November 28, 2016 Volume xxii, #45

“A champion is someone who gets up when he can’t.”
— Jack Dempsey, American heavyweight boxer and five-time world champion, 1895-1983)

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Anticipating 50-year anniversary, BMR show focuses on technology

QUEBEC CITY — Groupe BMR held its latest trade show in Quebec recently. The event used the official theme of technology to drive it, while anticipation around the organization’s 50th anniversary in 2017 was prevalent. According to a company spokesperson, Stéphanie Couturier, with those two notions in mind, “we wanted this show to be a window on the future of our industry.”

In keeping with the technology theme, the main hall of the show, held at the Centre des congrès, offered several new technologies on display, including 3D printers, drones, and a 2.0 store where dealers could experience virtual reality renovation planning and see how RFID chips can be used in stores.

Inside, some 300 exhibitors were waiting to introduce their new products for spring and summer 2017 to 325 dealers, under the BMR, Unimat, and Agrizone banners. This year, instead of a house, the star of the show was a large deck that hosted a wide collection of outdoor furniture and an extensive gardening area complete with living plants. Another big hit was the BBQ Québec booth. “Dealers were very excited to hear about our new exclusive association and everyone wanted to find out more about BBQ Québec’s product line,” Couturier said. (More on this partnership in last week’s edition. —Editor)

To provide dealers with even more information on new products and trends for 2017, this year’s buying show also featured a conference area where speakers from different sectors of the industry gave seminars over two days. The traditional gala evening marked the official kickoff for the festivities for the anniversary year to come. BMR CEO Pascal Houle invited everyone in attendance to raise their glass to celebrate 50 years of success.

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“Chaos” of gypsum pricing as tariff goes before Tribunal this week

NATIONAL REPORT — John Adrian is the lumber and agro manager for Rocky Mountain House Co-op Home Centre, located an hour west of Red Deer, Alta. He placed an order for two truckloads of drywall from CGC at Federated Co-operative’s Fall Buymart back in mid-October. The terms included immediate delivery.

But he just got the order last week. Prices are up and shortages abound, all due to a tariff on gypsum drywall that has affected Western Canada. It’s taking its toll on margins—and on the receptiveness of end-users, who must pay up to 60% more than they did three months ago.

The tariff is the result of a ruling on September 6 by the Canadian International Trade Tribunal on drywall from the U.S. being dumped into Western Canada. As the only drywall producer with manufacturing in Western Canada, CertainTeed Gypsum Canada filed the original complaint. The CITT ruled in favour of a tariff to level the playing field. CertainTeed’s own product, which is produced in a facility in Calgary, was not affected by the tariff, but the company did raise its prices by 30% to recapture some margin.

Delivery times now, says Adrian, are running up to seven weeks out. At the same time, demand is way off due to pricing. “The only ones buying drywall are the ones who have to,” he says, noting that his biggest customers now are on nearby reserves, where demand remains high. He’s seen his cost go from an average of $16 per sheet to $21.

Shoemaker Drywall Supplies is a commercial drywall dealer, and part of the WSB Titan group of companies. It has a dozen locations in Western Canada. Doug Skrepnek of Titan sums up the situation in one word: “Chaos.” The increased prices have affected Titan’s business, which he says is down 40% due to high prices and the lack of supply as U.S. product is staying south of the border. “Never in my 40 years in the industry have I seen this much turmoil in the marketplace,” he says.

However, the impact of the tariff can vary from dealer to dealer, depending on their supply relations. One dealer with locations in British Columbia and Alberta who asked not to be named says he buys already from Certainteed. Dealers tied more closely to that supplier are not feeling the impact as much, he says. As for his customers, he notes that the contractors “did a lot of squawking at first,” but the situation has settled down somewhat.

Skrepnek is now preparing for two weeks of hearings that begin today. A ruling will be made by the Tribunal on January 5 and any changes would go into effect January 20. Skrepnek believes the tariff will be lowered significantly as a result of the hearings. “But,” he adds, “if it’s not lowered, it will have a devastating impact.”

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Analysis: big boxes, mergers, the role of independents, and the rise of e-retail

TORONTO — With Lowe’s posting results earlier this month that lagged behind its competitor Home Depot, HARDLINES’ intrepid editor Michael McLarney spoke to Business News Network (BNN) about the state of the big boxes in Canada. Lowe’s has been taking the long view in diversifying its holdings, he said, even though that has meant that some swings and misses, such as an ill-fated joint venture with Woolworths in Australia called Masters Hardware.

Speaking to the takeover of RONA, McLarney said that the focus for now is on the back end as Lowe’s continues streamlining its operations in Boucherville, with incorporation of RONA big box stores into the Lowe’s banner to come later. The likely endgame will be the rebranding of all RONA big boxes under the Lowe’s banner, with smaller proximity stores and independent dealers retaining the RONA name.

In the meantime, properties acquired from Target after its Canadian adventure have been re-opened as Lowe’s stores.

However, the big box is only part of the story, says McLarney. Canadian big boxes have to contend with a strong independent presence even more than their American counterparts. Home Hardware, a co-op, remains in the number-three home improvement retail spot. Buying groups like Castle, TORBSA, and TIMBER MART can offer dealer-owners the best of both worlds, gathering independents into a critical mass able to hold their own against the large players, while respecting the autonomy of local ownership and management.

Despite not being a publicly traded company, Home Hardware is beginning to get the attention of Bay Street observers. Would it go public? Not likely, McLarney says, but its size and success position it for future takeovers, such as the acquisition of Beaver Lumber in 1999, which added 138 stores.

Finally, retailers across the industry are shifting to establish themselves as online sales gain increasing market share. Even sectors once thought to be immune to the trend are feeling the pressure to enter the online marketplace. McLarney recalls one retail executive telling him a few years back, people aren’t going to buy lumber and building materials off the internet. “Well, guess what,” he stresses, “they are. What’s going to happen is these stores will become the service centres as this industry becomes more and more of a service industry.”

(Click here now to watch the entire five-minute BNN interview.)

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Canadian Tire looks to strengthen its retail business with proprietary brands

TORONTO — With the release of Canadian Tire’s latest quarterly results, CEO Stephen Wetmore admitted that he was not entirely satisfied with results of the company’s Canadian Tire Retail (CTR) business. “Our CTR revenue is not quite in line with our point-of-sales growth, otherwise bottom-line would have been better,” he said in a call with analysts following the release of the company’s Q3 numbers.

“However, as we move forward on our journey, we are spending a significant portion of our time looking well beyond the next quarter to build the types of capabilities and programs for the future,” he continued.

Perhaps offering some clues as to why former CTR President Michael Medline was let go in July, he noted: “CTC is at its strongest when we have a one-company approach.”

Reorganizing the management post-Medline was part of the strategy “to better align existing expertise within the organization” under Allan MacDonald’s leadership at CTR. That included significantly expanding the role of Greg Hicks, who oversees merchandising, automotive, and the retail experience. In addition, automotive was brought in closer to CTR’s other lines of business and is now led by Andrew Davies.

During the quarter, a Consumer Brands division was created, headed up by TJ Flood, who was previously senior vice president of marketing for CTR. In this role, Flood has been tasked with expanding Canadian Tire’s range of private brands, both through development in-house and through the acquisition of other product brands that could complement or extend the company’s existing portfolio. 

CTR’s exclusive brands include Noma lights, Woods camping equipment, Canvas, which focuses on home accessories and décor, the venerable Mastercraft tool brand, and Frank, which features snacks and consumable household products.

“These areas are critical to our strategy as we move forward,” Wetmore added. “We are a product-led company. If we don’t have great products and great people, then we won’t be able to execute our retail strategies.”

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Derek Jackson has been promoted to full-time sales representative−Northern Ontario for Taymor. After spending four years learning the lumber yard business at Lansing Build-All, Jackson joined Taymor as a merchandiser in 2000, then took a year off to complete his honours degree at the University of Toronto. He returned to his merchandising role in 2008 with the added responsibility of junior sales representative for Northwestern Ontario. He takes over from Don Rennie, who had covered Northern and Eastern Ontario in both retail and new construction channels, and will now focus on the Ottawa Valley and Eastern Ontario.

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CLASSIFIED ADS

Sales Representative – DuPont Tyvek Specialist

We are currently looking for a dynamic and self-starting Tyvek® Specialist to represent our Alberta market.

You would be responsible for working with customers to identify, qualify and secure sales opportunities for our DuPontTM Tyvek® Weatherization Systems; develop, nurture and maintain close working relationships with key decision-makers; maintain a thorough and up to date knowledge of company products and services; develop new sales leads; as well as update and maintain the CRM system.

Position Responsibilities:

• Develop targeted sales plan for the territory. Manage and grow client relationships within the territory.
• Promote and sell Tyvek Weatherization Products and services in established sales territory. Focus on all segments to grow the business.
• Maintain timely and accurate data and records in sales records in CRM system.
• Provide training and education.   
• Identify and network with key market influencers.
• Provide feedback to corporate on market and industry trends, competitive data and regional building code changes.
• Continuing education required and provided by the DuPont Building Knowledge team.
• Requires the ability to travel as needed to cover the territory

Experience and Skills:

• Proven track record of high goal achievement and revenue building required.
• Three to five of experience in sales.
• Must be a self-starter, highly motivated and be able to work independently with minimal supervision.
• Strong interpersonal, time management and communication skills.
• Knowledge of Building Science and Building Codes an asset
• Understanding of local building market an asset
• Solid computers skills, particularly Excel, Word, Outlook and CRM software.

How to apply:
Send resume and cover letter to Darryll Penner
Email resume to: darryll.s.penner@dupont.com

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