The Hardlines Conference in 2023 will have a fresh look—and a new location. This year, the annual summit for industry retailers and executives is moving to Whistler, B.C., on Oct. 17 and 18.

Working closely with the Building Supply Industry Association of British Columbia, the Hardlines Conference will be held at one of the most stunning locations on the planet—the luxurious Fairmont Chateau Whistler resort, located at the base of Blackcomb Mountain. There we will welcome upwards of 200 dealers, retail executives, suppliers, and service providers to learn, get inspired, and network.

And if that isn’t reason enough to add this event to your calendar, the lineup of speakers who have already confirmed is guaranteed to make this a must-attend event.

Speakers confirmed so far:

• Jean-Sébastien Lamoureux, Senior Vice President, RONA Affiliates, Wholesale and Public Affairs
• Geneviève Gagnon, President, Gagnon La Grande Quincaillerie, Evolution Distribution and Evolution Structures
• Cody Smith, Director of Home and Building Solutions, Federated Co-operatives Ltd.
• Jim Inglis, Retail Consultant, former Home Depot executive
• Dr. Kyle Murray, Acting Dean of the University of Alberta School of Business
• Zaida Fazlic, Vice President, People and Culture, Taiga Building Products Ltd.
• Peter Norman, Vice President and Chief Economist, Altus Group
• Dan Tratensek, COO and Publisher, North American Hardware and Paint Association

The conference will also be the scene for the industry’s Outstanding Retailer Awards, which honour the best of Canada’s hardware and home improvement retailers from coast to coast.

With the involvement of the BSIA, the Hardlines Conference will co-locate with a mini-trade show, the BSIA New Product Showcase, offering a platform for suppliers and other vendors to present their newest innovations. The association will host its members in Whistler to honour the BSIA Orion Award winners as well.

“After attending many successful and enriching Hardlines Conferences in central Canada over the past years, we are excited to be working with the Hardlines Team in Whistler this year,” said Thomas Foreman, president of the BSIA of British Columbia. “We look forward to offering our west coast members an opportunity to join this informative and worthwhile national event.”

This year’s conference will feature some welcome traditions. The RONA Pub Night will take place Oct. 16, the night before the conference begins, to welcome delegates. The Home Hardware Cocktail Reception will precede the Outstanding Retail Awards Gala on Oct. 17.

(The 27th Annual Hardlines Conference will be held at the Fairmont Chateau Whistler resort Oct. 17 and 18, 2023. As a Faithful Hardlines Subscriber, you can use the code HARDLINES23 to get 20 percent off registration! Register here!)

BMR Group’s strength boosts 2022 sales at parent company Sollio

Sollio Cooperative Group held its 101st annual general meeting last month at Quebec City’s Centre des congrès. Hardlines was on the scene as Sollio’s top executives presented a summary of the co-op’s annual report. Sales of $8.9 billion in 2022 were up $1 billion from the previous year. A posted loss of $337.5 million loss was wider than the $21.5 million loss in 2021.

Olymel, Sollio’s food business, in particular faced challenges from a labour shortage and a backlog of hogs awaiting slaughter. The resulting outsourcing to external abattoirs added to the division’s costs. At the same time, the reopening of restaurants in many locales during the year mitigated against those impacts.

While Sollio’s Ag division swung from a loss to earnings of $19.6 million, the biggest strength of the co-op in 2023 was at BMR, which logged its best results in 55 years. Earnings soared to $53.8 million, a $25.6 million increase from $28.2 million in the previous fiscal year. Higher sales, resulting from increased commodity prices, contributed to what Sollio president Ghislain Gervais called “an excellent year for BMR.”

Sollio CEO Pascal Houle said BMR has fulfilled the aspirations that the company, then known as La Coop fédérée, had when it acquired the chain in 2013. Houle himself joined BMR that year as vice president, retail, rising through the ranks until he was named CEO in 2015. He has held that role with the parent company since 2021.

“When the co-op bought BMR in 2013, the main target was to diversify the co-op,” Houle told Hardlines. “It was really important in 2013 and it’s really important now.”

Alexandre Lefebvre, Houle’s successor as CEO of BMR, agreed that “the crisis we experienced over the last year with pork highlighted the need to diversify, and BMR brought that diversity.” He underscored that Houle “comes from the BMR family; it’s very close to his heart.”

Updated & Corrected: Remerchandising, refurbs at UFA Farm & Ranch stores

(We ran a story on UFA last week that contained factual errors. We have corrected and updated the story here. Hardlines apologizes for the errors and any confusion they have caused. —Editor) With 34 stores in Alberta, UFA Farm & Ranch Supply has made keeping those stores up to date an ongoing mission. And this year, the co-operative is remodelling three of its outlets—in Stettler, Airdrie, and Fort Saskatchewan.

“Our customers can see we’re investing in the business and supporting the communities we serve,” said Glenn Bingley, the company’s vice president of agribusiness and supply chain.

Bingley stresses that the newest changes are more than tweaks, calling them “transformational.” The remodels include investments in new millwork, flooring, and lighting.

Another important part of the business for UFA’s operations is its cardlocks. Unlike the farm and hardware stores, which are in Alberta only, the co-operative has been expanding their presence in Saskatchewan with several additional petroleum locations as part of a multi-year strategy, Bingley says.

Meanwhile, the focus for the Farm & Ranch Supply stores is on remodeling and investing in their existing store network, and expanding assortments through product line reviews. In Red Deer, the retailer is locating the existing store and implementing a new build, a 16,000-square-foot outlet with 12,000 square feet of retail space on six acres. A chem shed will also be located on site, as well as a three-bay drive-through warehouse. “We are excited about the new location,” says Bingley.

The site will also include a cardlock that will feature state-of-the-art, high-speed pumps with clear and dyed fuel, wide lanes, DEF, and Dieselex Gold, UFA’s exclusive premium diesel offering.

Members and customers will be able to access the new Farm Store and Cardlock, conveniently located in Gasoline Alley in the southwest corner of the city, accessible for drivers travelling either way on the QE2 and those on the west side coming from Highway 2A.

Construction on the project will begin this year, with an anticipated opening in late 2024. During construction, the current Farm & Ranch Supply store will remain open. Once the new site opens, it will be closed, but the Bar W office and shop will continue to operate from the current location, as will UFA’s current Cardlock.

Will the Farm and Ranch stores follow the cardlocks into Saskatchewan? “Not at this time, but we definitely see expansion potential,” Bingley says.

Princess Auto is adding more stores this year to its network of hardware and automotive outlets across the country.

The privately-owned Winnipeg-based retailer has a store opening in Abbotsford, B.C., slated for the spring. It will be the seventh location in British Columbia. “It’s great to be able to serve our B.C. customers with another store,” said Marc-André Fournier, senior vice president, global sourcing, at Princess Auto (see People on the Move, below). “Abbotsford's main industries are agriculture, transportation, and manufacturing. We’re happy to bring our unique assortment of products to serve those industries in Abbotsford and the surrounding communities.”

Catering to everyone from tradespeople to hobbyists, home mechanics and DIYers, the Abbotsford location will be 43,090 square feet in size.

The western expansion efforts follow Princess Auto’s additions to the Quebec market with an opening in Sherbrooke in the fall of 2022. An upcoming opening in Chicoutimi is scheduled for March 14. Those will be Princess Auto’s fifth and sixth locations in that province. The other Quebec stores are in Saint-Jérôme, Laval, Saint-Hubert, and Lévis. In fact, the Saint- Jérôme store was the retailer’s first in the province. Built in 2019, it was recently expanded with the addition of another 5,000 square feet of space.

In northern Ontario, a 35,000-square foot store has been erected in Sault Ste. Marie (shown here). It is also going to open March 14. Princess Auto now has over 50 stores across the country.

Doug Anderson, CEO of Peavey Industries, has been recognized as a winner of the 2022 EY Entrepreneur of the Year awards in the Prairies region. This annual award aims to recognize businesses that are leading in the areas of economic vitality and confronting challenges to improve the world.

Diana Windsor has been appointed senior vice president, sales for Blanco North America. She will lead all strategic and operative market activities for the company in Canada and the U.S. Windsor has more than 13 years of sales and management experience in the plumbing industry. Prior to joining Blanco, she was at Waterworks and held multiple senior roles at Watts Water Technologies and at Kohler

Chris West has been named president and CEO of Mega Group, the co-op buying group based in Saskatoon. While he was most recently at Lowe’s Canada in the role of SVP merchandising, his background includes roles at a number of European retail chains, plus stints at Walmart Canada and Canadian Tire.

DID YOU KNOW...?

... that the latest episode of the Hardlines podcast series What’s In Store has gone live? This time, we talk to Eri Mathy, head of business development and transformation at IKEA Canada. She shares her thoughts on IKEA’s omnichannel strategy, the impact of the pandemic on the meaning of home, and the retailer’s new smaller store concept. Sign up now to listen to these great insights from one of the world’s most successful retailers—and get updates on each new podcast!

RETAILER NEWS

RONA has added to its affiliated dealer network with the acquisition by an existing affiliated dealer of a new location in Quebec. Ducharme et Frère inc., owned by Philippe Mayrand, has purchased RONA Farnham, a corporate store in Farnham. With this acquisition, Mayrand becomes the owner of three RONA affiliated stores in the Montérégie region. Ducharme et Frère inc. was established in 1905 with the opening of its first store in Saint-Césaire. The third location is in Saint-Pie.

Lowe’s Cos. reported Q4 net income of $957 million, compared to $1.21 billion in the comparable period of 2021. Revenues of $22.45 billion were up from $21.34 billion in the previous Q4. For the full year, the company reported operating income of $6.4 billion on sales of $97 billion.

Gypsum Management & Supply Inc. reported third-quarter net sales of $1.2 billion for fiscal 2023, an increase of seven percent from the comparable period of 2022. Favourable pricing for wallboard and ceiling tiles was partially offset by declining single-family construction demand. Adjusted net income was $78.3 million, compared with $76.5 million in the previous Q3.

Target reported Q4 sales of $31.4 billion, while same-store sales edged up by 0.7 percent. For the full fiscal year, revenues rose by $3 billion to $109 billion. Operating income for the year came to $3.8 billion, down 57 percent from $8.9 billion in 2021.

SUPPLIER NEWS

Taiga Building Products reported Q4 sales of $400.8 million, down slightly from $412.5 million a year earlier. The decline was largely attributed to lower selling prices on commodity products. Earnings for the quarter amounted to $9.7 million compared to $10.3 million in the previous Q4. For the full fiscal year, sales of $2.19 billion were down by one percent from $2.22 billion, while earnings fell to $88.6 million from $92.7 million.

Registration is now open for exhibitors at the International Hardware Fair in Cologne, Germany, in 2024. Vendors looking to expand their markets can take advantage of advance pricing to get a spot at one of the world’s largest hardware and tool shows. The show specializes in the following product segments: hand tools, power tools and accessories; workshop and factory equipment and industrial supply; protective equipment; fastening and fixing technology; building and furniture fittings; interiors and furnishing; sanitary ware and fittings; chemical products; building materials, elements, and accessories and outside structures; automotive supplies and accessories; smart home; and industry services. Click here to register, or contact North American rep Kym Selph, sales and project manager for the event, 312-546-3957. The International Hardware Fair runs from March 3 to 6, 2024, in Cologne, Germany.

Canfor Corp. reported a Q4 sales decline of 12.6 percent to $1.37 billion. Adjusted earnings for the full year were $880 million. In announcing its results, the company also stated it “does not see a path forward” to resuming operations at its Taylor, B.C. pulp mill and is exploring other potential uses for the site.

ECONOMIC INDICATORS

Sales of new U.S. homes rose by 7.2 percent to an annualized pace of 670,000 units in January. That was the highest level since March 2022. At the same time, December’s preliminary estimate of 616,000 units was revised upward to 625,000 units. On a year-over-year basis, sales were down 19.4 percent. (U.S. Commerce Dept.)

OVERHEARD...

“Offering a welcoming environment where everyone feels safe and included has always been a priority.” —Marc Macdonald, SVP of human resources at RONA inc., after the company was named one of Montreal’s Top Employers for the third consecutive year. The ranking, created by Mediacorp Canada, has assessed firms since 2006 on a range of criteria from work atmosphere and benefits to community involvement.