HARDLINES
Canada’s electronic information service for the home improvement industry
May 14, 2001
Volume vii, #19
Michael McLarney, Editor & Publisher
Phone: 416.489.3396
Fax: 416.489.6154
email: mike@hardlines.ca
http://hardlines.ca
* * * * * *
IN THIS ISSUE:
* May is Beaver conversion month
* Totem plans 14 locations in Alberta expansion
* Sodisco-Howden posts quarterly results
* Residential building permits are up 9.4% in first quarter
* TruServ appoints new regional managers
* * * * * *
Canadian Tire, Rona, Ace Hardware, Turkstra Lumber ... and more!
Have you registered for the Hardlines Marketing Conference yet?
Mark September 13, 2001 on your calendar and sign up today!
To get special conference rates at the hotel, call Four Points Sheraton, 1-800-737-3211.
Ask for Reservations, room block for the Hardlines Marketing Conference.
For a complimentary shuttle service from Pearson airport, simply notify the hotel.
_____________________________________________
TELL A FRIEND ABOUT HARDLINES!
AND WE’LL GIVE YOU A SWISS ARMY KNIFE TO SHOW OUR APPRECIATION!
We’d like to think you are telling your friends about us because of the cutting edge news we deliver every Monday morning. Or maybe it’s our up-to-date news, trends and statistics affecting the world of home improvement.
But if it’s the Swiss Army Knife we’re sending you for referring a new subscriber to us, that’s okay too.
So get a friend/colleague/customer to subscribe for one year and we’ll give them four free weeks and send you a Swiss Army Knife! But you have to act now – Swiss Army only lets us give away their knives until JUNE 30, 2001. See the attached order form. Can’t open it? Download Adobe Reader for free at: http://www.adobe.com/products/acrobat/readstep.html
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"HARDLINES INDUSTRY REPORT: Home Improvement Retailing in Canada" is a comprehensive overview of the size of the market, how many stores are out there, who the key players are, their market position, the size and growth of the big boxes, the trends in housing and renovations, market trends — and much, much more! 120-plus pages filled with charts, graphs and photos. Regular price: $945, only $750 for subscribers! Contact Nancy Wright at nancy@hardlines.ca; phone: 416-489-3396 for more information.
* * * * * *
TOTEM’S NEW FORMULA MEANS
NEW STORES IN SMALLER MARKETS
Totem Building Supplies continues its growth strategy into smaller communities in Alberta with the scheduled opening of its 13th and 14th locations over the next six months.
A 24,000-sq.ft. store will open in Camrose, AB by September 1, 2001. Reflecting a new strategy, the slightly smaller outlet is designed to fit into secondary locations that are considered less vulnerable to a big box invasion. It also features a square footprint as opposed to a rectangle, making it easier to merchandise, says Totem’s vice-president, marketing, Colin Robertson. "We’re experimenting with this smaller size community store and, so far, we’re really happy with what we’ve seen. It opens up all kinds of possibilities because there are lots of smaller locations like these in Alberta."
The first such store went into Airdrie late last year. Another store is being developed in Sherwood Park, a community of 65,000 just outside Edmonton, which will bring the Totem chain up to 13 stores plus one contractor sales location.
Totem, with sales of $150 million annually, rocked the industry with its mid-February defection from the Tim-BR-Marts buying group to I.L.D.C.
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PRAISE THE LORD: MAY IS
CONVERSION MONTH AT HOME HARDWARE
All through this month, the Beaver Lumber stores that have switched to the Home Hardware banner as a result of the takeover of Beaver by Home make it official in a series of grand openings, flyer specials and heavy television advertising.
The week of May 7 was "grand opening week," featuring the bulk of the promotion, which included a special flier and TV ads during the Maple Leafs’ playoff games.
In addition, individual stores made use of optional ad mats and customized publicity for their respective markets.
Out of 134 Beaver stores that were part of the buyout, 90 are participating in the grand opening event, representing the balance of the dealers who have come through the process of consolidating the two groups of dealers. However, many of those dealers were direct competitors. In 25 communities, that direct competition resulted in either the Home or the Beaver dealer buying out the other.
"In markets where we had a Home Hardware store and a Beaver store, one of them goes forward," says Eric Konecsni, vice-president operations for Home Hardware, and former vice-president and general manager for Beaver Lumber.
Another 15 stores were closed outright, while four more stores ended up defecting to another group or banner and one remains undecided. Home now has about 1,050 stores nationwide.
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DOT COM ONLINE JOB SEARCH SPECIALIZES IN RETAIL SECTOR
Canadianretail.com, promoting itself as Canada’s retail job store, is a retail-specific jobsite launched from Vancouver, BC, earlier this year.
The concept is working: the site is getting over 25,000 hits a day and has Home Depot, Sears, Canadian Tire and The Bay among its clients. The site provides a job search for both hourly-paid and managerial/executive positions.
Canadianretail.com has liaisons with major Internet job seekers, such as career campus and career owl. "We are currently focusing on a national ad campaign designed to attain critical mass," says Dumont. The aim is to become a portal site for retailers and job seekers by providing information on retail as a career, annual salary services, etc. Click www.canadianretail.com <http://www.canadianretail.com/> for more info.
(For the latest techniques for retail staff recruitment and retention, catch Brenda Dumont and Wolf Gugler in an employment break out session at the upcoming Hardlines Marketing Conference, September 13, 2001)
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COMPANIES IN THE NEWS
Sodisco-Howden Group reported a drop in sales for the first quarter of 2001, reflecting poor weather that delayed spring shipments, especially in SHG’s building materials division. Sales for the quarter were $72.6 million, down 15.8% from $86.3 million. Net earnings dropped from $126,000 in 1Q 2000 to a loss of $385,000.
Castle Building Centres has added the following new members: Flin Flon Castle Building Centre, Flin Flon, MB; Norcen Distributors, Headingly, MB; Zak’s Building Supplies and Contracting, Hague, SK.
Following a revamp of its operations, Ryobi Technologies Canada Inc. has closed its distribution centre in Canada and moved its sales office: 150 Werlich Drive, Units 5 & 6, Cambridge, ON N1T 1N6. Phone: (519) 624-2222; fax: (519) 624-0600. The mailing address remains the same: P.O. Box 910, Cambridge, ON N1R 6K2.
Sears Roebuck and Co. plans to open three "Appliance & Electronics" test stores that will focus on electronics and household appliances. The company has stated that its hardlines unit, selling appliances, tools and home electronics, has had stronger performance than its softlines. The stores will be about 20,000 sq.ft., slightly larger than the space devoted to those categories in the larger Sears department stores. The first test store will open in Indiana in June, and two stores in suburban Chicago are set to open in October. Up to 100 stores are in the forecast.
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CANADIAN STOCK WATCH
COMPANY 52-WEEK HIGH 52-WEEK LOW CLOSE (FRI.)
Canadian Tire 25.20 15.05 23.40
Canfor 16.95 7.65 11.00
Goodfellow 11.00 8.00 8.75
Home Depot 49.74 47.61 49.88
Hudsons Bay 17.65 12.40 17.15
Lowe’s 64.90 34.25 64.21
Sears Canada 37.25 18.55 21.15
Taiga Forest 10.00 6.80 7.60
West Fraser 36.50 21.00 33.05
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"A human being: an ingenious assembly of portable plumbing."
— Christopher Morley (U.S. writer, 1890-1957)
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PEOPLE ON THE MOVE
TruServ Canada has made some changes to its Member Development team. The new structure will comprise three regional managers. Wilf Gerhardt has been appointed regional manager for the West. A 31-year veteran of the company, he was previously the sales development & store planning manager … Hugh Matson, formerly member development sales manager, has been appointed regional manager for the Eastern region. He has been with the company for 15 years … Regional manager for the Central region is yet to be named … Sid Kucheravy, previously sales development manager, takes on the role of project manager. His immediate task will be to manage the rollout of the new C&S Choices format for TruServ’s variety/department store members … Garry Ford is newly appointed district manager for Newfoundland. He joins TruServ with 19 years experience in wholesale and sales management. (204-453-9511)
Clint Ellicott has been appointed Ontario sales manager for Lafarge Gypsum. He transferred to Lafarge's Gypsum division from its construction materials group, where he previously held the position of sales manager for packaged materials. (905-629-5444)
Annette Verschuren, president of Home Depot Canada, was given an honorary degree in law from St. Francis Xavier University in Antigonish, NS at its spring convocation on May 6. A native of Nova Scotia who grew up on a farm in Cape Breton, Verschuren is an alumna of St. Francis Xavier. (416-609-0852)
Two new product managers have been named at Do it Best Corp. in Fort Wayne, IN. Marty Wiggins has joined as plumbing department product manager. He was formerly with Rowe Marketing Group and McCoy’s in Texas … Brian Newton has been promoted to product manager of housewares. He was formerly associate product manager (219-748-5300)
Home Depot Inc. has named Carol Tome executive vice-president and CFO, effective immediately ... The company also appointed Dennis Carey to vice-president of business development, strategy and corporate operations. Tome was most recently senior vice-president of finance and accounting, and treasurer. (770-433-8211)
Kmart Co. has appointed Jeffrey Boyer executive vice-president and CFO, effective immediately. Boyer’s background includes Sears Roebuck and Co., where he was CFO and senior vice-president. Boyer succeeds Martin Welch, who is taking early retirement.
(248-643-1000)
(248) 643-1000
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MARKET INDICATORS
The value of building permits fell in March for the second consecutive month. Builders took out $3.1 billion in permits that month, a decline of 11.5%. Residential intentions dropped even more — by 13.5%, to $1.7 billion. However, for the first quarter, residential permits were up 9.4% over the first quarter of 2000. Much of the increase is due to multi-family housing intentions, especially in British Columbia (+29.9%). Residential permits in B.C. were up 27.1% overall, to $685 million, while Ontario was up 11.8% to $2.9 billion.
New housing prices increased 0.3% from February to March. Year over year, the March New Housing Price Index rose 2.6%, compared with March 2000. Monthly increases occurred in 13 out of 21 urban centres. The largest increase was in Saskatoon (+1.7%), as well as Winnipeg (+0.8%), Toronto (+0.5%) and Calgary, London, Montréal and Ottawa-Hull (+0.3%). The housing boom continues in the nation’s capital: the year-over-year increase in new housing prices in Ottawa-Hull was 14.6%.
Canadian commodity prices posted a 2% increase in April, the first increase after three months of successive declines. "The increase largely reflected a surge in lumber prices," says Craig Alexander, Senior Economist at TD Bank Financial Group. Among the 12 commodities recording lower prices, pulp fared the worst, with a drop of 8%.
Against retailers' expectations, the Ontario Government did not reduce the Provincial Sales Tax by 1%. The Retail Council of Canada estimates the cut would have pumped $1.7 billion back into Ontario shoppers’ pockets. On the other hand, Finance Minister Jim Flaherty reaffirmed the government's tax-cutting strategy, which will give $250 million back to consumers in 2002. By 2005, retailers will finally pay the same corporate income tax rates as manufacturing and processing companies. Small retailer rates will drop half a percentage point a year to a common rate of 4%, while larger retailers will see their rate drop 1.5% a year to a common 8% rate.
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OVERHEARD ...
"The rise in Canadian commodity prices is unlikely to be sustained," says Craig Alexander, Senior Economist at TD Bank Financial Group. "The ongoing U.S. economic slowdown and weakening demand in Europe and Asia spell lower commodity prices in the coming months."
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* * * * *HARDLINES MARKETPLACE* * * *
(Check out Hardlines Classifieds on the web: hardlines.ca <https://hardlines.ca/> )
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NORAL MARKETING:
Representing leading manufacturers since 1986. We ensure high profile retail presence for a wide range of product lines. Why not make yours one of them?
http://www.noralmarketing.com/ or call 519-439-6800 ext. 201
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BLACK EAGLE CONSULTING 2000 INC. and President Richard Simms with 30 years experience in the Hardlines Industry for all your strategic planning needs —business plan analysis, facilitator services, and organizational structure review.
Visit http://www.blackeagle.ca/ or call 905-693-0092
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SALES MANAGER – SOUTH WESTERN ONTARIO:
EMCO Building Products is a manufacturer and distributor of building materials used in residential and new construction markets.
Primary duties & responsibilities: supervise and evaluate activities of sales staff; oversee all sales in their region; selection and development of roofing contractors for our building materials — maintain contact with major accounts; preparing forecast information; determining district potential; managing customer relations.
Entrance requirements: Post secondary education in business/accounting management; previous sales management experience; strong analytical, problem solving & decision making skills; excellent communication skills — computer skills; ability to work well in a fast paced team environment.
Submit résumé before May 4th, 2001 to Herb deJong, EMCO Ltd.; 1108 Dundas St., London, ON, N5W 3A7.
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SALES MERCHANDISING REPRESENTATIVE:
Canadian Manufacturer of quality products requires a SALES MERCHANDISING REP. to start immediately. The position includes major emphasis on box store businesses plus other account responsibilities in the GTA.
Requirements: 1-3 years related exp. in consumer products, excellent computer skills and the ability to travel frequently. A post secondary education in Business Admin. or Marketing is
an asset. Fax résumé to 905-459-2791.
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BUILDING SALES COORDINATORS (3):
UFA, formed in 1909, is a farm supply and petroleum marketing co-operative owned by over 100,000 members. We are seeking three BUILDING SALES COORDINATORS with the experience to provide sales, technical and estimating support to field staff engaged in building sales and service activities throughout the province.
Candidates will work with the marketers, technical support group and field personnel to develop and implement building market opportunities in the designated geographic area. The locations are Calgary, Red Deer and Edmonton.
Applicants should have a community college diploma with 3 to 5 years of agricultural and construction experience as well as sales and marketing experience. A working knowledge of Microsoft Office products is preferred. Applicants will be required to travel within the designated area.
Interested applicants are invited to apply, stating geographic preference, to the address indicated by May 18, 2001. Human Resources, United Farmers of Alberta; 1016 68th Avenue SW; Calgary, AB T2V 4J2;Fax: 403-258-7630; email: résumés@ufa.com
We thank all applicants for their interest in UFA. Only applicants being considered will be contacted.
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ACCOUNT REPRESENTATIVE:
Dow Chemical Canada Inc. is a leading science and technology company that provides innovative chemical, plastic and agricultural products and services to many essential consumer markets. With annual sales of approximately $30 billion, Dow serves customers in 170 countries and a wide range of markets that are vital to human progress, including food, transportation, health and medicine, personal and home care, and building and construction, among others.
Committed to the principles of sustainable development, Dow and its 50,000 employees seek to balance economic, environmental and social responsibilities. For further information about Dow, visit http://www.dow.com/
Dow Chemical Canada Inc. is seeking a qualified person to represent them to builders, renovators, building supply dealers and distributors in Manitoba. The Fabricated Products team of the Dow Chemical Co. has an ACCOUNT REPRESENTATIVE opening in Winnipeg, MB. This high-energy role will maximize the sale of Styrofoam brand products to the architectural and residential markets of the assigned territory.
Qualifications: Candidates must have the ability to combine technical and commercial skills. The position requires constant and persistent calls on architects, residential builders, and general contractors as well as channel members such as distributors, and lumber dealers. The ability to generate a specification, hold it and close the sale is vital to success in this position. Candidates for this job should have a high degree of comfort in delivering sales and educational presentations to groups.
Candidates must have: a Bachelors Degree; a minimum of 5 years sales experience; exceptional relationship and interpersonal skills; initiative. To apply for this position, please visit our web site at http://www.careersatdow.com/ and look for MDG0001.
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RETAIL PRODUCT MANAGER:
A well-established company requires an energetic person to manage the marketing of its retail product lines. Experience and understanding of all aspects of the retail hardlines - Multi SKU - business, combined with a strong sales background, is a must.
Applicants must be graduates of a sales and marketing program, have above average computer skills and possess excellent written and verbal communication skills.
Send or fax résumé to the attention of Luann Busch, Personnel. Canada Cordage Inc. 50 Ottawa St. S. Kitchener, ON; N2G 3S7; fax: 519-745-4290.
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THE HARDLINES MARKETPLACE: just $16 per line.
A classified ad with Hardlines is the most direct way to industry eyes.
Over 3,000 executives in the industry come in contact with our email and fax publications … and have you seen our Marketplace in our new website? https://hardlines.ca
Publish your ad where it matters. Get industry exposure today.
Contact Eugenia Canas at 416-489-3396 or email: buzz@hardlines.ca
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ARE YOU UP ON OUR DAILY NEWS?
Our website has daily updates on retail and industry news that matter to you.
Keep informed. Visit http://hardlines.ca every day.
HARDLINES™ the electronic newsletter hardlines.ca
Phone: 416.489.3396; Fax: 416.489.6154
Michael McLarney, Editor & Publisher: mailto:mike@hardlines.ca
Eugenia Canas, Assistant Editor: mailto:buzz@hardlines.ca
Beverly Allen, Marketing Manager: bev@hardlines.ca
Nancy Wright, Circulation Manager: mailto:nancy@hardlines.ca
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Hardlines is published weekly (except monthly in December and August)
by McLARNEYCOM
542 Mount Pleasant Rd., Suite 302, Toronto, Ontario, Canada M4S 2M7
© 2001 by Michael McLarney.
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THE HARDLINES "FAIR PLAY" POLICY:
Reproduction in whole or in part is very uncool and strictly forbidden and really and truly against the law. So please, play fair! Call for information on multiple subscriptions or a site license for your company. We do want as many people as possible to read Hardlines each week — but let us handle your internal routing from this end!
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Subscription: $199+$13.93 GST = $212.93 (or $29.85 HST = $228.85) per year (GST #13987 0398 RT). Secondary subscriptions at the same office are only $28 + $1.96 GST = $29.98. You can pay online by VISA at our secure website or send us money. Please make cheque payable to McLarneyCom.
HARDLINES
Canada’s electronic information service for the home improvement industry
May 14, 2001
Volume vii, #19
Michael McLarney, Editor & Publisher
Phone: 416.489.3396
Fax: 416.489.6154
email: mike@hardlines.ca
http://hardlines.ca
* * * * * *
IN THIS ISSUE:
* May is Beaver conversion month
* Totem plans 14 locations in Alberta expansion
* Sodisco-Howden posts quarterly results
* Residential building permits are up 9.4% in first quarter
* TruServ appoints new regional managers
* * * * * *
Canadian Tire, Rona, Ace Hardware, Turkstra Lumber ... and more!
Have you registered for the Hardlines Marketing Conference yet?
Mark September 13, 2001 on your calendar and sign up today!
To get special conference rates at the hotel, call Four Points Sheraton, 1-800-737-3211.
Ask for Reservations, room block for the Hardlines Marketing Conference.
For a complimentary shuttle service from Pearson airport, simply notify the hotel.
_____________________________________________
TELL A FRIEND ABOUT HARDLINES!
AND WE’LL GIVE YOU A SWISS ARMY KNIFE TO SHOW OUR APPRECIATION!
We’d like to think you are telling your friends about us because of the cutting edge news we deliver every Monday morning. Or maybe it’s our up-to-date news, trends and statistics affecting the world of home improvement.
But if it’s the Swiss Army Knife we’re sending you for referring a new subscriber to us, that’s okay too.
So get a friend/colleague/customer to subscribe for one year and we’ll give them four free weeks and send you a Swiss Army Knife! But you have to act now – Swiss Army only lets us give away their knives until JUNE 30, 2001. See the attached order form. Can’t open it? Download Adobe Reader for free at: http://www.adobe.com/products/acrobat/readstep.html
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"HARDLINES INDUSTRY REPORT: Home Improvement Retailing in Canada" is a comprehensive overview of the size of the market, how many stores are out there, who the key players are, their market position, the size and growth of the big boxes, the trends in housing and renovations, market trends — and much, much more! 120-plus pages filled with charts, graphs and photos. Regular price: $945, only $750 for subscribers! Contact Nancy Wright at nancy@hardlines.ca; phone: 416-489-3396 for more information.
* * * * * *
TOTEM’S NEW FORMULA MEANS
NEW STORES IN SMALLER MARKETS
Totem Building Supplies continues its growth strategy into smaller communities in Alberta with the scheduled opening of its 13th and 14th locations over the next six months.
A 24,000-sq.ft. store will open in Camrose, AB by September 1, 2001. Reflecting a new strategy, the slightly smaller outlet is designed to fit into secondary locations that are considered less vulnerable to a big box invasion. It also features a square footprint as opposed to a rectangle, making it easier to merchandise, says Totem’s vice-president, marketing, Colin Robertson. "We’re experimenting with this smaller size community store and, so far, we’re really happy with what we’ve seen. It opens up all kinds of possibilities because there are lots of smaller locations like these in Alberta."
The first such store went into Airdrie late last year. Another store is being developed in Sherwood Park, a community of 65,000 just outside Edmonton, which will bring the Totem chain up to 13 stores plus one contractor sales location.
Totem, with sales of $150 million annually, rocked the industry with its mid-February defection from the Tim-BR-Marts buying group to I.L.D.C.
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PRAISE THE LORD: MAY IS
CONVERSION MONTH AT HOME HARDWARE
All through this month, the Beaver Lumber stores that have switched to the Home Hardware banner as a result of the takeover of Beaver by Home make it official in a series of grand openings, flyer specials and heavy television advertising.
The week of May 7 was "grand opening week," featuring the bulk of the promotion, which included a special flier and TV ads during the Maple Leafs’ playoff games.
In addition, individual stores made use of optional ad mats and customized publicity for their respective markets.
Out of 134 Beaver stores that were part of the buyout, 90 are participating in the grand opening event, representing the balance of the dealers who have come through the process of consolidating the two groups of dealers. However, many of those dealers were direct competitors. In 25 communities, that direct competition resulted in either the Home or the Beaver dealer buying out the other.
"In markets where we had a Home Hardware store and a Beaver store, one of them goes forward," says Eric Konecsni, vice-president operations for Home Hardware, and former vice-president and general manager for Beaver Lumber.
Another 15 stores were closed outright, while four more stores ended up defecting to another group or banner and one remains undecided. Home now has about 1,050 stores nationwide.
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DOT COM ONLINE JOB SEARCH SPECIALIZES IN RETAIL SECTOR
Canadianretail.com, promoting itself as Canada’s retail job store, is a retail-specific jobsite launched from Vancouver, BC, earlier this year.
The concept is working: the site is getting over 25,000 hits a day and has Home Depot, Sears, Canadian Tire and The Bay among its clients. The site provides a job search for both hourly-paid and managerial/executive positions.
Canadianretail.com has liaisons with major Internet job seekers, such as career campus and career owl. "We are currently focusing on a national ad campaign designed to attain critical mass," says Dumont. The aim is to become a portal site for retailers and job seekers by providing information on retail as a career, annual salary services, etc. Click www.canadianretail.com <http://www.canadianretail.com/> for more info.
(For the latest techniques for retail staff recruitment and retention, catch Brenda Dumont and Wolf Gugler in an employment break out session at the upcoming Hardlines Marketing Conference, September 13, 2001)
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COMPANIES IN THE NEWS
Sodisco-Howden Group reported a drop in sales for the first quarter of 2001, reflecting poor weather that delayed spring shipments, especially in SHG’s building materials division. Sales for the quarter were $72.6 million, down 15.8% from $86.3 million. Net earnings dropped from $126,000 in 1Q 2000 to a loss of $385,000.
Castle Building Centres has added the following new members: Flin Flon Castle Building Centre, Flin Flon, MB; Norcen Distributors, Headingly, MB; Zak’s Building Supplies and Contracting, Hague, SK.
Following a revamp of its operations, Ryobi Technologies Canada Inc. has closed its distribution centre in Canada and moved its sales office: 150 Werlich Drive, Units 5 & 6, Cambridge, ON N1T 1N6. Phone: (519) 624-2222; fax: (519) 624-0600. The mailing address remains the same: P.O. Box 910, Cambridge, ON N1R 6K2.
Sears Roebuck and Co. plans to open three "Appliance & Electronics" test stores that will focus on electronics and household appliances. The company has stated that its hardlines unit, selling appliances, tools and home electronics, has had stronger performance than its softlines. The stores will be about 20,000 sq.ft., slightly larger than the space devoted to those categories in the larger Sears department stores. The first test store will open in Indiana in June, and two stores in suburban Chicago are set to open in October. Up to 100 stores are in the forecast.
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CANADIAN STOCK WATCH
COMPANY 52-WEEK HIGH 52-WEEK LOW CLOSE (FRI.)
Canadian Tire 25.20 15.05 23.40
Canfor 16.95 7.65 11.00
Goodfellow 11.00 8.00 8.75
Home Depot 49.74 47.61 49.88
Hudsons Bay 17.65 12.40 17.15
Lowe’s 64.90 34.25 64.21
Sears Canada 37.25 18.55 21.15
Taiga Forest 10.00 6.80 7.60
West Fraser 36.50 21.00 33.05
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"A human being: an ingenious assembly of portable plumbing."
— Christopher Morley (U.S. writer, 1890-1957)
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PEOPLE ON THE MOVE
TruServ Canada has made some changes to its Member Development team. The new structure will comprise three regional managers. Wilf Gerhardt has been appointed regional manager for the West. A 31-year veteran of the company, he was previously the sales development & store planning manager … Hugh Matson, formerly member development sales manager, has been appointed regional manager for the Eastern region. He has been with the company for 15 years … Regional manager for the Central region is yet to be named … Sid Kucheravy, previously sales development manager, takes on the role of project manager. His immediate task will be to manage the rollout of the new C&S Choices format for TruServ’s variety/department store members … Garry Ford is newly appointed district manager for Newfoundland. He joins TruServ with 19 years experience in wholesale and sales management. (204-453-9511)
Clint Ellicott has been appointed Ontario sales manager for Lafarge Gypsum. He transferred to Lafarge's Gypsum division from its construction materials group, where he previously held the position of sales manager for packaged materials. (905-629-5444)
Annette Verschuren, president of Home Depot Canada, was given an honorary degree in law from St. Francis Xavier University in Antigonish, NS at its spring convocation on May 6. A native of Nova Scotia who grew up on a farm in Cape Breton, Verschuren is an alumna of St. Francis Xavier. (416-609-0852)
Two new product managers have been named at Do it Best Corp. in Fort Wayne, IN. Marty Wiggins has joined as plumbing department product manager. He was formerly with Rowe Marketing Group and McCoy’s in Texas … Brian Newton has been promoted to product manager of housewares. He was formerly associate product manager (219-748-5300)
Home Depot Inc. has named Carol Tome executive vice-president and CFO, effective immediately ... The company also appointed Dennis Carey to vice-president of business development, strategy and corporate operations. Tome was most recently senior vice-president of finance and accounting, and treasurer. (770-433-8211)
Kmart Co. has appointed Jeffrey Boyer executive vice-president and CFO, effective immediately. Boyer’s background includes Sears Roebuck and Co., where he was CFO and senior vice-president. Boyer succeeds Martin Welch, who is taking early retirement.
(248-643-1000)
(248) 643-1000
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MARKET INDICATORS
The value of building permits fell in March for the second consecutive month. Builders took out $3.1 billion in permits that month, a decline of 11.5%. Residential intentions dropped even more — by 13.5%, to $1.7 billion. However, for the first quarter, residential permits were up 9.4% over the first quarter of 2000. Much of the increase is due to multi-family housing intentions, especially in British Columbia (+29.9%). Residential permits in B.C. were up 27.1% overall, to $685 million, while Ontario was up 11.8% to $2.9 billion.
New housing prices increased 0.3% from February to March. Year over year, the March New Housing Price Index rose 2.6%, compared with March 2000. Monthly increases occurred in 13 out of 21 urban centres. The largest increase was in Saskatoon (+1.7%), as well as Winnipeg (+0.8%), Toronto (+0.5%) and Calgary, London, Montréal and Ottawa-Hull (+0.3%). The housing boom continues in the nation’s capital: the year-over-year increase in new housing prices in Ottawa-Hull was 14.6%.
Canadian commodity prices posted a 2% increase in April, the first increase after three months of successive declines. "The increase largely reflected a surge in lumber prices," says Craig Alexander, Senior Economist at TD Bank Financial Group. Among the 12 commodities recording lower prices, pulp fared the worst, with a drop of 8%.
Against retailers' expectations, the Ontario Government did not reduce the Provincial Sales Tax by 1%. The Retail Council of Canada estimates the cut would have pumped $1.7 billion back into Ontario shoppers’ pockets. On the other hand, Finance Minister Jim Flaherty reaffirmed the government's tax-cutting strategy, which will give $250 million back to consumers in 2002. By 2005, retailers will finally pay the same corporate income tax rates as manufacturing and processing companies. Small retailer rates will drop half a percentage point a year to a common rate of 4%, while larger retailers will see their rate drop 1.5% a year to a common 8% rate.
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OVERHEARD ...
"The rise in Canadian commodity prices is unlikely to be sustained," says Craig Alexander, Senior Economist at TD Bank Financial Group. "The ongoing U.S. economic slowdown and weakening demand in Europe and Asia spell lower commodity prices in the coming months."
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* * * * *HARDLINES MARKETPLACE* * * *
(Check out Hardlines Classifieds on the web: hardlines.ca <https://hardlines.ca/> )
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NORAL MARKETING:
Representing leading manufacturers since 1986. We ensure high profile retail presence for a wide range of product lines. Why not make yours one of them?
http://www.noralmarketing.com/ or call 519-439-6800 ext. 201
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BLACK EAGLE CONSULTING 2000 INC. and President Richard Simms with 30 years experience in the Hardlines Industry for all your strategic planning needs —business plan analysis, facilitator services, and organizational structure review.
Visit http://www.blackeagle.ca/ or call 905-693-0092
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SALES MANAGER – SOUTH WESTERN ONTARIO:
EMCO Building Products is a manufacturer and distributor of building materials used in residential and new construction markets.
Primary duties & responsibilities: supervise and evaluate activities of sales staff; oversee all sales in their region; selection and development of roofing contractors for our building materials — maintain contact with major accounts; preparing forecast information; determining district potential; managing customer relations.
Entrance requirements: Post secondary education in business/accounting management; previous sales management experience; strong analytical, problem solving & decision making skills; excellent communication skills — computer skills; ability to work well in a fast paced team environment.
Submit résumé before May 4th, 2001 to Herb deJong, EMCO Ltd.; 1108 Dundas St., London, ON, N5W 3A7.
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SALES MERCHANDISING REPRESENTATIVE:
Canadian Manufacturer of quality products requires a SALES MERCHANDISING REP. to start immediately. The position includes major emphasis on box store businesses plus other account responsibilities in the GTA.
Requirements: 1-3 years related exp. in consumer products, excellent computer skills and the ability to travel frequently. A post secondary education in Business Admin. or Marketing is
an asset. Fax résumé to 905-459-2791.
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BUILDING SALES COORDINATORS (3):
UFA, formed in 1909, is a farm supply and petroleum marketing co-operative owned by over 100,000 members. We are seeking three BUILDING SALES COORDINATORS with the experience to provide sales, technical and estimating support to field staff engaged in building sales and service activities throughout the province.
Candidates will work with the marketers, technical support group and field personnel to develop and implement building market opportunities in the designated geographic area. The locations are Calgary, Red Deer and Edmonton.
Applicants should have a community college diploma with 3 to 5 years of agricultural and construction experience as well as sales and marketing experience. A working knowledge of Microsoft Office products is preferred. Applicants will be required to travel within the designated area.
Interested applicants are invited to apply, stating geographic preference, to the address indicated by May 18, 2001. Human Resources, United Farmers of Alberta; 1016 68th Avenue SW; Calgary, AB T2V 4J2;Fax: 403-258-7630; email: résumés@ufa.com
We thank all applicants for their interest in UFA. Only applicants being considered will be contacted.
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ACCOUNT REPRESENTATIVE:
Dow Chemical Canada Inc. is a leading science and technology company that provides innovative chemical, plastic and agricultural products and services to many essential consumer markets. With annual sales of approximately $30 billion, Dow serves customers in 170 countries and a wide range of markets that are vital to human progress, including food, transportation, health and medicine, personal and home care, and building and construction, among others.
Committed to the principles of sustainable development, Dow and its 50,000 employees seek to balance economic, environmental and social responsibilities. For further information about Dow, visit http://www.dow.com/
Dow Chemical Canada Inc. is seeking a qualified person to represent them to builders, renovators, building supply dealers and distributors in Manitoba. The Fabricated Products team of the Dow Chemical Co. has an ACCOUNT REPRESENTATIVE opening in Winnipeg, MB. This high-energy role will maximize the sale of Styrofoam brand products to the architectural and residential markets of the assigned territory.
Qualifications: Candidates must have the ability to combine technical and commercial skills. The position requires constant and persistent calls on architects, residential builders, and general contractors as well as channel members such as distributors, and lumber dealers. The ability to generate a specification, hold it and close the sale is vital to success in this position. Candidates for this job should have a high degree of comfort in delivering sales and educational presentations to groups.
Candidates must have: a Bachelors Degree; a minimum of 5 years sales experience; exceptional relationship and interpersonal skills; initiative. To apply for this position, please visit our web site at http://www.careersatdow.com/ and look for MDG0001.
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RETAIL PRODUCT MANAGER:
A well-established company requires an energetic person to manage the marketing of its retail product lines. Experience and understanding of all aspects of the retail hardlines - Multi SKU - business, combined with a strong sales background, is a must.
Applicants must be graduates of a sales and marketing program, have above average computer skills and possess excellent written and verbal communication skills.
Send or fax résumé to the attention of Luann Busch, Personnel. Canada Cordage Inc. 50 Ottawa St. S. Kitchener, ON; N2G 3S7; fax: 519-745-4290.
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THE HARDLINES MARKETPLACE: just $16 per line.
A classified ad with Hardlines is the most direct way to industry eyes.
Over 3,000 executives in the industry come in contact with our email and fax publications … and have you seen our Marketplace in our new website? https://hardlines.ca
Publish your ad where it matters. Get industry exposure today.
Contact Eugenia Canas at 416-489-3396 or email: buzz@hardlines.ca
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Keep informed. Visit http://hardlines.ca every day.
HARDLINES™ the electronic newsletter hardlines.ca
Phone: 416.489.3396; Fax: 416.489.6154
Michael McLarney, Editor & Publisher: mailto:mike@hardlines.ca
Eugenia Canas, Assistant Editor: mailto:buzz@hardlines.ca
Beverly Allen, Marketing Manager: bev@hardlines.ca
Nancy Wright, Circulation Manager: mailto:nancy@hardlines.ca
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Hardlines is published weekly (except monthly in December and August)
by McLARNEYCOM
542 Mount Pleasant Rd., Suite 302, Toronto, Ontario, Canada M4S 2M7
© 2001 by Michael McLarney.
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