BOUCHERVILLE, Que. ― Lowe’s Canada intends to close a total of 27 “under-performing” stores across the country. It will also close its giant regional support centre in Mississauga, Ont., another RSC in St. John’s, its truss plant in the same market and a block plant in Kamloops, B.C.

The closing of the Mississauga regional office (shown here) will take place sometime in 2019. “Having our operations under one roof will allow us to improve collaboration between our banners to better serve our customers,” said Sylvain Prud’homme, president and CEO of Lowe’s Canada.

The Canadian consolidation is scheduled to occur by the end of January, which corresponds with Lowe’s year end. “The decision to close stores is never one that we make lightly,” Prud’homme said. “However, following a detailed business review, we believe that this is the right path for the organization’s future.” He added that the company will support employees impacted by the decision, “including by transferring eligible employees to other locations within our network whenever possible.”

RONA’s four corporate stores in Newfoundland and Labrador will be part of the closings. Along with the closing of the RSC and truss plant in St. John’s, for a total of six locations, this will mean the exit of RONA’s corporate presence from that province. These locations are all part of the former Chester Dawe chain, a major independent in on the Avalon Peninsula, which was purchased by RONA in 2006.

RONA still has an affiliate dealer in Fortune and another in Wabush, near Labrador City. Both remain open, unaffected by the corporate closures.

While most of the Canadian closings are of RONA stores, Lowe’s big boxes are also on the list: one in Centerpoint Mall in the north end of Toronto, and another in Sault Ste. Marie, Ont. Lowe’s Canada states that all the closings represent about 3% of its Canadian corporate store network.

The Canadian consolidation is part of a larger effort by Lowe’s in Mooresville, NC to trim operations. The company intends to close another 20 stores state-side, also by the end of January.

To facilitate an orderly wind-down, the company intends to conduct store closing sales for most of the impacted locations, including all the Canadian sites. In the U.S., some stores will be closed immediately. For these sites, Lowe’s has partnered with Hilco Merchant Services to help manage the process.

(Click here to see a complete list of Lowe’s Canada closings in Canada.)

HAWKESBURY, Ont. — The Eastern Ontario town of Hawkesbury will be the site of the first Ontario store for the independent retailer, Canac.

The store will be the home improvement banner’s first outside Quebec. It will be part of an overall plan by the town to convert a former Amoco oil plant. The $71 million development project includes an expansion of the existing shopping centre on the site. However, Canac has plans for further expansion in Quebec before that happens.

Jean Laberge, president of Canac, and its parent company Groupe Laberge, has confirmed with Hardlines that the land has been purchased, but adds that development of the site is not likely to begin until late in 2019, and may even be delayed until 2020.

Canac is the dominant player in the Quebec City market, with 12 stores there. Over the past decade, the retailer has been expanding steadily southward, in locations such as Victoriaville and Drummondville, and its 27th store, in Thetford Mines, which opened last May.

Most recently, it has been establishing itself in the Montreal market. It started on the South Shore, expanding east from St-Hubert as far as Sherbrooke. The next store (shown here)—its 29th—is scheduled to open in Notre-Dame-des-Prairies in the spring of 2019. It will be Canac’s first location in the province’s Lanaudière region. The 41,000-square-foot outlet includes 26,000 square feet of retail, including a designated service area for contractors, as well as a 31,500-square-foot covered drive-through lumber warehouse.

Canac has even translated its website and flyers into English in anticipation of opening in an Anglophone market. But for now, Laberge says, the company’s focus remains on Quebec, at a pace of about two stores a year. Each store costs up to $6 million and employs 90 staff.

NATIONAL REPORT — Canada’s geography has always presented a challenge when it comes to distribution. But there are several companies—both homegrown and international—that have found ways to make hardware distribution work for them here.

“Effective distribution and delivery is vital to our strategy,” says John Dyksterhuis, vice-president of distribution for Home Hardware Stores Ltd. “Supplying our stores the products they need in a timely manner is critical to both our dealers and their customers.”

Taiga Building Supplies, the wholesale LBM distributor based in Burnaby, B.C., has also upgraded several of its procedures to respond to changes in the marketplace. About six years ago, it updated its ERP (enterprise resource planning) system. Taiga is also working on its warehouse management system to create tighter control. Finally, a year ago, it implemented a new customer relationship management program.

“Our new customer relationship management tool tracks everything from birthdays to buying trends and it allows our sales people to compare trends,” says Graham Hoover. “And it gives us good insight into what we’re not doing with our customers.”

“Just having what a customer wants is not enough if you cannot get their orders processed and delivered on-time,” says Bret Walters, from Orgill’s operations team in London, Ont. The Memphis-based hardware wholesaler ships to Canadian independents from the London DC and from a facility in Post Falls, Idaho.

“We’re always looking for ways to do things better and more efficiently. Innovation has always characterized Orgill’s methods of stocking and shipping merchandise.”

Recently, Orgill made improvements to its website that make managing and placing orders more efficient for its customers. Walters says this greatly improves order accuracy and efficiency. “The goal is always on customer service and keeping orders accurate,” he adds.

(This is excerpted from a story in our sister publication, Hardlines Home Improvement Quarterly. The latest issue of HHIQ is in the mail right now to 11,000 retail dealers and managers across Canada. Click here for more info!—Editor)

TORONTO ― Home Depot Canada offered insiders a sneak preview of the products and trends it’s rolling out for the holiday season. At a recent open house in Toronto, merchants were on hand to explain the latest assortments that are appearing in Home Depot stores in time for Christmas.

Mark Beaty, who has recently been promoted to the senior merchant role for seasonal−live goods, talked about the development of Home Depot’s floral collections, which have evolved from simple $20 arrangements to sophisticated presentations that have designer influences in their colour choices and vases. This year, he pointed out, the fashion is trending to more natural looks that rely on less elaborate arrangements while providing rich combinations. The ones he showed have a comparably higher price point, at $99.

Dara Greenberg, senior merchant for seasonal−indoor, including decorative holiday, showed off the latest holiday decorations. For example, unicorns are now being sold alongside snowmen and reindeer as seasonal icons. “They’re really on trend now,” Greenberg said.

Other trends for the season are reflected in the designer colours. “Navy is this year’s colour,” she added, and it’s showing up on everything from tree trimmings to tabletop décor.

As in years past, technology plays an important role in driving sales. That includes an outdoor snowman who continuously tips his hat and a Christmas tree whose plush toy decorations begin dancing to recorded music at the click of a remote—and sells for $1,000.

Charles David Thomassin is leaving his post as manager of advertising and sponsorship sales for the Quebec home improvement association, AQMAT. He is taking on a new role with Manulift, a maker of telescopic boom cranes based in the Quebec City area.

...that dealers and suppliers from all over Canada are gathering in Niagara-on-the-Lake, Ont., over the next few days for 23rd annual Hardlines Conference? There’s still time for you to become part of the buzz! Click here for tickets!

TORONTO — Canadian Tire has turned in a strong third quarter, with the Canadian Tire Retail business enjoying a retail sales rise of 2.4%. Comp sales for CTR increased 2.2%. Consolidated retail sales across the entire company were up 4.4% in the third quarter. Excluding Petroleum, consolidated retail sales were up 2.6% over the same period last year. Consolidated comparable sales rose 2.5%.

SASKATOON — Federated Co-operatives Ltd. has launched a line of holiday-inspired gift cards to support local emergency relief efforts in communities across Western Canada. Through the Co-op Give Card Campaign, FCL’s Co-op stores will donate $1 from the sale of specially-marked gift cards to the Canadian Red Cross, up to a maximum of $250,000. The campaign is part of a new five-year commitment to donate up to $1.5 million for community-based emergency response efforts.

SEATTLE — Amazon Canada has rolled out its annual Countdown to Black Friday Deals Store, officially marking the start of its holiday shopping season. Savings on select Black & Decker corded outdoor power tools feature among the deals offered during the Countdown. In Toronto and Vancouver, Amazon is offering Amazon Lockers to customers who want to pick up purchases at their leisure. These pick-up points are located near select Whole Foods Market stores, offices, major convenience stores, grocery stores, apartment buildings and malls.

SUPPLIER NEWS

DUBLIN — Allegion, through its Schlage brand, has teamed up with Amazon to offer a range of smart home products. As part of that partnership Schlage has introduced the Schlage Connect Smart Deadbolt, Zigbee-certified with Amazon Key compatibility. The new lock is now available as part of the Amazon Key Smart Lock Kit. The deadbolt’s integration of Zigbee protocol allows customers to lock their doors while away from home via the Amazon Key app when paired to the Amazon Cloud Cam. Customers will be able to receive real-time notifications, live streams and recorded clips to control and monitor guest access and optional in-home delivery remotely.

TORONTO — IKO Industries Ltd. has concluded a deal to acquire the operations of Roof Tile Group from New Zealand-based manufacturer and builder Fletcher Building Ltd. Roof Tile Group manufactures metal roofing tiles for global sales and distribution under a number of brand names, including Decra and Gerard. The purchase will expand IKO’s global reach to production sites in New Zealand, Hungary, Malaysia and the U.S. Terms of the deal were not disclosed.

VANCOUVER — Acadian Timber reported net sales of $26.6 million in Q3, down from $27.2 million last year. Net income totalled $5.9 million, or $0.36 per share, compared to $9.7 million ($0.58 per share) in Q3 of 2017. The company said it benefited from favourable operating conditions and strong seasonal demand, but harvesting schedules drove down log sales volumes by 11%.

ECONOMIC INDICATORS

Canadian municipalities issued $8.1 billion worth of building permits in September, up 0.4% from August. The national increase was driven by higher construction intentions in Quebec. In the residential sector, the value of building permits edged up 0.3% to $4.9 billion, posting the first increase in four months. Higher construction intentions for multi-family dwellings contributed to the rise. The value of building permits for single-family dwellings was down 1.2% to $2.2 billion in September, the fourth consecutive monthly decrease. (StatCan)

After strengthened activity in 2016 and 2017, housing starts in this country have been slowing through 2018. And that trend is forecast to continue into 2020, according to the latest housing report from CMHC. The report indicates that housing starts will slow down gradually over 2018 to 2020, moderating from the 10-year high recorded in 2017. However, for October, housing starts reached 205,925 units seasonally adjusted, up from 189,730 units in September. Urban starts increased by 8.6% and multiple urban starts increased by 16.8%. (CMHC)

The home remodelling boom in the U.S. may be set to come to an end. Expenditures on remodelling have benefitted from a funk in the housing market, which encouraged owners to renovate instead of selling. Now, inertia in the housing market means fewer prospective buyers, usually a significant source of home improvement spending, are out house hunting. Expenditures will continue to rise in 2019, but the pace of growth will slow from quarter to quarter. (MarketWatch)

NOTED

Management training for home improvement dealers: The North American Retail Hardware Association’s amazing Retail Management Certification program is being used by more and more Canadian dealer-owners to develop key managers on their teams. This is an in-depth six-month course that includes in-class study and case studies with peers. It’s like a mini-MBA for retail home improvement. Cost for the session, beginning January 2018, has been discounted to US$9,950 (regularly US$12,500). For more information, please contact me directly.