HARDLINES
Canada's electronic information service for home improvement
industry
November 26, 2001
Volume vii, #50
Michael McLarney, Editor & Publisher
Phone: 416.489.3396
Fax: 416.489.6154
email: mike@hardlines.ca
hardlines.ca
* * * * * *
IN THIS ISSUE:
* Réno-Dépôt tries smaller stores, smaller markets
* Sodisco-Howden buys hardware and LBM from Marchands Unis
* Bill Wilson is back at Howden
* Cologne Show puts focus on building materials in 2002
* Home Depot will open in Montréal next week
* * * * * *
HARDLINES TO SPEAK AT NEXT MEETING OF
THE WOMEN'S CONSUMER PRODUCTS NETWORK -
DON'T MISS THIS EVENT!!!
Beverly Allen, Marketing Manager of Hardlines, will present
a NEWLY UPDATED overview of the retail hardware and home
improvement industry, including the size of the market,
retail trends and emerging product categories. Find out the
latest on what's going on behind the scenes with the key
players in retail hardware/home improvement.
WCPN Breakfast Meeting-8:30 to 10:30 a.m., Tuesday, December
4th, 2001. Loblaws at Heartland Town Centre at the corner of
McLaughlin Road and Britannia Road in Mississauga, ON.
Members only: $10.00
(HARDLINES IS A PROUD SPONSOR OF WCPN)
* * * * * *
NEW: POWERPOINT PRESENTATION
ON THE CANADIAN MARKET
A point-by-point illustration of the Canadian market and the
growth of its key players.
Dazzle your bosses and impress your friends with this one!
($179 + taxes for subscribers, $449 + taxes for
non-subscribers.)
Call Nancy Wright at 416.489.3396, email her at:
nancy@hardlines.ca, or go online:
https://hardlines.ca/html/order.html to order any of the
above publications.
* * * * * *
MARCHANDS UNIS SELLS HARDWARE AND LBM
SIDE TO SODISCO-HOWDEN
An on-again off-again deal is ... on again. Sodisco-Howden
Group has entered into an agreement to acquire the hardware
and building materials division of Marchands Unis. The $20
million deal, expected to close by January 31, 2002, gives
SHG another 150 hardware and building supply dealers in
Québec and francophone areas of Eastern Ontario and New
Brunswick. They join more than 800 Pro and Do-it center
dealers across Canada and will continue to operate under
their own banners, namely Bâtitout, Ferplus Quincaillerie
and Jardirêve.
Marchands Unis also services 200 sporting goods dealers that
operate as Excellence Sports, Sports Excellence and Propac
Chasse et Pêche. They will remain with Marchands Unis as
part of its new focus on sports, hunting and fishing.
According to Jos Wintermans, president and CEO of SHG, a
sale had been under consideration for about three years, but
neither side was ever able to come to a conclusion. "We
revived this as soon as I was in place," says Wintermans,
who took over in July, 2001. "The key to it was the
refinancing we had to do." Congress Financial Corp., an
asset-based lender, has put up a new $55 million line of
credit, from which the purchase will be funded.
The addition to its dealer ranks is expected to enable SHG
to increase its shipments by $100 million, taking it over
$500 million in overall annual sales. It will also give a
boost to its alliance with ILDC under SpanCan. "The deal
will help us increase the SpanCan buying group volume, which
fills the gap we had when we lost Revy to Rona," Wintermans
says.
The deal is also part of SHG's strategy to clean its house,
paving the way to effectively handle additional distribution
capacity. That reorg has included centralizing buying from
both its Victoriaville and London, ON distribution centres
into its Montréal head office.
"There's a lot of opportunity to work on the vendor side to
make things simpler, to negotiate for the whole business,
not just the Sodisco or the Howden business," Wintermans
concludes.
______________________________________________
RÉNO-DÉPÔT TRIES SMALLER BIG BOX FORMAT
Réno-Dépôt prides itself on some of the largest home
improvement stores in the country. But the store that opened
this past weekend in Sherbrooke, QC marks the company's
experiment with a slightly smaller store to suit a smaller
market, says Réno-Dépôt president and CEO Sylvain Toutant.
This one is 124,000 sq.ft. and, if successful, Toutant sees
rolling the concept into other similar communities. "If
Sherbrooke is a good town, then so is Trois Rivières."
Réno-Dépôt's stores can get as big as 160,000 sq.ft. By
comparison, Home Depot's stores are typically around 130,000
sq.ft.
The smaller size does not denote a new retail concept à la
Home Depot's new 50,000-80,000-sq.ft. "urban" stores, but
rather a pragmatic response to the need for the best
available sites. "It's really about accepting the
opportunity in the marketplace," says Paul Hètu,
vice-president marketing for Réno-Dépôt. "It's not a
compromise, not a different store."
The pressure, he adds, was on the merchandising team to
create the same kind of shopping experience as a larger
store. As a result, some departments got trimmed a bit. For
example, the number of faucets dropped from 422 to about
350, without changing the look of the department, insists
Hètu. "Is 350 enough to knock you off your feet? Yes!" The
kitchen showroom was also downsized slightly, though the
same selection is still available. On the other hand,
departments such as paint got even more space.
Réno-Dépôt's next Building Box will open in Windsor, ON in
Spring 2002. That store will also be slightly smaller,
weighing in at just under 130,000 sq.ft.
While stalled on their entry into Southern Ontario in
November 2000, Réno-Dépôt has since picked up steam with two
Building Box openings this month, one in Mississauga on
November 14 and London, ON on November 28, in addition to
Sherbrooke this past weekend. "It's not a race for the
number of stores," says Toutant. "It's a race for the number
of profitable stores."
______________________________________________
COLOGNE SHOW 2002 WILL INCREASE
FOCUS ON BUILDING MATERIALS
Under a mandate to become more user-friendly, the
International Hardware Show/DIY'TEC in Cologne will
concentrate on building materials in 2002.
The show has been coordinated with various European
associations - including the Construction and DIY
Manufacturers Association and the Federal Association of
German Building and Garden Specialist Stores.
"In terms of the organization of the show, and of the
European presence there, it is completely business as
usual," says Edel Wichmann, manager of Canadian
representation for the show. "The economy is on a downward
trend globally, but that makes a company's presence all the
more important, because it establishes and develops contacts
that non-exhibiting competitors may not be making."
In 2001, the Cologne show counted 3,832 exhibiting companies
from 58 countries, and 87,000 visitors from 123 countries.
______________________________________________
COMPANIES IN THE NEWS
Home Depot Canada's 77th store, and its first right in
Montréal, will open November 29. The store, located at 1000,
West Sauvé Street, brings the retailer's total in Québec to
five.
Sodisco-Howden has posted third-quarter results for the
period ended September 30th, 2001. The company had revenues
of $108,306 million for the quarter, an 8% increase from the
same quarter in 2000. The hardware division increased 4.6%
to $59.1 million, while lumber and building materials rose
11.4% to $45.7 million, and other sources reached $3.5
million. The company posted net earnings of $279,000.
Revenues for the nine-month period were $300,660.
T-Fal has made an offer to buy selected inventory from
Moulinex Canada, which entered bankruptcy on November 14.
Moulinex and Krups brand products are expected to continue
to be sold by T-Fal if the sale goes through. Under the
terms of the offer, T-Fal will assume existing warranties
for certain Moulinex products.
LePage, a division of Henkel Canada, has chosen KM Agency
Ltd. as its sole agent in Atlantic Canada, effective
December 1st, 2001. Previously responsible for LePage's DIY
channel, KM will now be responsible for the professional
markets channel, as well.
Hudson's Bay Co. has opened two more Home Outfitters stores,
bringing the total to 21. One store, opened in Edmonton, AB,
marks the second in that province. The retailer also opened
a store in Winnipeg, MB. Both locations are more than 40,000
sq.ft. and employ approximately 100 people.
Wal-Mart Stores is shifting its buying away from its Hong
Kong agent and into Shenzhen, in southern China. The company
said it wants to deal directly with suppliers and be closer
to manufacturers. But the move adds to fears that service
industry jobs will migrate across the Chinese border just as
manufacturing jobs did in the 1980s.
Sears, Roebuck and Co. has said it expects its same-store
sales during the holiday shopping season to fall 3% to 4%.
Total domestic sales for the four weeks ended November 30
were down 3.4% from a year ago to US$2.15 billion.
Lowe's Cos. Inc. has reported third-quarter sales were up
21% to US$5.45 billion from US$4.5 billion. Same-store sales
rose 4%. Net income was US$250.5 million, up from US$202
million a year earlier. Healthy results were attributed due
to consumer focus on their homes.
_____________________________________________
CANADIAN STOCK WATCH
| COMPANY |
52-WK HIGH |
52-WK LOW |
CLOSE (FRI) |
| Canadian Tire |
25.20 |
15.05 |
26.55 |
| Canfor |
16.95 |
7.65 |
9.25 |
| Emco |
7.50 |
2.60 |
6.25 |
| Goodfellow |
11.00 |
8.00 |
8.60 |
| Home Depot |
49.74 |
47.61 |
45.68 |
| Hudson's Bay |
17.65 |
12.40 |
14.39 |
| Lowe's |
64.90 |
34.25 |
42.88 |
| Sears Canada |
37.25 |
18.55 |
17.50 |
| Sodisco Howden |
2.80 |
0.75 |
1.40 |
| Taiga Forest |
10.00 |
6.80 |
9.50 |
| West Fraser |
36.50 |
21.00 |
37.00 |
______________________________________________
"Is not life a hundred times too short for us to bore
ourselves?"
- Friedrich Nietzsche (1844-1900)
______________________________________________
MARKET INDICATORS
Statistics Canada has released its Composite Index, posting
a 0.1% gain in October. The index was buttressed by housing:
both housing starts and existing home sales hit their
second-highest level of the year in October.
Wholesale trade fell 0.9% in September, says Stats Canada.
Nine of the 11 sectors reported declines. Over the past
year, wholesale trade has reported three monthly declines
equal to or in excess of 0.9%, and the trend has continued
to rise.
Consumers paid 1.9% more in October than they did in October
2000 for the goods and services in the Consumer Price Index
(CPI) basket, according to Stats Canada. It was the
smallest increase since July 1999. The index rose 2.5% over
the 12 months ending in October. Increases for this index
have ranged between 2.5% and 2.7% since May.
In September, retail sales dropped 1.7% to $23.7 billion -
the largest monthly decline since the ice storm of January
1998 disrupted retail sales in Central and Eastern Canada.
In constant dollars, retail sales tumbled 2.3% in September,
after remaining flat for four months.
U.S. consumer prices fell in October, as reported by the
U.S. Labor Department. The index declined 0.3% last month
following a 0.4% gain in September, the Labor Department
said. Excluding the more volatile food and energy prices,
the so-called core CPI rose 0.2% for the fourth straight
month.
______________________________________________
PEOPLE ON THE MOVE
Bill Wilson's departure from the Howden Division of
Sodisco-Howden Group was mercifully short. He's back in the
London division full-time under a renewable contract. With
the consolidation of executive teams into SHG's Montréal
corporate offices, Wilson will work with Howden's key buying
group and large retailer customers. (519-664-2200)
While all the buying duties have not been confirmed yet for
Sodisco-Howden's Montréal team, we have heard that Al Lynn,
Howden's merchandising director at Howden, has agreed to
move to Montréal as national director, merchandising,
responsible for all merchandising operations. (514-286-8986)
Tony Duffy, vice-president of sales & marketing at Tremco
Canada, has been appointed to the CHHMA board of directors.
He replaces John Hammill of Moen Inc., who resigned from the
board due to a change in job function. Duffy will serve the
balance of Mr. Hammill's term. (416-282-0022)
Home Depot Inc. has announced that its current CEO, Bob
Nardelli, will become chairman of the company next year.
Nardelli will replace current Home Depot chairman and
co-founder Bernie Marcus on January 1, 2002. The company
added that Nardelli would give up the president's position
when he becomes chairman. (416-609-0852)
Seljax Int'l Inc., a Canadian software company that provides
software solutions to the building materials industry, has
added sales agents in Lexington, KY to increase its hold on
the U.S. market. Fran W. Anderson, vice-president of U.S.
sales and James L. Hughes, major accounts manager, have
joined the Seljax team south of the border. (1-800-651-7955)
The Canadian Institute of Plumbing and Heating Board has
appointed GSW's Terry Parsons as director. Parsons fills one
of the three vacancies on the board. He is president of GSW
Water Heating Cos. in Fergus. Parsons replaces Rod Pullen
from Brasscraft. (519-942-3075)
TruServ Corp. has appointed Pamela Forbes Lieberman as CEO.
Lieberman came to TruServ last March as CFO; she took on the
duties of CFO last July upon the resignation of then-CEO
Donald Hoye. Last year, the previous CFO found more than
$100 million in accounting errors that forced TruServ to
post a $131 million loss for 1999. This year, Lieberman
uncovered more problems that required it to restate results
for 1997-99. (204-452-6615)
CORRECTION: Check your spelling of Luc Lemonde (appointed
vice-president of merchandising at Sodisco-Howden Group
Montréal offices); Serge Imbeault ( now vice-president of
operations in charge of all warehouses); and Robert Harritt,
executive vice-president and CFO. We got them ALL wrong in
our last issue. Yikes! (514-286-8986)
* * * * * *
INDUSTRY NEWS. EVERY DAY -
OUR WEBSITE HAS DAILY UPDATES ON RETAIL AND INDUSTRY NEWS
THAT MATTER TO YOU. KEEP INFORMED. VISIT hardlines.ca -
EVERY DAY!
* * * * * *
EUROPE IS STILL OPEN FOR BUSINESS! CANADIANS SHOULD BE
THERE!
THE COLOGNE INTERNATIONAL HARDWARE FAIR/DIY'TEC:
March 3-6, 2002. For show information, contact: Edel
Wichmann, 416-598-3343; or colognet@idirect.com. To book
your flight and hotel, call Carol-Ann Contact Trade Show
Travel by phone: 1-877-873-7469; fax: 403-247-2448; or
tradeshowtravel@shaw.ca to arrange your trip. Packages
include return airfare and accommodations, as well as
admission to the Exhibition. BOOK EARLY!
Packages also include an invitation to the internationally
famous Canada Night Reception on Sunday, March 3, 2002,
sponsored by Hardlines and Cologne International Trade
Shows. We'll see you in Cologne!
* * * * * *
OVERHEARD ...
"The idea is to carry as much in-stock as possible."
- Sylvain Toutant, president and CEO of Réno-Dépôt, at the
recent opening of The Building Box in Mississauga, ON.
______________________________________________
* * * * 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
or call 519-439-6800 ext. 201
* * * * * *
PROMOTE YOUR COMPANY BETTER
Want to communicate more effectively to your customers?
Need help announcing new products, businesses or marketing
initiatives?
McLARNEYCOM brings vendors and retailers the marketing tools
they need to boost sales:
press releases, corporate brochures, customer newsletters,
direct mail and more!
Contact us at 416-489-3396; buzz@hardlines.ca
* * * * * *
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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 us 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
(c) 2001 by Michael McLarney.
HARDLINES(tm) 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
______________________________________________
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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
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your internal routing from this end!
______________________________________________
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HARDLINES
Canada's electronic information service for home improvement
industry
November 26, 2001
Volume vii, #50
Michael McLarney, Editor & Publisher
Phone: 416.489.3396
Fax: 416.489.6154
email: mike@hardlines.ca
hardlines.ca
* * * * * *
IN THIS ISSUE:
* Réno-Dépôt tries smaller stores, smaller markets
* Sodisco-Howden buys hardware and LBM from Marchands Unis
* Bill Wilson is back at Howden
* Cologne Show puts focus on building materials in 2002
* Home Depot will open in Montréal next week
* * * * * *
HARDLINES TO SPEAK AT NEXT MEETING OF
THE WOMEN'S CONSUMER PRODUCTS NETWORK -
DON'T MISS THIS EVENT!!!
Beverly Allen, Marketing Manager of Hardlines, will present
a NEWLY UPDATED overview of the retail hardware and home
improvement industry, including the size of the market,
retail trends and emerging product categories. Find out the
latest on what's going on behind the scenes with the key
players in retail hardware/home improvement.
WCPN Breakfast Meeting-8:30 to 10:30 a.m., Tuesday, December
4th, 2001. Loblaws at Heartland Town Centre at the corner of
McLaughlin Road and Britannia Road in Mississauga, ON.
Members only: $10.00
(HARDLINES IS A PROUD SPONSOR OF WCPN)
* * * * * *
NEW: POWERPOINT PRESENTATION
ON THE CANADIAN MARKET
A point-by-point illustration of the Canadian market and the
growth of its key players.
Dazzle your bosses and impress your friends with this one!
($179 + taxes for subscribers, $449 + taxes for
non-subscribers.)
Call Nancy Wright at 416.489.3396, email her at:
nancy@hardlines.ca, or go online:
https://hardlines.ca/html/order.html to order any of the
above publications.
* * * * * *
MARCHANDS UNIS SELLS HARDWARE AND LBM
SIDE TO SODISCO-HOWDEN
An on-again off-again deal is ... on again. Sodisco-Howden
Group has entered into an agreement to acquire the hardware
and building materials division of Marchands Unis. The $20
million deal, expected to close by January 31, 2002, gives
SHG another 150 hardware and building supply dealers in
Québec and francophone areas of Eastern Ontario and New
Brunswick. They join more than 800 Pro and Do-it center
dealers across Canada and will continue to operate under
their own banners, namely Bâtitout, Ferplus Quincaillerie
and Jardirêve.
Marchands Unis also services 200 sporting goods dealers that
operate as Excellence Sports, Sports Excellence and Propac
Chasse et Pêche. They will remain with Marchands Unis as
part of its new focus on sports, hunting and fishing.
According to Jos Wintermans, president and CEO of SHG, a
sale had been under consideration for about three years, but
neither side was ever able to come to a conclusion. "We
revived this as soon as I was in place," says Wintermans,
who took over in July, 2001. "The key to it was the
refinancing we had to do." Congress Financial Corp., an
asset-based lender, has put up a new $55 million line of
credit, from which the purchase will be funded.
The addition to its dealer ranks is expected to enable SHG
to increase its shipments by $100 million, taking it over
$500 million in overall annual sales. It will also give a
boost to its alliance with ILDC under SpanCan. "The deal
will help us increase the SpanCan buying group volume, which
fills the gap we had when we lost Revy to Rona," Wintermans
says.
The deal is also part of SHG's strategy to clean its house,
paving the way to effectively handle additional distribution
capacity. That reorg has included centralizing buying from
both its Victoriaville and London, ON distribution centres
into its Montréal head office.
"There's a lot of opportunity to work on the vendor side to
make things simpler, to negotiate for the whole business,
not just the Sodisco or the Howden business," Wintermans
concludes.
______________________________________________
RÉNO-DÉPÔT TRIES SMALLER BIG BOX FORMAT
Réno-Dépôt prides itself on some of the largest home
improvement stores in the country. But the store that opened
this past weekend in Sherbrooke, QC marks the company's
experiment with a slightly smaller store to suit a smaller
market, says Réno-Dépôt president and CEO Sylvain Toutant.
This one is 124,000 sq.ft. and, if successful, Toutant sees
rolling the concept into other similar communities. "If
Sherbrooke is a good town, then so is Trois Rivières."
Réno-Dépôt's stores can get as big as 160,000 sq.ft. By
comparison, Home Depot's stores are typically around 130,000
sq.ft.
The smaller size does not denote a new retail concept à la
Home Depot's new 50,000-80,000-sq.ft. "urban" stores, but
rather a pragmatic response to the need for the best
available sites. "It's really about accepting the
opportunity in the marketplace," says Paul Hètu,
vice-president marketing for Réno-Dépôt. "It's not a
compromise, not a different store."
The pressure, he adds, was on the merchandising team to
create the same kind of shopping experience as a larger
store. As a result, some departments got trimmed a bit. For
example, the number of faucets dropped from 422 to about
350, without changing the look of the department, insists
Hètu. "Is 350 enough to knock you off your feet? Yes!" The
kitchen showroom was also downsized slightly, though the
same selection is still available. On the other hand,
departments such as paint got even more space.
Réno-Dépôt's next Building Box will open in Windsor, ON in
Spring 2002. That store will also be slightly smaller,
weighing in at just under 130,000 sq.ft.
While stalled on their entry into Southern Ontario in
November 2000, Réno-Dépôt has since picked up steam with two
Building Box openings this month, one in Mississauga on
November 14 and London, ON on November 28, in addition to
Sherbrooke this past weekend. "It's not a race for the
number of stores," says Toutant. "It's a race for the number
of profitable stores."
______________________________________________
COLOGNE SHOW 2002 WILL INCREASE
FOCUS ON BUILDING MATERIALS
Under a mandate to become more user-friendly, the
International Hardware Show/DIY'TEC in Cologne will
concentrate on building materials in 2002.
The show has been coordinated with various European
associations - including the Construction and DIY
Manufacturers Association and the Federal Association of
German Building and Garden Specialist Stores.
"In terms of the organization of the show, and of the
European presence there, it is completely business as
usual," says Edel Wichmann, manager of Canadian
representation for the show. "The economy is on a downward
trend globally, but that makes a company's presence all the
more important, because it establishes and develops contacts
that non-exhibiting competitors may not be making."
In 2001, the Cologne show counted 3,832 exhibiting companies
from 58 countries, and 87,000 visitors from 123 countries.
______________________________________________
COMPANIES IN THE NEWS
Home Depot Canada's 77th store, and its first right in
Montréal, will open November 29. The store, located at 1000,
West Sauvé Street, brings the retailer's total in Québec to
five.
Sodisco-Howden has posted third-quarter results for the
period ended September 30th, 2001. The company had revenues
of $108,306 million for the quarter, an 8% increase from the
same quarter in 2000. The hardware division increased 4.6%
to $59.1 million, while lumber and building materials rose
11.4% to $45.7 million, and other sources reached $3.5
million. The company posted net earnings of $279,000.
Revenues for the nine-month period were $300,660.
T-Fal has made an offer to buy selected inventory from
Moulinex Canada, which entered bankruptcy on November 14.
Moulinex and Krups brand products are expected to continue
to be sold by T-Fal if the sale goes through. Under the
terms of the offer, T-Fal will assume existing warranties
for certain Moulinex products.
LePage, a division of Henkel Canada, has chosen KM Agency
Ltd. as its sole agent in Atlantic Canada, effective
December 1st, 2001. Previously responsible for LePage's DIY
channel, KM will now be responsible for the professional
markets channel, as well.
Hudson's Bay Co. has opened two more Home Outfitters stores,
bringing the total to 21. One store, opened in Edmonton, AB,
marks the second in that province. The retailer also opened
a store in Winnipeg, MB. Both locations are more than 40,000
sq.ft. and employ approximately 100 people.
Wal-Mart Stores is shifting its buying away from its Hong
Kong agent and into Shenzhen, in southern China. The company
said it wants to deal directly with suppliers and be closer
to manufacturers. But the move adds to fears that service
industry jobs will migrate across the Chinese border just as
manufacturing jobs did in the 1980s.
Sears, Roebuck and Co. has said it expects its same-store
sales during the holiday shopping season to fall 3% to 4%.
Total domestic sales for the four weeks ended November 30
were down 3.4% from a year ago to US$2.15 billion.
Lowe's Cos. Inc. has reported third-quarter sales were up
21% to US$5.45 billion from US$4.5 billion. Same-store sales
rose 4%. Net income was US$250.5 million, up from US$202
million a year earlier. Healthy results were attributed due
to consumer focus on their homes.
_____________________________________________
CANADIAN STOCK WATCH
| COMPANY |
52-WK HIGH |
52-WK LOW |
CLOSE (FRI) |
| Canadian Tire |
25.20 |
15.05 |
26.55 |
| Canfor |
16.95 |
7.65 |
9.25 |
| Emco |
7.50 |
2.60 |
6.25 |
| Goodfellow |
11.00 |
8.00 |
8.60 |
| Home Depot |
49.74 |
47.61 |
45.68 |
| Hudson's Bay |
17.65 |
12.40 |
14.39 |
| Lowe's |
64.90 |
34.25 |
42.88 |
| Sears Canada |
37.25 |
18.55 |
17.50 |
| Sodisco Howden |
2.80 |
0.75 |
1.40 |
| Taiga Forest |
10.00 |
6.80 |
9.50 |
| West Fraser |
36.50 |
21.00 |
37.00 |
______________________________________________
"Is not life a hundred times too short for us to bore
ourselves?"
- Friedrich Nietzsche (1844-1900)
______________________________________________
MARKET INDICATORS
Statistics Canada has released its Composite Index, posting
a 0.1% gain in October. The index was buttressed by housing:
both housing starts and existing home sales hit their
second-highest level of the year in October.
Wholesale trade fell 0.9% in September, says Stats Canada.
Nine of the 11 sectors reported declines. Over the past
year, wholesale trade has reported three monthly declines
equal to or in excess of 0.9%, and the trend has continued
to rise.
Consumers paid 1.9% more in October than they did in October
2000 for the goods and services in the Consumer Price Index
(CPI) basket, according to Stats Canada. It was the
smallest increase since July 1999. The index rose 2.5% over
the 12 months ending in October. Increases for this index
have ranged between 2.5% and 2.7% since May.
In September, retail sales dropped 1.7% to $23.7 billion -
the largest monthly decline since the ice storm of January
1998 disrupted retail sales in Central and Eastern Canada.
In constant dollars, retail sales tumbled 2.3% in September,
after remaining flat for four months.
U.S. consumer prices fell in October, as reported by the
U.S. Labor Department. The index declined 0.3% last month
following a 0.4% gain in September, the Labor Department
said. Excluding the more volatile food and energy prices,
the so-called core CPI rose 0.2% for the fourth straight
month.
______________________________________________
PEOPLE ON THE MOVE
Bill Wilson's departure from the Howden Division of
Sodisco-Howden Group was mercifully short. He's back in the
London division full-time under a renewable contract. With
the consolidation of executive teams into SHG's Montréal
corporate offices, Wilson will work with Howden's key buying
group and large retailer customers. (519-664-2200)
While all the buying duties have not been confirmed yet for
Sodisco-Howden's Montréal team, we have heard that Al Lynn,
Howden's merchandising director at Howden, has agreed to
move to Montréal as national director, merchandising,
responsible for all merchandising operations. (514-286-8986)
Tony Duffy, vice-president of sales & marketing at Tremco
Canada, has been appointed to the CHHMA board of directors.
He replaces John Hammill of Moen Inc., who resigned from the
board due to a change in job function. Duffy will serve the
balance of Mr. Hammill's term. (416-282-0022)
Home Depot Inc. has announced that its current CEO, Bob
Nardelli, will become chairman of the company next year.
Nardelli will replace current Home Depot chairman and
co-founder Bernie Marcus on January 1, 2002. The company
added that Nardelli would give up the president's position
when he becomes chairman. (416-609-0852)
Seljax Int'l Inc., a Canadian software company that provides
software solutions to the building materials industry, has
added sales agents in Lexington, KY to increase its hold on
the U.S. market. Fran W. Anderson, vice-president of U.S.
sales and James L. Hughes, major accounts manager, have
joined the Seljax team south of the border. (1-800-651-7955)
The Canadian Institute of Plumbing and Heating Board has
appointed GSW's Terry Parsons as director. Parsons fills one
of the three vacancies on the board. He is president of GSW
Water Heating Cos. in Fergus. Parsons replaces Rod Pullen
from Brasscraft. (519-942-3075)
TruServ Corp. has appointed Pamela Forbes Lieberman as CEO.
Lieberman came to TruServ last March as CFO; she took on the
duties of CFO last July upon the resignation of then-CEO
Donald Hoye. Last year, the previous CFO found more than
$100 million in accounting errors that forced TruServ to
post a $131 million loss for 1999. This year, Lieberman
uncovered more problems that required it to restate results
for 1997-99. (204-452-6615)
CORRECTION: Check your spelling of Luc Lemonde (appointed
vice-president of merchandising at Sodisco-Howden Group
Montréal offices); Serge Imbeault ( now vice-president of
operations in charge of all warehouses); and Robert Harritt,
executive vice-president and CFO. We got them ALL wrong in
our last issue. Yikes! (514-286-8986)
* * * * * *
INDUSTRY NEWS. EVERY DAY -
OUR WEBSITE HAS DAILY UPDATES ON RETAIL AND INDUSTRY NEWS
THAT MATTER TO YOU. KEEP INFORMED. VISIT hardlines.ca -
EVERY DAY!
* * * * * *
EUROPE IS STILL OPEN FOR BUSINESS! CANADIANS SHOULD BE
THERE!
THE COLOGNE INTERNATIONAL HARDWARE FAIR/DIY'TEC:
March 3-6, 2002. For show information, contact: Edel
Wichmann, 416-598-3343; or colognet@idirect.com. To book
your flight and hotel, call Carol-Ann Contact Trade Show
Travel by phone: 1-877-873-7469; fax: 403-247-2448; or
tradeshowtravel@shaw.ca to arrange your trip. Packages
include return airfare and accommodations, as well as
admission to the Exhibition. BOOK EARLY!
Packages also include an invitation to the internationally
famous Canada Night Reception on Sunday, March 3, 2002,
sponsored by Hardlines and Cologne International Trade
Shows. We'll see you in Cologne!
* * * * * *
OVERHEARD ...
"The idea is to carry as much in-stock as possible."
- Sylvain Toutant, president and CEO of Réno-Dépôt, at the
recent opening of The Building Box in Mississauga, ON.
______________________________________________
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NORAL INSTORE:
BOOST your retail profile with instore sales support
for your products and merchandising
Visit http://www.noralmarketing.com
or call 519-439-6800 ext. 201
* * * * * *
PROMOTE YOUR COMPANY BETTER
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Contact us at 416-489-3396; buzz@hardlines.ca
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______________________________________________
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