With last week’s announcement of cuts to staff and systems at RONA inc., the company continues to make changes. Following the elimination of 500 positions nationwide, including 200 head office positions in Boucherville, Que., and the planned rebranding of its Lowe’s stores (more on that next week—Editor), RONA has a new boss.

The appointment of Andrew Iacobucci (shown here) to the role of CEO was unveiled just one day after the cuts were announced. Prior to joining RONA, Iacobucci was executive vice-president and chief commercial officer at US Foods, a food distribution company based in Rosemont, Ill. Before that, he spent 10 years at Loblaw Cos. Iacobucci’s appointment takes effect in July.

Iacobucci will live in the Boucherville area, where he will work at the head office alongside the other members of RONA’s senior leadership team. He’s been brushing up on his French and, by the time his nomination becomes effective in July, he will have completed a four-week immersion at a language school in Quebec City to better interact with employees and customers.

Iacobucci will replace Garry Senecal, who had a brief tenure as interim CEO. Senecal started work at RONA in March, one month after Sycamore Partners closed the RONA acquisition. He replaced Tony Cioffi, who had been at the helm since January 2022.

Before joining RONA, Senecal was also at Loblaw. He spent almost a decade with the grocery retailer, most recently as president of its market division. (He didn’t even update his LinkedIn profile with details of his contract at RONA! —your observant Editor.) He will stay on until the end of the year to ensure a smooth transition.

Home Depot warns shareholders to reject offer from Canadian investment firm

Home Depot issued a notice last week advising shareholders to reject a “mini-tender” offer from a Canadian investment firm. TRC Capital has tendered an offer that’s almost five percent below Home Depot’s recent trading price, which the retailer considers unacceptable.

TRC Capital’s bid is for less than five percent of Home Depot’s outstanding common stock, thereby avoiding many disclosure and procedural requirements of the SEC in the U.S. and securities regulators in Canada. Bidders making mini-tender offers don’t have to file any documents with the SEC or provide withdrawal rights to investors who tender their shares.

TRC Capital, based in Toronto, has an ongoing strategy of making offers that are 4.5 percent below current trading prices, and below the SEC threshold of five percent of overall shares. It made a bid for Lowe’s Cos. in 2016. TRC has made similar mini-tender bids in recent months for ScotiaBank, PayPal, BMO, Capital One, Procter & Gamble, and Disney.

The strategy can catch shareholders off guard, driving them in some cases to accede to the bid under the belief that they need to sell off. The mini-tender bids can also allow sellers to avoid brokerage fees, which makes the lower offer price more attractive. The company then hopes to trade the shares on an open market for a high price closer to the actual trading price. In some cases, the very act of making the mini-tender can drive the share price up even more.

In fact, TRC’s strategy is so consistent that the companies it has vied for have issued a standard format press release for warning their investors to reject the offers.

New banners fill home décor and housewares space as retail brands depart

The departure of Bed, Bath & Beyond from Canada is just the latest casualty in an ever-evolving retail shuffle in that category. However, as quickly as they disappear, other retailers move in to fill the void. In BB&B’s case, Canadian Tire stepped in to assume a dozen of the leases at various locations across the country. Soon after, another group announced it is taking over at least 21 former Bed, Bath & Beyond locations—and possibly as many as 30—after that chain entered bankruptcy protection.

Putman Investments—already an operator of multiple retail brands—will launch a new retailer called rooms + spaces. Putman Investments is an Ancaster, Ont.-based company that already owns Toys “R” Us, Sunrise Records, FYE (For Your Entertainment), HMV UK, and T. Kettle (formerly Davids Tea).

Homewares brand Fox Home has made its Canadian debut with a 4,000-square-foot retail space in Toronto’s Eaton Centre. Its offerings include kitchen, tabletop, textiles, bathroom, and decoration categories. Seven more stores in Toronto-area malls are planned by the end of the year. Locations at Yorkdale Shopping Centre, Fairview Mall, Square One Shopping Centre, and Sherway Gardens are slated to open by the end of next month.

Burrow is a relatively new company that is digitally native—and going after the home space in a big way with furniture and accessories. Its head office is in New York and its Canadian office is in Vancouver. Stephen Kuhl (shown here), with business partner Kabeer Chopra, established the company in 2017. Their business plan was to design and package furniture that could be delivered by mail and assembled easily.

“What if we could design all the furniture to ship in the mail?” Kuhl tells Hardlines. While he observed that some companies are already doing something similar, he asks: “Then why not design better?”

Burrow relies on good design that is modular even after assembly, he says. A line of outdoor patio furniture features powder-coated stainless steel and aluminum parts. The components can easily be pulled apart for storage. “It’s about as durable as you can make outdoor furniture.”

Greater Montreal-based BMTC Group is streamlining its previous multi-banner approach, consolidating all its furniture and appliance stores, including former Brault & Martineau and EconoMax outlets, under the Tanguay brand. In making the announcement last month, the company also revealed it is opening 11 new Tanguay stores, including locations in Montreal, Gatineau, and Sherbrooke.

Retail hates a vacuum, and the movement among many players, especially post-Covid, is seeing even more players come forward to provide products for the home renovation and decoration markets.

In the bid to make bricks and mortar stand out amidst growing online sales, retailers will have to be willing to adapt with new strategies, says Retail Prophet Doug Stephens.

Stephens was the keynote speaker at the recent STORE conference held by the Retail Council of Canada. He stressed the importance of capturing a customer’s attention as an ongoing and daily challenge. But capturing that attention then means providing a memorable experience, so that the customer will be able to recall the interaction.

That edict is increasingly important, he notes, as so many retailers are getting into new categories. “Every retailer could sell everything,” he says. “For example, Home Depot sells shoes; Loblaws sells tools.” With so much blurring of the lines, having a convenient location and a reasonable price-value equation are not enough. They are no longer the sole metrics that retailers need to abide by.

What is the retail experience supposed to be today? “Most retailers think only of the ‘look’—but the sense of sight accounts for only 20 percent of a customer’s experience,” Stephens says. By focusing strictly on the visual, “you’re leaving about 80 percent on the table.” The customer experience is actually much more holistic than that, and should include smell, sound (music), taste, and touch.

Stephens addressed another important tool that is becoming a crucial part of every marketer’s kit: delivering a message about a company by telling stories effectively. Know who you are and focus on your story. Retailers that can tell good stories can achieve legitimate “earned” media coverage.

“If we want to extricate ourselves from the daily grind of competition, this is the way to do it.” Experience, he says, equals content. But once you start, don’t be afraid to make a meaningful commitment. “And go all in!”

At Lowe’s Cos., Quonta (Que) Vance has been named EVP, pro and home services. He reports to Lowe’s chairman and CEO Marvin Ellison. Vance most recently served as Lowe’s SVP, transportation and final mile. He has more than 25 years of retail experience and leadership roles with store operations, merchandising, and supply chain working with Lowe’s, Home Depot, and Target.

DID YOU KNOW...?

... that this year’s Hardlines Conference will be held in Whistler, B.C.? And that members of the BSIA of British Columbia have access to special pricing for the conference of almost one-third off regular registration? No, we are not making this up! It’s going to be an amazing combined event, as our friends at the BSIABC will host a table-top trade show for its supplier-members. (Click here for more details or contact Michelle Porter at Hardlines.)

RETAILER NEWS

Beachburg TIMBER MART, a building supply store in the Ottawa Valley region of eastern Ontario, has new owners. Run by the Lumax family since it was founded 55 years ago by the late Russell Lumax, the store has transitioned to dealer-owners Matt and Carrie Gagne, both 33, a local couple with a family of four.

Canac will invest $20 million to open a 40,000-square-foot store in Sorel-Tracy, Que., Le Journal de Montréal reports. An August groundbreaking is planned for the new outlet, with a timeline to open next spring. Canac made it known in March that Sorel-Tracy would be the site of its 34th store. The retailer is also set to open a fulfilment centre on Quebec City’s south shore in September, which will position it to make deliveries to the region with fewer bridge crossings.

EPLS Home Hardware Building Centre in Arviat, Nunavut, has moved into a new home thanks to a financing partnership with Royal Bank of Canada. CEO Ryan St. John’s father Don founded the store some 50 years ago, facilitating the provision of building supplies to the fly-in community.

The Home Depot has made some staff cuts, according to 11alive.com, an Atlanta news service. “Due to changes in our business, we eliminated a very small number of non-store roles,” the retailer said in a statement.

Zak’s Home Hardware in Saskatoon celebrated its grand opening at the end of May. Dealer-owner Wyatt Zacharias purchased the former Reid’s Home Hardware, which dates to 1953, earlier this year.

Michelle Gerard and Allen Chen, dealer-owners of Neepawa Home Hardware Building Centre, celebrated the ribbon-cutting of their new store in Neepawa, Man., on May 24, the Brandon Sun reports. The 24,000-square-foot store includes 15,000 square feet of retail space as well as a drive-through and a warehouse.

IKEA Canada has launched “Kreativ,” an AI-generated experience intended to enable customers “to fully integrate design solutions and visualize their own living spaces.” IKEA Kreativ uses 3D mixed-reality technologies to help customers visualize how home furnishings will look and function in their homes. They can browse and preview IKEA products in 3D showrooms. The core technology was developed by Silicon Valley AI company Geomagical Labs, which IKEA Retail acquired in 2020.

SUPPLIER NEWS

EAB received the Washington State Recycling Association’s 2023 Recycler of the Year Award for business. The award was presented at WRSA’s 43rd Annual Conference and Trade Show at the Yakima Convention Center in Yakima, Wash. The WRSA is a non-profit membership organization dedicated to supporting waste reduction, reuse, recycling, and composting in the state.

ECONOMIC INDICATORS

The annualized pace of housing starts declined 23 percent in May to 202,494 units, from 261,357 units in April. The rate of urban starts fell 24 percent, with 182,842 units recorded in May. The Vancouver (-45 percent), Toronto (-28 percent), and Montreal (-35 percent) areas all recorded declines. All three recorded increases in single-detached starts that were offset by large decreases in multi-unit starts. (CMHC)

U.S. housing starts logged a 21.7 percent surge in May. That followed a 2.9 percent decrease in April. Building permits for the month were up 5.2 percent. (U.S. Commerce Dept.)

U.S. retail sales rose unexpectedly in May. Sales were up by 0.3 percent last month following a 0.4 percent increase in April. LBM and garden categories logged an increase of 2.2 percent, attributed to home renovations. (U.S. Commerce Dept.)