|
May 11 , 2015 Volume
xxi, #19
“Advice is seldom welcome, and those who need it the most, like it the least.” — Philip Stanhope, 4th Earl of Chesterfield (British statesman and diplomat , 1694-1773)
______________________________________________________________________
Kent plans another big box store
KENTVILLE, N.S. — Kent has purchased land and put through a proposal for a big box Kent store on a 15-acre site that will include a small commercial development. However, the vulnerability of the land has many locals up in arms.
Kent’s parent company, J.D. Irving, has agreed to a buffer of 16 acres to protect the Kentville ravine, an ecologically sensitive area in the Annapolis Valley that is the site of some old-growth hemlocks and other species that are reportedly at risk.
Kent, which has been steadily expanding in recent years, has for the most part been focusing on more traditional building centres that range from 35,000 to 50,000 square feet in size. But in July 2014, the company opened a 100,000-square-foot big box in Charlottetown, its first large-format store in Prince Edward Island and its first big box format store in almost two decades. Kent now has 43 stores, of which eight are big boxes, with estimated sales of more than half a billion dollars (source: Hardlines Who’s Who Directory ) .
Kent originally opened seven big boxes in the mid-’90s to head off potential expansion by then-newcomer Home Depot, which was busy expanding in Central Ontario. But Kent abandoned its big box strategy for many years in favour of opening more traditional building centres.
The Charlottetown Kent store, however, is one of a number of large-surface home improvement stores springing up in Canada: last month, Home Depot Canada opened it second store this year after a hiatus of three years, and RONA has re-opened two stores, under the Reno-Depot name, that had been closed more than a year earlier.
back to top
______________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________
Canadian Tire, Walmart to take over Target Canada sites
TORONTO — Canadian Tire Corporation and Walmart Canada have both made deals to take over properties formerly held by Target Canada. Canadian Tire will acquire 12 leases in a deal worth $17.7 million. Walmart is assuming 12 leases, buying one site outright and acquiring a 1.4 million-square-foot distribution centre in Cornwall, Ont. That deal is valued at about $165 million.
The newly acquired Canadian Tire locations are: one each in Halifax and Moncton, three in Quebec, two in Ontario, one in Manitoba, and four in British Columbia. The sites will add approximately 400,000 square feet of retail space to Canadian Tire Retail’s store network. Walmart intends to spend another $185 million renovating its stores and DC.
This is good news for Target, whose efforts to exit this country have been almost as beleaguered as its entry just two years previously. A court filing just a few days before the Canadian Tire announcement indicated that Target Canada had been unable to find suitable bidders for 55 of its sites, which would be returned to their landlords. The company, which went into bankruptcy protection in January, had operated 133 stores before they shut them all down.
According to Michael Medline, president and CEO of Canadian Tire, his company has been tracking certain Target properties for some time. He adds the ones chosen fit strategically and financially into CTC’s store network. They also represent a significant push into British Columbia. Walmart’s expansion will give it a greater presence across the country, and especially in B.C. and Quebec.
The Canadian Tire locations are: Bayers Lake Power Centre, Halifax; Northwest Centre, Moncton; Place Alexis Nihon, Montreal; Place Versailles, Montreal; Les Carrefours Rimouski, Rimouski, Que.; Aurora Centre, Aurora, Ont.; Sudbury Super Mall, Sudbury, Ont.; Grant Park Shopping Centre, Winnipeg; Driftwood Mall, Courtenay, B.C.; Tamarack Shopping Centre, Cranbrook, B.C.; Village Green Mall, Vernon, B.C.; and Hillside Centre, Victoria.
The Walmart Canada store sites are: Scottsdale Mall, Delta, B.C.; Coquitlam Centre, Coquitlam, B.C.; Surrey Place-Central City, Surrey, B.C.; Haney Place Mall, Maple Ridge, B.C.; Southdale Centre, Winnipeg; Guelph, Ont.; Bayshore Shopping Centre, Ottawa; Billings Bridge Plaza, Ottawa, Pen Centre, St. Catharines, Ont.; Candiac Power Centre, Candiac, Que.; Terrarium Shopping Centre, Pointe Claire, Que.; Galeries Chagnon, Levis, Que.; and Place Fleur De Lys, Quebec City.
back to top
___________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________
At 70, National Hardware Show features many changes
LAS VEGAS — Kicking off with a high school marching band, the National Hardware Show drew attendees from around the world, including a strong contingent of retailers and vendors from Canada, with retailers from Home Hardware, Home Depot Canada, Amazon.ca, Kent, and more represented . The three-day show ran May 5-7 at the Las Vegas Convention Centre.
It was the 70th anniversary for the show, which featured new products, seminars on new trends, plus networking. As in years past, the focal point for Canadians attending was the “Maple Leaf Night” reception hosted by the Canadian Hardware and Housewares Manufacturers Association, which drew buyers of all stripes to network with CHHMA member vendors.
A recurring topic of discussion was the size and layout of the show this year. The North American Retail Hardware Association’s “NRHA Village” moved its presentation stage from the entrance of the show to the middle of the show floor, offering the audience information and advice about understanding different generations, how to make the most of mobile technology and more.
The show also featured multiple curtained-off areas provided by NRHA for independent retailers to sit down and have their own meetings.
The South Hall was expanded over two floors, with a special area for new exhibitors on the second floor. On the show floor, the newest event was a three-day digital auction. The auction comes from collaboration between the National Hardware Show and RNO Exhibitions and includes the sale of hundreds of product lots, including new, overstock, discontinued, and seasonal products.
back to top
______________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________
Big boxes face scrutiny for unsafe flooring
SPECIAL REPORT — Now that an investigation into the safety of Lumber Liquidators’ products is under way, public scrutiny has broadened to include big box retailers’ flooring.
Multiple federal agencies are investigating Lumber Liquidators due to reports that some of the company’s laminate flooring contains unsafe levels of the chemical formaldehyde. Now public concern is inspiring questions about flooring sold by Lowe’s and Home Depot.
Lowe’s initially responded to the allegations by saying its laminate comes from “the most reputable, well-known, and trusted U.S.-based flooring companies,” according to Bloomberg Business. But just days later, both Lowe’s and Lumber Liquidators have cancelled any further orders from China for the flooring.
Retailers next faced pressure from consumers about the chemicals found in some of their vinyl flooring. Ortho-phthalates have been linked to asthma, birth defects, learning disabilities, reproductive problems, liver toxicity and cancer. Home Depot was the first to announce it would discontinue by the end of 2015, and now Lowe’s has announced it will phase out the chemicals by year’s end, as well.
back to top
____________________________________________________________________
Alberta dealer wins Young Retailer Award
LAS VEGAS — The evening before the National Hardware Show opened, the North American Retail Hardware Association recognized its 2015 Young Retailer of the Year winners, including a winner from Canada: Heather Kreffer, owner of High River Home Hardware Building Centre in High River, Alta., was awarded in the category of stores over $2 million in sales.
____________________________________________________________________
FROM THE ARCHIVES: This week in 1995
The mid-’90s saw a lot of consolidation at the local and regional levels across the country. Many long-time family-owned businesses disappeared during this time. HARDLINES reports here on the acquisition of Fairbank Lumber, a traditional lumber yard with a small sales counter and a large back end, by Alpa Lumber, which has become the largest dealer in the Greater Toronto Area. Also in this issue: another traditional yard, Dominion Coal, tries to exploit the growing seasonal business with the addition of another garden centre. Click here for this week’s blast from the past!
back to top
___________________________________________________________________
CLASSIFIED ADS
LM2 Marketing, a 20-year-old Manufacturer’s Rep Agency, is looking for a Sales Representative for Central Ontario/GTA. Sales background within Hardware, Paint and Industrial markets would be an asset. Please send resume to Rlepine@LM2.ca
______________________________________________________________
|
