November 7, 2016 Volume xxii, #42

“All wish to possess knowledge, but few, comparatively speaking, are willing to pay the price.”
—Juvenal (Roman poet, 1st & 2nd century AD)

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What’s hot for the holidays? Ask Home Depot Canada

TORONTO ― LED lighting, co-ordinated Christmas wrap and ribbons, and decorations inspired by the Canadian north were trending at a shindig last week to showcase the Home Depot Canada’s holiday product lines.

According to Dara Greenberg, seasonal and holiday décor buyer for Home Depot Canada, she and her team scour the globe for trends in Christmas, including attending the Christmas show in Cologne, Germany. And while Home Depot Canada works with its U.S. parent to some degree, she underscored that this year’s holiday lineup has been developed with Canadians in mind.

Greenberg talked enthusiastically about the potential of LED lighting, saying the company has “made a big investment to develop items that really work well.” She noted that “LEDs have evolved to the next level to have functionality.” That, she went on to explain, includes lights that can be programmed to light from the bottom up or top down, flash at different rates, and even change colours altogether.

Mixing old and new, strings of retro Edison lights featured flashing LED functionality, changing colours and flashing on and off in waves that can be controlled remotely.

When it comes to Christmas trees, Sylvain Larouche, the buyer for live goods―who is now moving over to outdoor power, by the way―said that with trees available in a range of sizes, from a couple of feet up to eight feet, customers can buy more than one, and even put some trees outside their homes for added decoration.

An interesting twist on an artificial tree aimed at condo dwellers and other tight spaces is one cut lengthwise down the middle so it can be pushed flat against a wall.

The innovations on display were rounded out by contemporary takes on classic themes, including nutcrackers, vintage car models, and big tree ornaments. The products are appearing in stores in time for the holidays and are already available online.

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TIMBER MART looks for ways to improve shipments and buys for dealers

LONGUEUIL, Que. — TIMBER MART is continually searching for ways to better serve its members, who consist of hardware and building supply dealers across the country. Bernie Owens, president of TIMBER MART, outlined some of these strategies recently at a breakfast meeting of the Canadian Hardware & Housewares Manufacturers Association.

Owens gave an overview of the evolution of the group since he took the helm and outlined what he regarded as some of the challenges facing independents. To help those independents compete more effectively, TIMBER MART has sought to improve the buying show experience. The group’s own show, he said, offers a better advantage through confidential show specials available only to dealers in attendance at the show. The group also provides an alternative in the form of a virtual buying show online platform, an industry first, he said, for North America.

Shipping costs will be further lowered, Owens said, as its key hardlines supplier, Orgill, will benefit from the addition of a distribution centre in Post Falls, Idaho, which will open next spring. This facility, he said, will be positioned to fulfill orders to members on the Prairies much more rapidly than Orgill’s existing London, Ont., and Surrey, B.C., facilities. The new centre will duplicate the inventory of the London DC. “Typically, the U.S. locations are very efficient,” he said, “and I expect it will be to the advantage of the dealers.”

Looking forward, Owens said his goal was to have LBM distribution in all regions, but added that caution and time were needed. “After I’m very comfortable that B.C. is growing, I truly think we need LBM distribution in every region,” he explained, “but it’s up to me to prove this is the way we’ve got to go,” noting that the board was still “a little gun-shy” following the sale of Chalifour.

He also urged vendors to maintain personal contact with stores, telling the audience to ensure they have “feet on the ground to support your sales.” Vendors, he said, have tended to focus on “distribution and large surface,” and they sometimes “have left the independents to the side.”

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eBay Canada: online is an opportunity for retailers both big and small

NIAGARA FALLS, Ont. ― How many Canadian retailers actually sell online? Only 13%. And Canadian retailers are behind the U.S. when it comes to e-commerce. Here, only 6% of retail sales come from online sales, while south of the border that number is 9%.

But Sumit Srivastava, who heads business development and merchandising at eBay Canada, believes Canadian retailers can do more. At the 21st annual Hardlines Conference, held in Niagara Falls, Ont., last month, he explained how his company can assist retailers to get set up and sell online. That includes making it easy for shoppers to access the online marketplace any way they wish.

“Omnichannel consumers today― their experience needs to be seamless across all channels.” With eight million customers per month, his company has a powerful presence online, which can provide a meaningful―and accessible―platform for retailers of all sizes. “eBay has one billion listings at any one time,” he noted. “And 57% of our sales are touched by mobile.”

But is the online space getting too crowded? He gave another sobering statistic to put this in perspective: “Only 8% of retailers consider e-commerce a priority,” which opens it up to the other 92% who are willing to make the plunge into the omnichannel world.

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Home Depot confronts Amazon with online strategies

NATIONAL REPORT — Home Depot’s technology and online business strategies are helping the company grow and compete in e-commerce, despite Amazon’s online retail dominance.

According to Forbes, Home Depot’s “largest and arguably most important investment has been the roughly $4 billion it will spend from 2016 to 2018 in improving the company’s e-commerce platform and physical stores, while bolstering the link between the two.”

The following techniques are being used by the big-box retailer:

• Giving customers the option to buy online but pick up products in store.
• Providing “customers delivery data and estimates based on their locations.”
• Managing orders through a system that “will help balance store and web inventories, as well as enabling buy-online, pick up in-store customers to choose the store with the shortest delivery time.”
• Offering an “easy-to-use website and mobile shopping platform that will make the customer experience more seamless and allow Home Depot to better collect customer data.”

An improving U.S. housing market is contributing to Home Depot’s successes there. And e-commerce remains a priority for Home Depot Canada, as well. Technology, ordering, and delivery strategies are among the reasons for Home Depot’s current growth trajectory, says the report in Forbes.

“Home Depot is using its wealth of data and tech-enhanced supply chain to get customers the products they want, at a price they’re willing to pay, all while ensuring that its inventory and shipping costs are as low as possible—a sure way to boost margins,” the article says.

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David Sparks, formerly national sales manager-Retail, Power Tools division at Robert Bosch, has moved to Freud Canada Inc., another Bosch company, as general manager. (david.sparks@ca.bosch.com; 1-905-364-5210)

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