|
March 28, 2016 Volume xxii, #13
“The world is a book, and those who do not travel read only a page.”
—Saint Augustine (early Christian philosopher and patron saint of brewers and printers, 354-430)
______________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________
Lowe’s gives preview of spring and summer assortments
TORONTO — Reflecting more emphasis on the female customer, Lowe’s Canada offered a seasonal preview recently of what’s in store for spring. That included pushing the range of products beyond the traditional lawn and garden furniture and outdoor power equipment. Case in point: a sideboard to accompany the barbecue and provide a full-line kitchen outdoors.
There was lots of emphasis on accessorizing with outdoor décor items, including pillows and throws. In fact, everything on display at this event would be available at a Lowe’s store this spring, except the dishes—and even those are coming next year.
The move overall is upscale: “As time goes by, we want to be stepping it up a notch,” said Cindy Jardim, director of styles and trends at Lowe’s Canada. “Overall, we’re offering a higher price point” on a number of items, with no opening price point at all. That includes flexibility of installation, such as a patio fire pit that can use either wood or accommodate a gas insert.
Jardim was especially eager to show off a backyard gazebo, which she labelled the “ ‘she shack,’ for mom’s half of the yard.”
back to top
______________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________
Provincial association plays role in achieving Quebec reno tax credit
MONTREAL — AQMAT, the hardware and building materials industry association in Quebec, has welcomed the Quebec government’s announcement of a tax credit to stimulate the renovation market. The leadership of the organization, which was heavily involved in lobbying the provincial government on this issue, described itself as “happy, but not sated” with the RénoVert program.
The program offers a 20% reimbursable tax credit up to $10,000 on expenditures exceeding $2,500 related to home repairs and renovations. The credit is applicable to professional contracts settled before April 1 of next year. “We were really happy with the tax credit and with the Quebec budget generally, as it offered a number of ways to help retailers, including money set aside to help them catch up on their e-commerce expertise,” said AQMAT President and CEO Richard Darveau.
He added that his association worked with the builders’ associations and the green movement in Quebec to push the renovation tax credit through.
AQMAT however continues to push for a permanent tax credit without a dollar cap and sees this as a model that can be rolled out to the rest of Canada. “The residential owner should be able to count always and when needed on the best possible conditions for fixing a problem with their home or adding value to it,” Darveau stressed.
back to top
___________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________
Orgill pushes integration of Canadian DC
MEMPHIS — U.S. hardware wholesaler Orgill, Inc. has been converting systems and operations at its facility in London, Ont. The distribution centre was the home of Chalifour Canada before its takeover by Orgill earlier this year. Now, it’s in the process of being converted to a full-line DC for Orgill—its first in Canada.
“What we’ve had to do is get the systems together so they could talk to each other,” explains Ron Beal, president of Orgill. “So the next step is to get the assortments combined, so that over the next few weeks everything we ship in Canada will be through the London DC.”
Beal notes that many Canadian vendors are already suppliers to Orgill and will ship directly into London, as will a number of U.S. suppliers that previously shipped product to Orgill’s Inwood, West Virginia, facility. Meanwhile, the company is working to ensure that retail customers don’t miss out on products that were formerly available from Chalifour. “Our goal is to transfer everything to London.”
The London DC’s transition to the Orgill platform is “ahead of schedule,” says Beal, which means it can communicate now with Orgill’s U.S. operations. The next step will be to integrate London with dealers’ own POS systems.
back to top
______________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________
Vendors will meet top e-retailers at first-ever eRetailer Summit
TRUMBULL, Conn. — Top retailers in hardlines, housewares, and building materials are lining up to be part of the first-ever Home Improvement eRetailer Summit, October 26 to 28, 2016 in Fort Lauderdale, Fla.
The eRetailer Summit is a top-level conference for industry-leading companies doing business online. The range of North American retail leaders that have committed to the Summit is impressive: the iconic Sears.com; storage and organization retailers The Organizing Store and Organize-It.com; HSN, which was ranked number 25 in the Internet Retailer Top 500 Guide; BuildDirect.com, which ranked number 195; and SupplyHog.com, a fast-growing seller of building and renovation products.
The eRetailer Summit will provide a forum for these eRetail leaders to share their vision and objectives with a select group of vendors, who will get face time and the chance to share strategies. The intimate environment of the eRetailer Summit will help all sides work better together to optimize the internet as a distribution channel.
“The response to the invitations extended to retailers has been extremely positive,” said Sonya Ruff Jarvis, Manager, Jarvis Consultants, who is mounting the event in partnership with Hardlines Inc. “This Summit was developed directly from customer feedback and the response shows that this event clearly fills a void in the marketplace. We’re proud to offer an environment for these retail leaders to share their goals for increasing online sales with select supplier partners.”
Home Improvement vendors specifically interested in expanding their online presence and learning more about how to optimize the internet as a distribution channel can contact Sonya Ruff Jarvis; or contact Beverly right here at the World Headquarters.
back to top
____________________________________________________________________
CLASSIFIED ADS
Senior director – Business development
Under the supervision of the CEO, the candidate selected will assume the following responsibilities:
- Creating and contributing to the implementation of strategies to develop the hardware and LBM market (Quebec, Ontario, Maritime Provinces);
- Making sure our dealers receive a high-quality service and maintaining a high level of loyalty;
- Optimizing and developing marketing on the territory (analyzing market studies to optimize store localization, participating to store expansions and acquisitions, etc.);
- Managing and mobilizing a team of advisors, merchandisers and customer service clerks;
- Monitoring and developing the sales of Groupe BMR;
- Contributing to the improvement of the corporate image of Groupe BMR stores;
- Other related duties.
Required skills:
- Client oriented
- Business development
- Strategy development
- Leadership and courage to take action
- Persuasion skills
- Good judgement
- Ability to motivate and mobilize a team
- Ability to monitor performance indicators
- Interpersonal communication skills
Must have:
- Excellent knowledge of the retail market
- Great IT skills: MS Office Suite
- Bilingualism: Mandatory
Training and experience:
A combination of:
Bachelor's degree in business administration or the equivalent, and a minimum of 10 years of experience in the retail industry.
Groupe BMR offers a competitive total compensation package
Please email your candidacy at the following address: rh@bmr.co.
Thank you for your interest; however, only selected candidates will be contacted.
|
