May 8, 2017 Volume xxiii, #19

“You are unique, and if that is not fulfilled, then something has been lost.”
—Martha Graham (American dancer and choreographer, 1948–1954)

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Lowe’s execs share insights into new structure at Meet the Buyers’ Breakfast

MISSISSAUGA, Ont. — Lowe’s top buying influences gathered at the Hilton Mississauga/Meadowvale hotel recently for the 2017 Hardlines Meet the Buyers Breakfast. There, they shared the structure of Lowe’s various banners and how to do business with those banners. And 120 vendors were in the room to hear them speak.

Alan Blundell, divisional vice president, merchandising, Lowe’s; Christian Dauphinais, divisional vice president, merchandising for Réno-Dépôt; and Marc Gingras, divisional vice president, RONA proximity stores, took turns explaining how the different store formats are organized within Lowe’s Canada. They laid out to the vendors the strategies behind each banner and how vendors can align with those strategies as the retailer grows in Canada.

Blundell talked about the target customer for Lowe’s stores: young and middle-aged families with young children and above-average incomes. They spend up to $12,000 per year on home improvements, he said. Gingras explained that the model of the RONA proximity stores is based on the vitality of the contractor market. He told the audience that a new prototype builders’ showcase at a RONA store in Oakville, Ont., was delivering same-store contractor sales of 30% so far this year. “We’re still fine-tuning but it’s already showing success.”

The formal presentations concluded with Maxime Harvey, director, building materials, Lowe’s Canada, who handles procurement. He explained the delicate balance between the buying and the actual procurement process. He also stressed the importance of vendors working with Lowe’s Canada on its terms, despite pressures on pricing during negotiations. He said the growth vector for his company has been, and will continue to be, dramatic in coming years and Lowe’s needs vendors to support—and ultimately share—in that growth.

To conclude, all four answered questions submitted by Hardlines Editor-in-Chief Michael McLarney on behalf of the audience. After the formal presentation, the executives all stayed to take time to speak with each vendor in the room individually. 

(Our thanks to the Lowe's team for stepping up to participate in this amazing event!)

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Home Hardware’s new direction: greater emphasis on the building supply side

ST. JACOBS, Ont. — With a new ad agency, a new slogan, and a new imperative to target millennial customers, Home Hardware Stores Ltd. has made a lot of changes in recent months. A key driver of those changes has been Rick McNabb, vice president of marketing and sales for the dealer-owned co-op. He joined the company just over a year ago.

One of the immediate challenges he identified was harmonizing the strength of the building supplies business within the company, which has traditionally considered itself largely a hardware retailer. But growth in recent years has come from converting many Home Hardware stores to Home Hardware Building Centres, increasing the store footprint dramatically to accommodate a full offering of LBM.

McNabb points out that Home actually has four banners: Home Hardware (hardware), Home Hardware Building Supply (home centre), Home Building Centre (lumberyard or contractor specialist), and Home Furniture (furniture, décor, and heavy appliances).

The new slogan, “Here’s how,” is a directive to empower a younger generation to seek products—and advice—to get their home improvement projects from a Home store. “It’s more than a slogan; it’s a calling card that embraces what Home Hardware stands for," he says. “We don’t want to be seen just as small project stores.”

Talking about the new direction for the company, McNabb cites Lowe’s as the competitor he believes it’s important to keep up with.

“It’s not going to be business as usual. This will position us to keep ahead of the changes in the market and be fresh and relevant.”

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Richard Darveau steps down as CRBSC chair

LONGUEUIL, Que. — Richard Darveau has announced his resignation as chair of the Canadian Retail Building Supply Council, halfway through his two-year term. Darveau, who is president and CEO of the Quebec industry association, AQMAT, cited differences over the umbrella organization’s direction.

“Trying to act and talk as a unified voice when there are five founding resources with more differences... than common ground is too heavy a task in comparison with thin and slow results,” he said in a statement.

The CRBSC was founded as an umbrella of provincial and regional building supply dealers’ groups, including the ABSDA, LBMAO, WRLA, and BSIA. The collective goal of the CRBSC is to formalize industry concerns at the national level. The move was in response to growing support of a more unified voice nationally for the retail hardware and home improvement industry.

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Slegg celebrates 70th anniversary with trade show, acquisition


NANAIMO, B.C. — Slegg Lumber, a dominant dealer on Vancouver Island, added a 12th location recently with the acquisition of Dodd’s Lumber in Duncan, B.C. “Buying Dodd’s was a big one for us, because it fills a geographic hole on the island,” says Tim Urquhart, president of Slegg. The company has stores in Nanaimo and Langford, and had a small, older facility in Duncan, which the Dodd’s acquisition replaces.

The expansion ties in with Slegg’s 70th anniversary. The business was founded in Nanaimo by the Slegg family, then sold to WSB Titan at the beginning of 2015.

Urquhart says Titan’s influence on Slegg has been a positive one bringing new procedures and greater discipline to the company and how it approaches the market. One relatively new aspect of Slegg’s business is an annual trade show for its contractor customers. The first one was held last year, drawing more than 600 builders and trades. This year’s event was held April 27 in a community centre in Langford, drawing more than 1,000 attendees this time.

“It’s a changing environment and a changing market that we’re in,” Urquhart observes.

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Groupe BMR has appointed Jonathan Gendreau as VP for Marketing and Digital Strategy. Gendreau has 13 years of experience in e-commerce and digital marketing, including seven years in the retail industry. After serving as marketing director for Lozeau from 2004 to 2011, he joined Groupe St-Hubert as senior advisor for Interactive Marketing. In 2016, he was promoted to marketing director, and in that capacity led the marketing and digital activities of the food service division.

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