March 13, 2017 Volume xxiii, #11

If the path be beautiful, let us not ask where it leads.”
—Anatole France (French poet and novelist, 1844-1924)

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New products and services awaited Canadians at latest Orgill show

NEW ORLEANS, La. — At the recent Orgill dealer market in New Orleans, a number of new offerings, including a tool rental program, were either directed specifically at Canadian dealers or are now available to them.

The show always features model stores right on the show floor. There’s even one that’s tailored for the needs of the Canadian dealers who trek down to the show. This year, “Maple Ridge Home Centre” had a full inventory of Canadian-compliant products, as it has for the past few years, reflecting the Memphis-based wholesaler’s initiatives to develop a full inventory that would be available to Canadian customers and satisfy all laws concerning labelling and specs.

The store, which was 30% larger than previous iterations, benefitted from more space for three expanded departments: paint (which featured Valspar prominently), lawn and garden, and housewares. Also available: a rental department, enabling dealers to provide products that include lawn and garden tools such as tillers and power rakes, as well as power tools like heavy duty chop saws and grinders.

Brand new for dealers was POP on demand, a bin-tagging program that lets dealers use shelf signage that features the actual product picture for easy identification (and re-stocking) and even includes the store’s name.

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Home Depot listens to its customers to tweak the pro desk

TORONTO ― A new look for Home Depot’s contractor counter has actually done away with the counter altogether. Instead, the area for serving and checking out the retailer’s pro customers has been deconstructed into a series of smaller counters where each contractor can be served separately by a store associate.

It’s part of a “pro-centric” initiative launched late last year to serve contractors better, says Jamal Hamad, director of pro and tool rental for Home Depot Canada. The store where the innovations are being tested is the Home Depot on Caledonia in mid-town Toronto.

Other enhancements at the store include a closer review of the brands that appeal to pros and increasing the availability of job-lot quantities. In addition, the store has designated pro parking and special carts for pros. The checkouts, he says, offer “fast-lane” service for contractors.

As a result of these tweaks, the whole store has a more pro-oriented feel. “There’s a different vibe within that store as it relates to the pro,” Hamad adds.

“The pro customer has really evolved. A new generation of pro customers is coming up that are more digitally savvy. They’re really looking at their business differently.” The secret to staying close to those changes, Hamad says, is paying attention to their needs. “We’re listening,” he says very simply. “We’re 100 percent listening to the pros.”

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TIMBER MART’s Bernie Owens: buying groups will remain relevant

TORONTO ― Bernie Owens believes the buying group model is a good one that will continue to serve independents. The president of TIMBER MART notes that the groups in Canada, unlike their U.S. counterparts, “are not channel specific.” Groups here can have members that range from pro dealers and gypsum supply dealers (GSDs) to home centres and hardware stores.

“With us, it’s got its pros and cons—but more pros―that we have different segments, so if one slows down the others keep going.” He points out, for example, that alongside the traditional dealers in his group’s ranks, TIMBER MART represents the largest volume by GSDs in Canada.

But he’s very selective about which commercial dealers can join. And that directive goes for any member, for that matter. There’s no cap in size, he says, but “if it’s a well-run business and we have a fit in our group, we can sign them.”

He points to a larger affiliation, as well. TIMBER MART’s membership in yet another buying group, Spancan, gives his members access to a strong source of hardware supply. And in return he says his group can provide loyalty to drive volumes. “When a vendor wins it, he gets the business,” Owens says.

The relationship with Spancan keeps growing, he says. With that group, his members can negotiate vendor-direct programs. For fill-in and less-than-vendor-direct orders, he praises the role that hardware wholesaler Orgill provides.

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Lancaster expanding in Canada following Dynamic acquisition


CALGARY — Paint sundries distributor Lancaster Canada may have had a modest presence at the latest Buying Show of the Western Retail Lumber Association, but the 10-foot booth belied the clout of this company, which in the U.S. has a trade show of its own for its customers across North America.

Here, however, the company is gaining momentum following the acquisition by Lancaster’s parent company, The Merit Distribution Group, of Dynamic Paint Products, a 40-year-old family-owned distributor and manufacturer of paint sundries based in Toronto. The deal closed last summer when owner James Mumby agreed to sell the business.

The Dynamic business has given Lancaster a solid foothold in this country, with 3,400 Dynamic SKUs and production of its own. “Now we are national distributor of national-brand products that owns a manufacturing plant,” says Mark Mossman, national sales manager for Lancaster Canada (shown here on the left with Kelly McConnell, a Lancaster rep). Besides making products such as paint roller sleeves, Lancaster brings in product from China. The importance, he says, is to have a full range of products related to painting and finishing. “Our focus is on the big picture.”

Meanwhile, the company, through a team of 14 reps nationwide, is working to get its SKU count in Canada up to 8,000. The longer-term goal is to give Canadian customers access to the full range of 17,000 SKUs that Lancaster carries in its U.S. distribution centres, but these have to become Canadian compliant, including bilingual packaging, Mossman notes.

Lancaster has six warehouses in North America, and they now all carry the Dynamic line, which has become a house brand for Lancaster.

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CLASSIFIED ADS

FCL invites applications for the position of Saskatoon Co-op Home and Building Solutions (HABS) Division Manager located in Saskatoon, Saskatchewan.

The Saskatoon Co-op HABS Division Manager provides leadership, direction and support for the Saskatoon Co-op Home Centre team. This position will establish the vision, develop long term strategies, and foster a culture that is focused on exceeding customer expectations and delivering outstanding results to the organization.

To see a full position description and to apply directly, please click the following link to be taken to our career page: https://www.fcl.crs/careers/current-opportunities/job/HABS-Division-Manager-R1

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