Hardware industry shows continued strength

TORONTO — The retail hardware and home improvement industry remains one of the most buoyant retail sectors in Canada. According to the latest Quarterly Report from Hardlines, the industry grew by 5.8% in 2006. While depressed lumber and plywood prices hurt sales, housing starts continued to rise in 2006 and the repair and renovation market continued to grow. Together, these factors pushed sales by hardware and home improvement retailers to $38.88 billion. The continued growth also reflects the broadening of this industry to include a wider range of products — and store types. Last year marked the first year that Home Depot Canada began carrying flat-screen TVs, while dealers joining industry buying groups ranged from industrial/commercial dealers to modular home builders and door and window dealers. One of the fastest growing segments of Home Hardware Stores is its Home Furniture banner, which is being picked up by both stand-alone furniture stores and existing Home Hardware dealers. Over the past 10 years, the industry has more than doubled in size, from $18.4 billion in 1997. One out of 10 retail dollars spent by Canadians goes to repairing, renovating or decorating the home. To order the full report on the size of the industry, click here.

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Service will define Lowe's customer experience

TORONTO — Superior customer service will be the defining feature of Lowe's stores in Canada, the first of which are expected to open later this year. Speaking to an audience at the Retail Council of Canada's 2007 STORE conference, Lowe's Canada president Doug Robinson said that the retailer's lengthy entrance into the Canada market was due in part to its desire to take the time necessary to fully understand the Canadian consumer. That, says Robinson, has been achieved through talking to vendors and customers, and by joining associations such as the RCC (and reading Hardlines, natch ¬â¬€ˆ£ Editor.) Lowe's has so far confirmed four Canadian locations, all in Ontario: Hamilton, Brampton, Brantford, Belleville, and Toronto. Hardlines has confirmed a fifth location in Belleville (see pic). An additional 17 sites are being developed. Robinson said that the company hopes to have 100 stores eventually in Canada, but did not specify a time frame. Get the low-down on Lowe's at HARDLINES' Lowe's Information Seminar on Wed., June 20. For more info, click here.

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Canac-Marquis joins Mutual

Following its abrupt departure in May from the Independent Lumber Dealers Co-operative (ILDC), Canac-Marquis Grenier ltˆå¬©e., a Quebec-based retail distributor of hardware products with estimated annual sales of $270 million, has joined the buying group Mutual Hardware Inc. That will fill the space left by the recent departure from Mutual of Federated Co-operatives Ltd., the Saskatoon-based co-op wholesaler that has about 100 hardware/home improvement stores and generates $470 million dollars at retail. The group is leaving to join the industry's other hardware buying group, Spancan. Canac-Marquis Grenier currently has 15 stores, and another under construction in Sherbrooke. The company also recently opened a new 240,000-square-foot, full-line distribution centre. While Federated Co-op will hold off processing its sales through Spancan until the end of this calendar year, Canac will begin reporting sales to Mutual Hardware immediately.

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Activant buys Canadian retail services company

PORT COQUITLAM, B.C. — As part of an ongoing bid to broaden its reach across North America, technology provider Activant Solutions Inc. has acquired Silk Systems Inc., which provides computer software to the Canadian home improvement, wholesale distribution and building materials industries through its Silk Dimensions business. The move is part of Activant's three-pronged approach to further its reach in the automotive aftermarket, hardlines and lumber, and wholesale distribution sectors in North America. Activant will continue to support Silk Dimension's products for the foreseeable future, allowing its customers to maintain their current system, while accessing new offerings from Activant. "Hardware and home improvement centers, lumber and building materials and wholesale distribution are all key growth markets for Activant and are part of our larger corporate strategy of supporting customers across North America, including Canada," Pervez Qureshi, CEO of Activant Solutions, said in a prepared statement.

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