HARDLINES™ Canada’s electronic information service for the home improvement industry May 28, 2001 Volume vii, #22 Michael McLarney, Editor & Publisher Phone: 416.489.3396 Fax: 416.489.6154 email: mike@hardlines.ca http://hardlines.ca

* * * * * * IN THIS ISSUE: * ILDC: life after Revy * U.K. distributor to acquire Westburne Group * Sodisco-Howden keeps focus on rural Canada * Maytag wants to sell commercial division

* * * * * * Join Canadian Tire, RONA, Ace Hardware, American Tool, Turkstra Lumber and more. Where? The Sixth Annual Hardlines Marketing Conference — September 13, 2001 at the Four Points Sheraton! This extraordinary one-day symposium is the …Look, never mind the hype. I am confident this conference will turn out to be the single best day of education, insights and networking you’ll have all year. Period. Only $389.00 per person — includes continental breakfast, lunch, cocktails, prizes and more! Contact bev@hardlines.ca for more info, or call me direct: 416-489-3396. — Michael (Some sponsorships still available for the event — call me for details.)

To get our special hotel rate for the Hardlines Marketing Conference at the Four Points Sheraton, call 1-800-737-3211.

______________________________________________

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.

* * * * * * ILDC RALLIES FOLLOWING LOSS OF REVY

Independent Lumber Dealers Co-operative is taking stock following the loss of its largest member. Revelstoke Home Centres was out of ILDC the day after Rona Inc. announced its takeover of Revelstoke from West Fraser Timber.

Canada’s most elite buying group, ILDC represented $1.4 billion in sales at retail, generated by 23 members with a total of 186 stores. However, Revy alone accounted for $805 million of those sales. In an era where consolidation is the strategy considered necessary to maintain the buying clout — and rebates — of buying groups, the need to shore up that loss is important.

"Losing a member the size of Revy will certainly have an impact," says Andrew Battagliotti, general manager of ILDC. "But because of Revy’s retail focus, the impact on the group will not be as great as it appears on the surface." ILDC members are typically more contractor-oriented than Revelstoke, he says, and therefore it does not contribute as much in relative terms to the group’s commodity purchases.

The sale of Revelstoke has been anticipated for many months and ILDC has been making moves to replace the shortfall. "Certainly, we knew it was coming," says Battagliotti, "We’re going to miss the players." Totem Building Supplies, the largest dealer in the Tim-BR-Marts group in Western Canada, joined ILDC in February, bringing in another $150 million in sales at retail and maintaining some presence for ILDC in the West.

"I’ve been active in looking for other members for a while now. Totem was an example, but we have to make sure the fit is right."

______________________________________________

LATEST CONSOLIDATION OPENS OPPORTUNITIES IN RURAL MARKETS

The acquisition of Revelstoke Home Centres by Rona Inc. means more room for independent distributors to go after the rural markets in Canada. So says Tony Molluso, CEO of Sodisco-Howden Group, adding that one of his key competitors has taken its eye off the ball.

"Rona has its sights set on a larger picture. The big box has to find a way to capture the rural market."

Until then, he sees a clear shot for hardware distributors to capture that market more effectively. "Hardware retail in rural Canada is very important. There, people want to take advantage of time saving and convenience. They want to shop very close to where they live."

However, Rona will certainly give Sodisco-Howden a run for the money: it is committed to growing all its retail formats, including 200 hardware stores and 120 building supply outlets in the Western provinces alone over the next five years.   In addition, Ace Hardware has reaffirmed its commitment to Canada, with a recent restructuring that includes a new buying team and the naming of Rob Collins to head up operations here.

______________________________________________

EUROPEAN WHOLESALER TO BUY UP WESTBURNE GROUP   Wolseley Group, a wholesale distributor of plumbing, heating and building products based in the U.K., has signed a conditional deal to acquire The Westburne Group of companies (Westburne Plumbing & Waterworks Inc., Westburne Supply Inc. in the U.S., Westburne Refrigeration & HVAC Inc. in Canada and Westburne Industrial Products in Canada) from Rexel SA. The cash free/debt free deal, valued at $550 million, is expected to close around the end of June.

Charlie Banks, Wolseley's recently appointed Group CEO, said in a prepared release that the acquisition, the company’s first in Canada, will also provide expansion opportunities south of the border. Of Westburne’s $1.43 billion in sales, 47% comes from U.S. operations.

 

The Westburne Group has more than 3,000 employees in 313 locations in plumbing and waterworks, refrigeration and industrial supplies. Wolseley already has 801 branches in the U.S., with sales of $8.5 billion. In Europe, it has 1,443 branches and sales of $5 billion.

______________________________________________

COMPANIES IN THE NEWS

Taiga Forest Products Ltd. has posted fourth quarter sales of $171.5 million, compared with $237.2 million for the same period last year. Sales for the year ended March 31 were $790.2 million, down from $904.5 million a year prior.

Kitchener-ON based Supplierpipeline Inc. has bought Caradon Lite Products. Previous acquisitions include Erie Industrial Products, Jackall Jacks & Automotive Accessories, MIC Metalbuilt & JFL Accessories, and Jacmorr DIY & Builders Hardware.   Isoboard Enterprises of Elie, MB has been rescued from receivership with a takeover by Dow Pipeline, a division of Dow Chemical. Isoboard produces composite panels that have attracted the interest of companies such as Home Depot. The panels, made from wheat straw, are a wood replacement product.   The Hudson’s Bay Co.’s first quarter results included losses of $11.4 million. Sales slipped to $1.51 billion from $1.53 billion. The company’s flagship store reported an operating loss of $6 million, a sharp contrast to the $9.6 million operating profit a year ago. Same-store sales fell 5.2%. Home Outfitters, the Hudson’s Bay’s kitchen, bed, and bath superstore, will open its first store in Calgary, AB on May 31.

Lowe’s Cos. announced first-quarter profits up 20.4%, US$225.3 million. Sales grew 18.1% to US$5.28 billion, helped by new stores and an extra week in the quarter. The company sold more flooring, plumbing fixtures and electrical supplies, which generate higher profits. Lowe's opened 37 stores during the first quarter and plans to open 20-25 more in the second quarter, fewer than its originally planned 25-30.

In an effort to focus more on its core business, Maytag Corp. is considering options such as selling off G.S. Blodgett, which sells commercial ovens and fryers to the foodservice industry, in an admission that its commercial side has not grown satisfactorily. Blodgett had sales of US$135 million in 2000.

Power-tool accessory maker Jore Corp. filed for voluntary reorganization under Chapter 11 last week in the District of Montana. Jore invested heavily in manufacturing equipment over the past two years and had been chosen by Home Depot in the U.S. to produce Stanley branded products. However, a slowdown in the economy, coupled with a costly rollout of the Home Depot program, took its toll on the company. During the reorganization, Jore will explore options that may include the sale of all or part of its operations.

_____________________________________________

NOW IN ITS 2nd PRINTING! "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.

_____________________________________________

CANADIAN STOCK WATCH

COMPANY 52-WEEK HIGH 52-WEEK LOW CLOSE (FRI.) Canadian Tire 25.20 15.05 22.88 Canfor 16.95 7.65 10.50 Goodfellow 11.00 8.00 9.00 Home Depot 49.74 47.61 52.28 Hudsons Bay 17.65 12.40 16.15 Lowe’s 64.90 34.25 71.82 Sears Canada 37.25 18.55 22.85 Taiga Forest 10.00 6.80 7.80 West Fraser 36.50 21.00 34.00

______________________________________________

"There are two classes of travel, first class and with children." — Robert Benchley (American humorist) _______________________________________________

MARKET INDICATORS

Retailers sold $23.7 billion worth of goods and services in March, up 0.3% from the previous month. This increase offset the 0.3% decline in February. Retailers reported strong monthly sales increases in January 2001 (+0.5%) and December 2000 (+1.0%), after experiencing a period of essentially flat sales that started in July 2000. In March 2001, retail sales were 1.6% higher than they were in July 2000. In constant dollars, sales were up 1.1% over the same period. Despite not growing over February and March, retail sales were 1.1% higher in the first quarter of 2001 than in the fourth quarter of 2000. This quarterly gain followed unchanged sales in the last quarter of 2000 (+0.1%) compared with the third quarter.

______________________________________________   PEOPLE ON THE MOVE   Neil Whitford has been named vice-president/general manager of the Power Tool Division of Robert Bosch Inc. in Canada. He comes over from Bosch in the U.K., where he worked for 26 years. (905-826-6060)

Do it Best Corp. May Market, has two new senior executives. David Haist, as senior vice-president of member services, will focus on business growth and new member prospecting … Bob Taylor, senior vice-president of operations, will lead the company’s e-business initiatives. The new appointments were announced at the co-op’s May Market, held May 19-22 in Fort Wayne, IN. (219-748-5300)

  ______________________________________________

NOTED …

Do it Best Corp. held its latest dealer market May 19-22, 2001. More than 1,000 visitors and vendors attended. During the show, president and CEO Mike McClelland reported that warehouse sales were up 5% year-to-date. The co-op expects to finish the year by returning a 12% rebate to its members.

______________________________________________

OVERHEARD ...   "Customer satisfaction equals customer loyalty. If you really understand that notion, you will systematize your organization around continually increasing that metric." Douglas Allred, Cisco Systems, senior vice-president of customer advocacy uses a few new buzz words to state the obvious. ______________________________________________

* * * * *HARDLINES MARKETPLACE* * * * (Check out Hardlines Classifieds on the web: https://hardlines.ca/html/classifieds_new.asp ______________________________________________   NORAL INSTORE

BOOST your retail profile with instore sales support for your products and merchandising. Visit http://www.noralmarketing.com <http://www.noralmarketing.com/> or call 519-439-6800 ext. 201 ______________________________________________

SALES MANAGER — ONTARIO EAST: ProfitMaster Canada is a national provider of information technology and e-Business Solutions to the Hardware and Building Supply Industry. Our empowered workplace environment delivers the daily challenges that motivate the team of associates to reap outstanding rewards. Due to exceptional growth we are seeking highly motivated professionals to round out our team.

Reporting to the President, the SALES MANAGER will be responsible for: - Overseeing all sales in their region - Initiating new client opportunities and determining district potential - Preparing forecast information - Developing relationships with current accounts in region - Establishing and maintaining corporate partnerships

Requirements: post-secondary education in business/accounting or retail management; sales management experience; strong analytical, problem-solving and decision making skills; excellent communication and computer skills; ability to work well in a fast-paced team environment.

Please reply in confidence via e-mail only to hrsales@pmcanada.com

* * * * * * SALES MANAGER, SASKATOON CUSTOMER SERVICE CENTRE: Weyerhaeuser is seeking a sales motivated leader for this position. Duties and responsibilities will include planning and directing the CSC sales and marketing activities, providing coaching and leadership to the associates and developing successful customer relationships.

Requirements: Prior sales and management experience in the building materials distribution industry desired. Enthusiastic team leader with strong, interpersonal, relationship and communication skills. Product management experiences an asset.

Submit reúsumeú prior to June 8/01 to Weyerhaeuser 11553 154th St, Edmonton, AB T5M 3N7 Attn.: Bernie Roth; email: Bernie.Roth@Weyerhaeuser.com

______________________________________________

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/html/classifieds_new.asp Publish your ad where it matters. Get industry exposure today. Contact Eugenia Canas at 416-489-3396 or email: buzz@hardlines.ca ______________________________________________

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. HARDLINES™ the electronic newsletter hardlines.ca Phone: 416.489.3396; Fax: 416.489.6154 Michael McLarney, Editor & Publisher: mike@hardlines.ca Eugenia Canas, Assistant Editor: buzz@hardlines.ca Beverly Allen, Marketing Manager: bev@hardlines.ca Nancy Wright, Circulation Manager: nancy@hardlines.ca ______________________________________________   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! ______________________________________________

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 28, 2001 Volume vii, #22 Michael McLarney, Editor & Publisher Phone: 416.489.3396 Fax: 416.489.6154 email: mike@hardlines.ca http://hardlines.ca

* * * * * * IN THIS ISSUE: * ILDC: life after Revy * U.K. distributor to acquire Westburne Group * Sodisco-Howden keeps focus on rural Canada * Maytag wants to sell commercial division

* * * * * * Join Canadian Tire, RONA, Ace Hardware, American Tool, Turkstra Lumber and more. Where? The Sixth Annual Hardlines Marketing Conference — September 13, 2001 at the Four Points Sheraton! This extraordinary one-day symposium is the …Look, never mind the hype. I am confident this conference will turn out to be the single best day of education, insights and networking you’ll have all year. Period. Only $389.00 per person — includes continental breakfast, lunch, cocktails, prizes and more! Contact bev@hardlines.ca for more info, or call me direct: 416-489-3396. — Michael (Some sponsorships still available for the event — call me for details.)

To get our special hotel rate for the Hardlines Marketing Conference at the Four Points Sheraton, call 1-800-737-3211.

______________________________________________

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.

* * * * * * ILDC RALLIES FOLLOWING LOSS OF REVY

Independent Lumber Dealers Co-operative is taking stock following the loss of its largest member. Revelstoke Home Centres was out of ILDC the day after Rona Inc. announced its takeover of Revelstoke from West Fraser Timber.

Canada’s most elite buying group, ILDC represented $1.4 billion in sales at retail, generated by 23 members with a total of 186 stores. However, Revy alone accounted for $805 million of those sales. In an era where consolidation is the strategy considered necessary to maintain the buying clout — and rebates — of buying groups, the need to shore up that loss is important.

"Losing a member the size of Revy will certainly have an impact," says Andrew Battagliotti, general manager of ILDC. "But because of Revy’s retail focus, the impact on the group will not be as great as it appears on the surface." ILDC members are typically more contractor-oriented than Revelstoke, he says, and therefore it does not contribute as much in relative terms to the group’s commodity purchases.

The sale of Revelstoke has been anticipated for many months and ILDC has been making moves to replace the shortfall. "Certainly, we knew it was coming," says Battagliotti, "We’re going to miss the players." Totem Building Supplies, the largest dealer in the Tim-BR-Marts group in Western Canada, joined ILDC in February, bringing in another $150 million in sales at retail and maintaining some presence for ILDC in the West.

"I’ve been active in looking for other members for a while now. Totem was an example, but we have to make sure the fit is right."

______________________________________________

LATEST CONSOLIDATION OPENS OPPORTUNITIES IN RURAL MARKETS

The acquisition of Revelstoke Home Centres by Rona Inc. means more room for independent distributors to go after the rural markets in Canada. So says Tony Molluso, CEO of Sodisco-Howden Group, adding that one of his key competitors has taken its eye off the ball.

"Rona has its sights set on a larger picture. The big box has to find a way to capture the rural market."

Until then, he sees a clear shot for hardware distributors to capture that market more effectively. "Hardware retail in rural Canada is very important. There, people want to take advantage of time saving and convenience. They want to shop very close to where they live."

However, Rona will certainly give Sodisco-Howden a run for the money: it is committed to growing all its retail formats, including 200 hardware stores and 120 building supply outlets in the Western provinces alone over the next five years.   In addition, Ace Hardware has reaffirmed its commitment to Canada, with a recent restructuring that includes a new buying team and the naming of Rob Collins to head up operations here.

______________________________________________

EUROPEAN WHOLESALER TO BUY UP WESTBURNE GROUP   Wolseley Group, a wholesale distributor of plumbing, heating and building products based in the U.K., has signed a conditional deal to acquire The Westburne Group of companies (Westburne Plumbing & Waterworks Inc., Westburne Supply Inc. in the U.S., Westburne Refrigeration & HVAC Inc. in Canada and Westburne Industrial Products in Canada) from Rexel SA. The cash free/debt free deal, valued at $550 million, is expected to close around the end of June.

Charlie Banks, Wolseley's recently appointed Group CEO, said in a prepared release that the acquisition, the company’s first in Canada, will also provide expansion opportunities south of the border. Of Westburne’s $1.43 billion in sales, 47% comes from U.S. operations.

 

The Westburne Group has more than 3,000 employees in 313 locations in plumbing and waterworks, refrigeration and industrial supplies. Wolseley already has 801 branches in the U.S., with sales of $8.5 billion. In Europe, it has 1,443 branches and sales of $5 billion.

______________________________________________

COMPANIES IN THE NEWS

Taiga Forest Products Ltd. has posted fourth quarter sales of $171.5 million, compared with $237.2 million for the same period last year. Sales for the year ended March 31 were $790.2 million, down from $904.5 million a year prior.

Kitchener-ON based Supplierpipeline Inc. has bought Caradon Lite Products. Previous acquisitions include Erie Industrial Products, Jackall Jacks & Automotive Accessories, MIC Metalbuilt & JFL Accessories, and Jacmorr DIY & Builders Hardware.   Isoboard Enterprises of Elie, MB has been rescued from receivership with a takeover by Dow Pipeline, a division of Dow Chemical. Isoboard produces composite panels that have attracted the interest of companies such as Home Depot. The panels, made from wheat straw, are a wood replacement product.   The Hudson’s Bay Co.’s first quarter results included losses of $11.4 million. Sales slipped to $1.51 billion from $1.53 billion. The company’s flagship store reported an operating loss of $6 million, a sharp contrast to the $9.6 million operating profit a year ago. Same-store sales fell 5.2%. Home Outfitters, the Hudson’s Bay’s kitchen, bed, and bath superstore, will open its first store in Calgary, AB on May 31.

Lowe’s Cos. announced first-quarter profits up 20.4%, US$225.3 million. Sales grew 18.1% to US$5.28 billion, helped by new stores and an extra week in the quarter. The company sold more flooring, plumbing fixtures and electrical supplies, which generate higher profits. Lowe's opened 37 stores during the first quarter and plans to open 20-25 more in the second quarter, fewer than its originally planned 25-30.

In an effort to focus more on its core business, Maytag Corp. is considering options such as selling off G.S. Blodgett, which sells commercial ovens and fryers to the foodservice industry, in an admission that its commercial side has not grown satisfactorily. Blodgett had sales of US$135 million in 2000.

Power-tool accessory maker Jore Corp. filed for voluntary reorganization under Chapter 11 last week in the District of Montana. Jore invested heavily in manufacturing equipment over the past two years and had been chosen by Home Depot in the U.S. to produce Stanley branded products. However, a slowdown in the economy, coupled with a costly rollout of the Home Depot program, took its toll on the company. During the reorganization, Jore will explore options that may include the sale of all or part of its operations.

_____________________________________________

NOW IN ITS 2nd PRINTING! "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.

_____________________________________________

CANADIAN STOCK WATCH

COMPANY 52-WEEK HIGH 52-WEEK LOW CLOSE (FRI.) Canadian Tire 25.20 15.05 22.88 Canfor 16.95 7.65 10.50 Goodfellow 11.00 8.00 9.00 Home Depot 49.74 47.61 52.28 Hudsons Bay 17.65 12.40 16.15 Lowe’s 64.90 34.25 71.82 Sears Canada 37.25 18.55 22.85 Taiga Forest 10.00 6.80 7.80 West Fraser 36.50 21.00 34.00

______________________________________________

"There are two classes of travel, first class and with children." — Robert Benchley (American humorist) _______________________________________________

MARKET INDICATORS

Retailers sold $23.7 billion worth of goods and services in March, up 0.3% from the previous month. This increase offset the 0.3% decline in February. Retailers reported strong monthly sales increases in January 2001 (+0.5%) and December 2000 (+1.0%), after experiencing a period of essentially flat sales that started in July 2000. In March 2001, retail sales were 1.6% higher than they were in July 2000. In constant dollars, sales were up 1.1% over the same period. Despite not growing over February and March, retail sales were 1.1% higher in the first quarter of 2001 than in the fourth quarter of 2000. This quarterly gain followed unchanged sales in the last quarter of 2000 (+0.1%) compared with the third quarter.

______________________________________________   PEOPLE ON THE MOVE   Neil Whitford has been named vice-president/general manager of the Power Tool Division of Robert Bosch Inc. in Canada. He comes over from Bosch in the U.K., where he worked for 26 years. (905-826-6060)

Do it Best Corp. May Market, has two new senior executives. David Haist, as senior vice-president of member services, will focus on business growth and new member prospecting … Bob Taylor, senior vice-president of operations, will lead the company’s e-business initiatives. The new appointments were announced at the co-op’s May Market, held May 19-22 in Fort Wayne, IN. (219-748-5300)

  ______________________________________________

NOTED …

Do it Best Corp. held its latest dealer market May 19-22, 2001. More than 1,000 visitors and vendors attended. During the show, president and CEO Mike McClelland reported that warehouse sales were up 5% year-to-date. The co-op expects to finish the year by returning a 12% rebate to its members.

______________________________________________

OVERHEARD ...   "Customer satisfaction equals customer loyalty. If you really understand that notion, you will systematize your organization around continually increasing that metric." Douglas Allred, Cisco Systems, senior vice-president of customer advocacy uses a few new buzz words to state the obvious. ______________________________________________

* * * * *HARDLINES MARKETPLACE* * * * (Check out Hardlines Classifieds on the web: https://hardlines.ca/html/classifieds_new.asp ______________________________________________   NORAL INSTORE

BOOST your retail profile with instore sales support for your products and merchandising. Visit http://www.noralmarketing.com <http://www.noralmarketing.com/> or call 519-439-6800 ext. 201 ______________________________________________

SALES MANAGER — ONTARIO EAST: ProfitMaster Canada is a national provider of information technology and e-Business Solutions to the Hardware and Building Supply Industry. Our empowered workplace environment delivers the daily challenges that motivate the team of associates to reap outstanding rewards. Due to exceptional growth we are seeking highly motivated professionals to round out our team.

Reporting to the President, the SALES MANAGER will be responsible for: - Overseeing all sales in their region - Initiating new client opportunities and determining district potential - Preparing forecast information - Developing relationships with current accounts in region - Establishing and maintaining corporate partnerships

Requirements: post-secondary education in business/accounting or retail management; sales management experience; strong analytical, problem-solving and decision making skills; excellent communication and computer skills; ability to work well in a fast-paced team environment.

Please reply in confidence via e-mail only to hrsales@pmcanada.com

* * * * * * SALES MANAGER, SASKATOON CUSTOMER SERVICE CENTRE: Weyerhaeuser is seeking a sales motivated leader for this position. Duties and responsibilities will include planning and directing the CSC sales and marketing activities, providing coaching and leadership to the associates and developing successful customer relationships.

Requirements: Prior sales and management experience in the building materials distribution industry desired. Enthusiastic team leader with strong, interpersonal, relationship and communication skills. Product management experiences an asset.

Submit reúsumeú prior to June 8/01 to Weyerhaeuser 11553 154th St, Edmonton, AB T5M 3N7 Attn.: Bernie Roth; email: Bernie.Roth@Weyerhaeuser.com

______________________________________________

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/html/classifieds_new.asp Publish your ad where it matters. Get industry exposure today. Contact Eugenia Canas at 416-489-3396 or email: buzz@hardlines.ca ______________________________________________

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. HARDLINES™ the electronic newsletter hardlines.ca Phone: 416.489.3396; Fax: 416.489.6154 Michael McLarney, Editor & Publisher: mike@hardlines.ca Eugenia Canas, Assistant Editor: buzz@hardlines.ca Beverly Allen, Marketing Manager: bev@hardlines.ca Nancy Wright, Circulation Manager: nancy@hardlines.ca ______________________________________________   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! ______________________________________________

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.