The Canadian Labour Congress (CLC) and the United Steelworkers union (USW) have filed a complaint with a federal watchdog about the alleged treatment of garment workers in factories in Bangladesh that make clothes for Mark’s, a division of Canadian Tire Corp.

The Nov. 21 complaint to the Canadian Ombudsperson for Responsible Enterprise, in Ottawa, claims that the garment workers are paid “poverty wages.” The factories in question employ thousands of workers. The complaint states those workers should be making up to five times more in salary to represent a living wage.

In a joint press conference by the USW and the CLC, Marty Warren, Canadian national director of the USW, said the organizations have brought evidence that reveals that “Mark’s and Canadian Tire Corp. have failed to ensure the workers in its supplier factories are paid living wages. The complaint alleges that this is a contravention of the international human rights standard.”

Warren added that the two associations have made “repeated attempts to engage with Canadian Tire to acknowledge that they have failed to take meaningful action to address human rights harms it causes and contributes to in the supply chain.” He said the company has the resources and influence to assure that rights be respected. “They need to be pushed to live up to their core responsibilities.”

In the same press conference, Kalpona Akter, executive director of the Bangladesh Centre for Workers Solidarity, said garment typically workers live in overcrowded housing conditions. They are working six days a week and up to 12 hours a day, Akter said, making much less than a dollar per hour. “Any garment worker will tell you that isn’t enough.”

Canadian Tire responded to a query from Hardlines with a statement saying the company adheres to the law. “Canadian Tire Corp. works to ensure that its suppliers comply with all local laws; this includes compensation. As part of our activities to ensure compliance, CTC regularly tracks wage rates and works with reputable third parties to audit factories that manufacture our owned brand products.”

But the disparity underlines the need for western companies to understand their supply chains beyond just price and top-line safety concerns. Doug Stephens, retail consultant, speaker, and author, zeroed in on this concern in his presentation at last month’s Hardlines Conference in Niagara-on-the-Lake, Ont. Most firms, Stephens said, have a pretty good mental map of their first-tier vendors. But “by the time you get to their second-tier vendors, it gets a bit murky. By the time you get to their vendors’ vendors’ vendors, it’s a black box.”

This disconnect within the supply chain goes beyond simply price, Stephens said, and has been an issue for decades. An article in Harper’s magazine more than 20 years ago followed a pair of IKEA buyers on their visit to a Chinese furniture factory. The buyers insisted on a price cut of 50 cents off the price of the product being manufactured. But the factory owner complained that such a cut would force him to eliminate the lunch program that enabled him to feed his workers each day.

The lines blur when suppliers try to pass the responsibility for accountability down the line of the supply chain. But the model of shifting risk needs to be replaced with risk sharing, Stephens insisted during his presentation. “Shared risk needs to become a core business objective,” he said, in order to avoid “data silos or deserts.”

Stephens pointed out that intelligence will be key to rebuilding supply chains more comprehensively. “Surprisingly, most supply chains today operate on a few microscopic pieces of info: what is our sales velocity, what is our on-hand, what is in transit, what’s our turnaround?”

Dealer recruitment, product reviews are all part of the mix at BMR, says VP

Delegates at last month’s Hardlines Conference got a tour of the latest initiatives and innovations at BMR Group, thanks to a presentation by Charles Grégoire-Béliveau, VP merchandising. Self-quarantined due to Covid protocols, he appeared on a video screen from his home in Quebec, offering what he referred to as “BMR 2.0.”

Based in Boucherville, Que., BMR is a buying group with full distribution facilities for both hardware and LBM. A subsidiary of Sollio Cooperative Group (formerly La Coop fédérée), it has more than 275 stores in Quebec, the Atlantic Provinces, and Ontario.

Grégoire-Béliveau explained to conference delegates that the company is continuing to sign new dealers in Ontario and the Atlantic Provinces, all the while pursuing expansion in its home province. It offers four store formats: the “full featured” BMR store, BMR Pro for contractor-oriented dealers, a convenience format called BMR Express, and AgriZone, which exists as either a standalone or a store-within-a-store, specializing in the farm market, including the maple-sugar industry.

“We are building BMR 2.0 and our vision is to be the leading independent retailer [in our industry] in Canada.”

The company has done a thorough review of its product assortment over the past 14 months, Grégoire-Béliveau revealed. “We are going to be investing in specific categories: building materials, plumbing—where the number one project is kitchen and bath, flooring, and seasonal.”

In addition to listing these categories as opportunities, Grégoire-Béliveau didn’t shy away from mentioning “a number of challenges” that the industry faces. He cited inflation, consumer-spending patterns having changed so much after the pandemic, the difficulty of attracting labour, the housing market slowdown, and interest rate increases.

Retailers now stretch Black Friday sales online and in-store over several days

Black Friday, the shopping holiday that follows American Thanksgiving every third week of November, used to be a one-day shopping blowout, similar to Boxing Day in Canada. With the advent of internet sales, Black Friday was soon followed by Cyber Monday, an opportunity for retailers to continue offering sales, this time online.

Now, thanks to the borderless nature of online selling, Black Friday has become an international phenomenon—and a protracted sales opportunity. Home Depot Canada’s Black Friday started last week and is advertised to continue until Dec. 4.

At Lowe’s Canada, big sales started last Thursday, with Cyber Monday featuring more sales, though mostly through online orders. The Lowe’s Canada website promises great deals in categories that include appliances, snowblowers, tools, flooring, and lighting.

In a throwback to the mania of bricks-and-mortar holiday sales, Canadian Tire’s latest flyer promises “Doorcrashers” with discounts of up to 70 percent. Not to be outdone, it also offers “Red Thursday” specials, to entice Canadian shoppers to open their wallets a day early. The retailer’s Black Friday event runs to Nov. 30, offering everything from tech gadgets to outdoor sportswear.

A check of Home Hardware’s website shows that its sale will also run to the end of the month. Early Black Friday specials from Home Hardware include deals on heavy appliances, snowblowers, and, of course, Christmas decorations.

As Canadians begin travelling to shows again, the National Hardware Show at the end of January will be a big draw for many. The show is co-locating with the NAHB International Builders’ Show and NKBA’s Kitchen & Bath Industry Show at the Las Vegas Convention Center.

The Canadian Home Products Trade Association (CHPTA) is taking advantage of this triple show to host a booth of its own. The CHPTA will have a 10-by-20-foot space on the show floor. Members can share some of the space in the group stand, either with a table-top or with a company’s own floor merchandisers. Chairs and a meeting table will also be available.

In addition, a representative from each participating company will be required to spend a certain amount of time in the booth during show hours.

“It’s something we’re piloting,” says Sam Moncada, president of the CHPTA. “And going forward we’d like to have more Canadian participation.” He says there’s room for a total of 10 companies to participate, adding that three have signed up already. If the response to the group stand is greater than expected, the association has the option to secure more space for a bigger booth.

“We want to give all Canadians who want exposure in Vegas the chance to get that in an affordable way,” says Moncada.

Participation in the group stand will cost each participant CD$1,500. That price includes two tickets to CHPTA’s “Canada Night” event, which will take place on Jan. 31 from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m. In addition, participating members have the option of buying a listing in the NHS show directory for an extra cost of US$350.

The booth will be available to all members, Moncada says, by offering space for them to gather. Many of his members will be walking the show, and this gives them a location to host meetings of their own on the show floor.

“I think there’s value for our members. When an exhibitor can spend $20,000 or $30,000 for their own booth, this provides more value and demonstrates that the association can collaborate to help them.”

(Interested companies can contact CHPTA’s Michael Jorgenson at 416-282-0022, ext. 134; or mjorgenson@chpta.ca.)

Edyta Drutis has been promoted to vice president, brand and marketing for Blanco North America. In this role, she will lead integrated marketing, branding and communications efforts for the company across the U.S. and Canada. She started at Blanco Canada in 2014 as marketing manager. Most recently, she served as the director of brand and communications for Blanco North America.

At Intertape Polymer Group, Peter Durette has been appointed CEO and a member of the board of directors. Prior to joining IPG, Durette served as president of the Corrugated Packaging business at WestRock Corp. He is replacing Gregory Yull, who spent 30 years with IPG, including 12 years as CEO and president. Yull will continue on as a board advisor to help with the transition. Clearlake Capital Group, LP acquired IPG in June 2022 in a take-private acquisition.

DID YOU KNOW...?

... that the latest edition of Hardlines HR Advisor went out to subscribers last week? In this issue, Sexton Group’s Eric Palmer shares his insights into investing in your people; and Taiga’s Zaida Fazlic talk about finding your own leadership style. If you’re not already receiving HR Advisor, click here to sign up for free!

Home Hardware is testing self-checkouts at JL’s Home Hardware, a three-store operation in the town of Guelph, Ont., about an hour west of Toronto. Those stores, a building centre and two hardware stores, are the platform for the new self-checkout technology, initiated with tech partner Acceo. Staff at the stores monitor and assist at the self-checkouts while continuing to operate their full-service checkouts.

The Canadian Tire store in Vernon, B.C., was hit by a fire recently and the RCMP is investigating the suspicious circumstances of the blaze. No one was injured, but it did cause extensive damage. The fire appears to have been started outside in the store’s garden centre. It quickly spread and did damage to an adjacent exterior wall.

Steve’s Hardware and Variety Store in Montreal’s West Island is the process of closing. The store has operated since 1983 in the Pointe-Claire Plaza. Steve Naday and his wife Toni have decided to retire, and have spent the past month selling off inventory to patrons who had benefited from the store’s expertise for almost 40 years.

The importance of small-town retail is borne out by the fate of a hardlines retailer in the Prairies. Last Mountain Coop has been closed since August, disrupting residents in the town of Nokomis, Sask. It closed its doors because of staff shortages, but it’s the town’s only gas station and farm and ag centre and locals are feeling the pinch. The store, a member of Federated Co-operatives, has been actively trying to hire new team members and hopes to open in the near future.

Three out of four locations of Money’s Worth Renovation Center are closing, the regional business website Huddle reports. The budget chain’s Bible Hill, N.S., store will be the last one standing with the closure of the stores in Dieppe, N.B.; Amherst, N.S.; and Summerside, P.E.I.

RONA Fort Erie in Fort Erie, Ont., last week presented $46,600 to Community Outreach Program Erie (COPE). In support of the Lowe’s Canada Heroes Campaign, the store team under manager Jeff Hill held a benefit performance called “Fort Erie Rocks!” on Sept. 17. It featured Juno-winning rock band Honeymoon Suite.

Canac, the independent home improvement chain based in the Quebec City area, has received approval from the city of Magog, Que., for development of a new store. Canac applied for the approval a year ago, and the new location is expected to open in 2024. Canac has more than 30 stores throughout Quebec.

Employees at Lowe’s Canada’s offices and distribution centre in Boucherville, Que., have found their access to work severely limited by ongoing closures of the Louis-Hippolyte Tunnel-Bridge that joins the south shore with the island of Montreal. However, since the end of October employees have been provided flexible work options. The work considerations apply to all workers, regardless of whether they rely on the Tunnel-Bridge to get to work. Closures are expected to continue until the end of 2025.

SUPPLIER NEWS

Aluminum railing system maker Regal ideas Inc. was at this year’s DeckExpo in Las Vegas. The company was awarded “Best in Show” in the Outdoor Living category for its innovation and Crystal Rail system. Along with its newest products, Regal ideas also launched its 2023 Look Book, aimed at inspiring homeowners and designers. The look book can be found here.

ECONOMIC INDICATORS

In the ninth straight month of falling sales, existing home sales in the U.S. dropped 5.9 percent in October to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 4.43 million. That’s the lowest that sales have dropped to since December 2011, with the exception of a very brief fall at the beginning of the pandemic. However, prices continue to rise, along with interest rates, keeping housing affordability low. (National Association of Realtors)

OVERHEARD...

“In truth, our supply chains today are not sophisticated and they’re not advanced. We haven’t learned much about supply chains in at least 160 years.”
—Doug Stephens, aka the “Retail Prophet,” speaker, consultant, and author. He spoke at the 27th annual Hardlines Conference last month in Niagara-on-the-Lake, Ont.