@kingcanada.com
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