May 2, 2016 Volume xxii, #18

“There's only one corner of the universe you can be certain of improving, and that's your own self.”
— Aldous Huxley (English writer, novelist, philosopher, and grandson of the scientist Thomas Huxley, 1894-1963)

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Ace Canada opens new store in Alberta market

SUNDRE, Alta. — The Ace banner continues to gain traction across Canada with the opening of a new Ace Hardware store last week in Sundre, Alta. This latest store opened with the help of owners Tom and Marty Mennear and the store’s manager, Barkley Carrier.

Nestled in the foothills of the Rocky Mountains, north of Calgary, the store has been designed to reflect the needs of this community, offering everything from home maintenance needs to an extensive array of high-quality products in categories such as paint and lawn and garden.

The Ace banner, which is licensed in Canada by RONA inc. (and soon to be part of Lowe’s Canada, pending finalization of the takeover by the Competition Bureau), is proving a good fit for many dealers. Ace Canada has signed or converted 60 dealers in the past year. Another store is set to open later this month in Caledon, Ont.

Local response to the Sundre store has been positive, including one customer who said, “I’ve never been to a store so helpful, lots of staff to help with my project and needs. They’ve really done this right. What a great vibe.”

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Home Hardware’s new VP reinforces branding message at latest market

ST. JACOBS, Ont. — While new products and new vendors were the main draw at the latest Home Hardware Market, held recently at its head office distribution centre in St. Jacobs, Ont., the reinforcement of Home’s culture and values were reinforced, as well.

That included an overview of marketing initiatives to boost the Home Hardware brand, courtesy of Rob Wallace, marketing & public relations manager at Home Hardware Stores Limited. He noted that promotion and advertising, including TV ads featuring dealers themselves, help reinforce that Home Hardware dealer-owners are part of the fabric of Canadian life. The ads are an important part of the messaging, “to keep the Home Hardware brand front and centre with Canadian consumers.”

Also new for Home is its vice president of marketing and sales, Rick McNabb, who was introduced to the dealers at a rally on the second day of the show. McNabb joined the co-op effective March 7 of this year, after working at the food service company Cara Foods, most recently as COO of Harvey’s-Swiss Chalet.

“I’ve obviously got a lot to learn about this category, because it is different,” McNabb admitted. But, he added, he grew up in the home improvement business: his dad worked for Aikenhead’s Hardware, which was owned by the same group that owned Beaver Lumber, and he worked at Beaver during school. More recently, he helped out his brother, Gary McNabb, who owns the Home Hardware store in Gravenhurst, Ont.

“Our aim is clear,” he noted. “We’re here to serve the needs of our dealers.”

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Lee Valley’s “boutique” shop a prototype for tourist areas

OTTAWA — Lee Valley Tools has been stepping up expansion of its bricks-and-mortar sites, with a new store that just open in Kelowna, B.C. (see our incredible April 11, 2016 edition for full story! ―your effervescent Editor.) However, the online specialty tool, garden supply, and lifestyle products retailer has another prototype in a small town a short drive from Ottawa—one that is quite different from the others in the chain.

L.G. Lee & Sons is a small traditional hardware store on the main street of Almonte, Ont., a small town in the Ottawa valley that is a popular destination for day trips from Ottawa. It is also near the home of Lee Valley Tools Founder Leonard Lee. He, and his sons Robin and James, restored the 115-year-old building, which had been a hardware store since the early 1900s. Today it serves to bring together Lee Valley’s most popular catalogue items in the setting of a traditional hardware store, complete with antique oak fixtures.

Robin Lee, president of the company, says the store reflects a broader range of products that Lee Valley Tools has developed over the years, which ranges from specialty woodworking tools to unique and retro gizmos and home accessories. He says this range of items is great for gifts and impulse purchases.

This “discovery” type of shopping would work well, he says, in destination towns such as Almonte and in tourist-oriented communities such as Niagara Falls, Ont., or Stratford, Ont., home to the Stratford Shakespeare Festival. “I’d love to have a store in Niagara Falls.”

(Breaking News: Lee Valley Tools President Robin Lee has just agreed to be a keynote at our 21st Annual Hardlines Conference, October 18 to 19, in Niagara Falls, Ont. You’ll hear first-hand about the incredible changes his company is making to combine bricks and mortar with online selling. Click here now to register —and get our Early Bird pricing!)

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Contractor dealers count on new products to keep selection fresh

SPECIAL REPORT — New products can be just the thing to help set your business apart from competitors, both online and in-store. Take Soo Mill & Lumber, a Sault Ste. Marie, Ont.-based dealer. The dealer has been scaling back the assortment at its two yards, whose departments now focus on featuring a commercial-grade and consumer-grade product per category.

But that doesn’t mean this dealer has shut the door on offering new items. It recently got back into stocking wire mesh and rebar. And a few months ago, it purchased two lifts 1x12 No. 4 pine board—sanded on three sides, 120 four- and eight-foot pieces per lift—to gauge demand from its pro customers. “Can we make money on it?” is what Soo Mill’s president Lynn Hollingsworth asks whenever a new product is put forward. The answer usually includes investigating whether a vendor or another dealer is selling the product cheaper online.

For Winnipeg-based Sexton Group, which buys for 300 members with 400 locations, “we’re looking for some kind of critical mass” in member purchases when considering something new, says Sexton president Steve Buckle.

Patrick Morin, a family-owned chain with 21 locations in Quebec, sees new products as a way to keep customers coming to its stores at a time when they’re inclined to shop online. Daniel Lampron, general manager, adds that new products help Patrick Morin stay in front of a new generation of shoppers.

Soo Mill and Patrick Morin belong to Independent Lumber Dealers Co-Operative (ILDC), and both Hollingsworth and Lampron say that before their stores take on anything new, they’ll ask other ILDC members, whose stores might already carry the product, about how it’s selling.

(This article is excerpted from the latest issue of our sister publication, Hardlines Home Improvement Quarterly magazine, which was mailed last month to more than 11,000 dealers across Canada. For you own copy, click here! ―Editor)

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Lucie Bernier has joined Pro-Spec Agency, reflecting the growth of the Trois Rivières, Que.-based company with a larger team and expanded lines. She moves over from Agences Jean-Pierre Sylvain. (514-770-7732; lucie@pro-spec.co)

Louise Wendling, former country manager and chair of the board of Costco Wholesale Canada, is the 2016 recipient of the Retail Council of Canada’s Lifetime Achievement Award. The award recognizes a family or an individual in retail who has demonstrated outstanding business success and community service throughout their career and who has left an indelible mark on the industry. Wendling and Costco Wholesale Canada join a long line of recipients, including the founders of Roots Canada, Michael Budman and Don Green; Former Sobeys president & CEO Bill McEwan; and the Billes family, which founded Canadian Tire Corporation.

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CLASSIFIED ADS

Castle Building Centres Group Limited

Business Development Manager — Ontario

Castle Building Centres Group is an industry leader among Buying Groups in the Lumber and Building Materials segment in Canada.

You are a highly motivated individual with strong relationship and communication skills that can manage and develop our future growth in Ontario. This position requires an individual who is familiar with the Ontario Lumber and Building Supply industry, willing to travel extensively and accustomed to working remote from head office.

Reporting to the Director of Business Development, you welcome the opportunity to work with a dynamic group of independent LBM dealers while planning and executing our future growth initiatives. Providing continual communication to our Ontario Members while understanding their needs is fundamental to your success. Sound computer and presentation skills combined with good administrative qualities are imperative.

Castle Building Centres Group offers a comprehensive compensation package including full benefits.

All submissions will be treated with complete confidentiality. Please forward by email your resume in confidence to:

E-mail: jobs@castle.ca
Castle Building Centres Group Ltd.
100 Milverton Drive, Suite 400
Mississauga, Ontario
L5R 4H1

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BLANCO is an International market leader in the Kitchen sink and faucet industry with its Canadian head office based in Brampton, Ontario. Blanco also manufacturers our patented Silgranit® sinks in Canada.

We are currently seeking an experienced (5+ years) Retail Account Manager to join our expanding Canadian Sales team and drive our continued growth in this channel.  This position will manage the Canadian retail portfolio and work closely with our sales agencies to ensure all sales objectives are achieved.  This position reports to the Director, National Sales and is based out of our Brampton head office.

Interested applicants should email resumes to hrinfo@blancocanada.com .  We thank all those who apply, however please note only applicants selected for an interview will be contacted.     

If you require this application in an alternate format, please contact our HR Department at 905-494-2400 or hrinfo@blancocanada.com