June 5, 2017 Volume xxiii, #23

“No act of kindness, no matter how small, is ever wasted.”
—Aesop (Ancient Greek storyteller, c. 620-564 B.C.)

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Lowe’s Canada CEO urges retailers to engage staff as well as customers

TORONTO — Lowe’s Canada CEO Sylvain Prud’homme spoke at last week’s annual convention of the Retail Council of Canada. His message, made in front of about a thousand retailers and retail service providers from across Canada, outlined a strategy that involves everything from the power of the customer over the retail transaction to making hand tools in outer space.

Understanding the customer’s shopping process and lifestyle choices figured large, of course, but Prud’homme actually led off by talking about employee engagement. “Retail will experience about 35% employee turnover on average every year,” he noted. That means 10,000 new staff for Lowe’s Canada each year. “How do we get better at retaining those new employees?”

He talked about finding people with the right skill sets, then creating an environment in which they have the autonomy to function effectively.

Of course, the changing habits of today’s customer remain a challenge—and an enigma—for any retailer. Prud’homme pointed out that technology, especially mobile applications, have accelerated the rate of that change, and made customers more connected than ever. “They actually control their purchase experience, and that is something new for us. They can pick and choose the experiences they need.”

How to win these customers over? He outlined three approaches: listening, learning, and adapting. “And we do it in real time,” he added.

He also warned about the fickleness of shoppers, and how online use only exacerbates that trend. That’s why Lowe’s has been so aggressive about expanding its online presence, to offer “a seamless presence” to customers across digital and bricks-and-mortar realities.

“Your customer is only one click away from shifting their business away from your store,” he warned.

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New U.S. owner pledges support to Tembec following takeover

MONTREAL — After announcing its friendly takeover of Tembec last month, Rayonier Advanced Materials vowed to “come to bat” for the Quebec-based forestry firm in the U.S.-Canadian softwood lumber dispute. The pledge provides some welcome reassurance in what is the latest in a trail of out-of-province and international acquisitions of Quebec companies over the past decade.

“We'll be supportive of whatever works best for Quebec, Ontario, and our position here,” Rayonier Chairman and CEO Paul Boynton told reporters. The $807 million acquisition doesn’t affect the countervailing duties imposed by the U.S. on Canadian softwood lumber, but Tembec CEO James Lopez said Rayonier’s size and capital will help to offset the costs associated with them.

Assurances that Tembec’s Montreal headquarters will be kept intact didn’t fully assuage Unifor, the labour union that bargains for 900 Tembec workers. “We are concerned that the headquarters of Canadian operations in Montreal will have only a minor role in the direction of the company's operations,” said Unifor's Quebec director, Renaud Gagné.

Meanwhile Roger Gauthier, president of the union’s Local 233, was cautiously optimistic. “They’re going to want to make our pulp just as good as their standard pulps,” he said in an interview. “I think for the town that’s going to be positive.” Still, Gauthier admitted to concerns about the Canadian business’s autonomy under the new owners.

Quebec Premier Philippe Couillard expressed his reluctance to intervene in a deal already agreed upon by the companies’ respective boards. Responding to questions about the Tembec sale while on a mission to Israel, the premier said that “when the two boards of directors decide in a consensual way to conclude a transaction, they must be allowed to act.” Yet the province’s corporate brain drain continues to be a touchy subject, emblematic of the divide between Couillard’s free trade-oriented Liberals and their nationalist opposition.

Rayonier’s acquisition adds Tembec to the list of firms sold out of province in recent years, including RONA, the iconic Saint-Hubert restaurants, the Groupe Uniprix pharmacy chain, Cirque du Soleil, and Alcan Aluminium. The loss of Saint-Hubert to Ontario-based Cara Operations, which owns Swiss Chalet, struck a particularly populist chord, while the Parti Québecois unsuccessfully sought to block the sale of RONA inc. to Lowe’s before that deal was completed last spring.

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Canadian Tire’s Canvas brand caters to hip, young shoppers

TORONTO — Canadian Tire’s preview of its spring Canvas line reflects the company’s commitment to reach a younger, hipper demographic.

This season’s showcase was in line with current design trends. In addition to the increased blurring between the indoor and outdoor looks, colours, patterns, and textiles play a major role in the décor on offer from Canvas. Black and white, terra cotta, and rose-gold touches blend together to create a hand-crafted theme. 

“Part of the Canvas brand is being able to tell the whole mix and match story,” says Tracy Platt, brand design & development manager, consumer brands for Canadian Tire.

That mixing and matching includes the natural-looking, yet durable tables, chairs, rugs, and outdoor accessories. And beyond the basic patio components, displays incorporated traditionally indoor accessories such as mirrors and the currently fashionable succulent plants, as well as lanterns and table centerpieces.

Another fun trend on display was pineapple-themed accessories. The tropical fruit, now experiencing a surgel in popularity, which Canadian Tire has picked up on, made appearances everywhere—from pillow patterns and patio umbrellas to fruit-shaped string lights and ceramic knick knacks.

For its line of textiles, Canadian Tire again commissioned a Canadian graphic designer to create a series of four cushions. The colourful offerings from Avril Loreti, a Toronto-based designer, are also water-, stain-, and UV-resistant. “Which is great,” Platt says. “Because you can leave them outside and they’ll stay just as vibrant and bright.”

She adds that working with designers is something she and her team feel strongly about, and having the hand-drawn look for their textiles helps set the line’s accessories apart, while still integrating well with the basic seasonal pieces on offer.

“We’re really working on being able to tell that whole decorating story,” says Platt. “That’s what Canvas is all about.”

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Hand tool inventor wins patent suit against Sears


CHICAGO — A federal jury has found that Sears and supplier Apex knowingly violated a patent with its Craftsman locking wrench. LoggerHead Tools, a father-and-son enterprise, filed a complaint five years ago over the product’s resemblance to its Bionic Wrench, which Sears ordered from LoggerHead from 2009 until the 2012 launch of Craftsman’s own Max Access Locking Wrench.

Now Dan Brown Sr. and his son have been awarded $6 million in damages for the copying of their product. Stanley Black & Decker bought the Craftsman line this year, but the tools are still sold at Sears stores.

“You don't often see David in the David vs. Goliath battles win,” Dan Brown Jr. told the Chicago Tribune. “It's a huge win for small businesses, small inventors, and people who think if they have a great idea they should be able to bring it to the market and not be crushed by a corporate giant.”

The Browns’ lawyer, Paul Skiermont, observed that small entrepreneurs, when they have the means to pursue large corporations at all, often settle intellectual property disputes for “pennies on the dollar.”

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Luc Lemonde, National Director, Dealer Sales at RONA, has informed us he has retired. His last day at Lowe’s/RONA was May 26.

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