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May 5, 2014 Volume
xx, #18
“May you always be courageous, stand upright and be strong, may you stay forever young.” —Bob Dylan (American singer-songwriter, 1941-)
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Top retailers will be featured at this year’s Hardlines Conference
WORLD HQ, TORONTO — Canadian Tire, Federated Co-operatives Limited, and Castle Building Centres are just three of Canada’s leading home improvement groups that will be represented in the speaker lineup of the 19th Annual Hardlines Conference.
The conference is an annual gathering of retail dealers, buyers, and executives, as well as suppliers from across the country. A forum for showcasing the latest in retail and customer trends, it is also an important networking event.
Tony Steier took over late last year as the home and building supplies director at Federated Co-operatives Limited. He manages a business that does more than half a billion dollars in retail hardware and home improvement sales to hundreds of Co-op stores and ValuMaster dealers across the West, making it one of Canada’s top 20 home improvement retailers.
Vicki Hagel is the owner of Cook Street Castle Building Centre, and past chair of Castle’s board of directors. She will offer a “street-level” view of this industry as an independent dealer. Then, going from a local perspective to a national one, Greg Hicks, senior vice president, merchandising for Canadian Tire Corp., will give his valuable insights into the direction of Canada’s largest hardlines retailer.
This year’s “Profiles in Leadership” Series at the Conference will feature Paul Beeston, president and CEO of the Toronto Blue Jays baseball club.
The conference will also feature great ideas and cutting edge insights into this industry and the marketplace. Jo Rossman, editor at Retail Environments, the association for store design and planning, will present the latest in store image and design from around the world. Ted Tsiakopoulos, senior analyst for Canada Mortgage and Housing Corp., will offer a detailed look at housing starts for the months and years ahead.
The 19th Annual Hardlines Conference, which has been bringing together industry leaders from home improvement retailing for almost two decades, will be held in Toronto from October 22-23 at the Sheraton Toronto Airport Hotel and Conference Centre.
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TIM-BR MART demonstrates responsiveness with merger of shows
CALGARY — The announcement last week that TIM-BR MART Group would merge the Chalifour Canada Retailer Buying Expo with the TIM-BR MART National Buying Show has been widely met with industry approval. The combined event will be held February 20-21, 2015, in Toronto.
The move was made, says a release, “In response to dealer input,” but it will be a move well received by vendors, who are already beleaguered by a plethora of shows in the industry. “We believe that the industry—retailers and vendors alike—will welcome the merger of these two events,” said Randy Martin, VP business development.
The Chalifour Expo, a hardware buying show that is not restricted to TIM-BR MART member dealers, is the showcase for the buying group’s hardware wholesale business, Chalifour Canada. It has historically been held in Montreal in October. To replace that event, TIM-BR MART Group will hold a “virtual show” for customers and vendors that will showcase seasonal promotional buys and bookings. The company will release more details about the virtual show as they become available.
The TIM-BR MART Show puts an emphasis on building materials, although it has been adding more hardware each year and increasing the presence of lines from Chalifour, as well as private-label offerings from Ace Hardware, which is licensed in Canada by TIM-BR MART Group.
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Canadians are ready to start spending again: poll
TORONTO — A new survey reveals that four in 10 Canadian homeowners are planning some type of renovation this year, and they plan to spend more money on those projects.
The poll, conducted for CIBC by Nielsen, found that 40% of Canadian homeowners plan to renovate their home in the next 12 months, a figure comparable to last year’s findings, when 39% planned to make renovations. The average expenditure will be $19,754, up 29% from CIBC’s 2013 poll, when the average was $15,300.
The most popular project is “basic home maintenance,” selected by 57% of homeowners surveyed, followed by bathrooms (33%) and kitchens (32%). Other popular planned projects were replacing windows or doors (29%); landscaping (27%); and basement (23%).
While the national average planned expenditure is almost $20,000, the amount varies by region. The lowest expenditure will be in Atlantic Canada, where the average amount that will be spent is $12,691. The most money to be spent on renovations this year will be in British Columbia, where respondents said they would spend an average of $28,434.
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Israel pavilion promises innovation at Vegas show
SPECIAL REPORT — As we prepare to walk the National Hardware Show in Las Vegas tomorrow, one group has caught our eye: a pavilion from Israel.
According to Caroline Nave, business development manager, home and family products for the Israel Export & International Cooperation Institute, Israeli companies have a long history of innovation. “A tradition of innovation, marketplace awareness, and responsiveness to customer demands ranks high on the list,” she notes.
The country’s small size works to the benefit of these companies, she says. “The synergies uniquely available in a small country enable the rapid adoption of locally-developed technologies, helping the industry build modern production facilities and employ advanced design tools.” And, because the local market is small, Israeli manufacturers must succeed on the world market to achieve economies of scale.
A number of the companies exhibiting at the Israel pavilion are already experienced exporters. The other three are start-ups or new exporters, offering a first-to-market opportunity for Canadian agents and buyers.
Nave adds that the Canadian market is very important for the Israeli exporters in this category, and it’s one of the target markets of the Israel Export Institute. “We have been working at the Export Institute to promote the Israeli companies to the Canadian Market. We invite distributors, buyers, and reps to come and visit us .”
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ANALYSIS: Recent changes at TIM-BR MART bode well for the group
The consolidation of its two buying shows is just the latest, and perhaps the most dramatic, change made by TIM-BR MART Group recently. It follows on the heels of a range of recent appointments and promotions, which together give an indication of the giant buying group’s determination to recalibrate under the leadership of current president Bernie Owens.
Owens took over last fall, following the departure of former president and CEO Tim Urquhart. Urquhart’s performance came under scrutiny, driving the TIM-BR MART board to bring in a third-party forensic auditor to uncover “inconsistencies,” which resulted in Urquhart’s being asked to resign.
Before Urquhart’s final departure, he had been given paid leave of absence, during which time Michael Westrum, chairman of TIM-BR MART Group and a dealer-owner with four stores in Saskatchewan, stepped in as acting CEO. He handled day-to-day operations until Owens was hired. During the interim, TIM-BR MART lost its biggest member, WSB Titan Group in Vaughan, Ont., which consists of four giant gypsum supply dealers across the country and estimated annual sales in excess of $300 million.
Owens came over from the commodities wholesale side; he was previously vice president of building products for Certainteed Canada. His background gave him a solid footing from which to relate with the remaining GSDs in the TIM-BR MART fold.
More than a buying group. In doing this analysis of TIM-BR MART, we invited Owens to give his perspective. He started off by clarifying that TIM-BR MART is “much more than just a buying group.” He says the company is a business support network for independents across Canada. To create the necessary infrastructure for network, Owens began a series of decisive changes at the management level of the company.
Owens first brought over Mark Finucane from Certainteed to become vice-president-commercial. He was followed by Lou Valeriati, who joined from Jeld-Wen as vice-president of operations. And, while not formally announced, Randy Martin, who was promoted to vice president of operations in October 2013, has assumed a new title as VP for business development.
New dealer support team. Martin’s new role turned out to be part of a larger strategy to create a team of regional directors of member services (RDMS). “In order to enhance our support for our members and help them fully leverage our resources, we have restructured our organization to include a business development department and added regional directors of member services,” Owens explains.
This move will no doubt enhance TIM-BR MART Group’s connection with its dealer base, especially in light of all the changes that have been going on with the group. The new team consists of Dave Dingwell in Atlantic Canada, Phil Temple in Western Canada, and Daniel Rioux in Quebec. An RDMS for Ontario will be named soon.
Most recently, Eddie Durocher was promoted to national director of business development. He was formerly Quebec sales director. In his new role, Durocher will lead the sales team as a strategist for business growth. Based in Brossard, Que., Durocher will also report to Martin. (Rich Huisman, who was national director of sales for Chalifour, has moved to Roma Moulding Inc. as VP sales.)
“By realigning our team and moving key team members into the position of regional director of member services, we have placed experienced liaisons between our membership and Chalifour, vendors, and all internal resources—finance, marketing, merchandising, TBM Essentials, etc.,” Owens explains. “Members now have one point of contact, eliminating any confusion over who to talk to when in need of assistance.”
More changes to come? The changes reflect a company with many divisions—including buying group, hardware wholesaler, and retail services company—that is getting its house in order. While it has lost some dealers, both large and small, it is also making gains with new dealers, in all parts of the country. And by combining its shows, it promises to deliver more value to vendors who have complained of low attendance at the separate events.
If TIM-BR MART Group can continue to make changes—and stay committed to communicating those changes consistently to both dealers and vendors—it will remain a force to be reckoned with in Canada.
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Classified Ads
Fusion Products Limited
Inside Sales Support Associate
Fusion Products Ltd. is a leading supplier of solar garden lighting to the Canadian marketplace, with head office in Mississauga, Ontario. The company is seeking two positions: both are Inside Sales Support Associates. On position requires a bilingual (French and English) candidate, and the other position requires an English speaking candidate—both preferably with experience in the hardware industry.
Each Inside Sales Support Associate will focus on Home Improvement retailers in specific regions to promote Fusion products, develop new business, support agents, provide product knowledge to retail associates and work industry trade shows. Competitive compensation package offered.
To apply for this exciting employment opportunity, please send your resume and cover letter to: zaf@fusionproducts.ca.
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