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Michael McLarney, President & Editor mike@hardlines.ca Beverly Allen, Publisher bev@hardlines.ca John Caulfield, Contributing Editor Phone: 416-489-3396 |
| October 20, 2008, Vol. xiv, #39 | |
| In This Issue | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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“Armaments, universal debt and planned obsolescence — those are the three pillars of Western prosperity.” —Aldous Huxley (English writer, 1894-1963) |
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| Home Depot launches “rural” store in Canada | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
PARRY SOUND, Ont. — Home Depot Canada opened first “rural market” store concept last Thursday in this resort town about two hours north of Toronto. While the orange sign out front still reads “Home Depot”, this new location is considerably smaller than its predecessors. It’s only 45,000-sq.ft. in size, with an additional 45,000-square-foot drive-through lumberyard and 12,000-sq.ft. seasonal centre. The store features standard departments, including kitchen, bath, flooring and décor showrooms; paint and design centres; inspirational vignettes; tool rental; installation services and a contractor service desk. Using a “spoke-and-hub” layout, the store was designed with all aisles leading to a central service desk in the middle of the store, in an effort to ease customers’ search for products and service. The smaller layout fits about 36,000 SKUs, down from the 40,000-plus SKUs found in a full-sized Home Depot, but the retailer’s special-order service is front and centre, offering thousands of additional products.
Home Depot already has four such rural stores in tests in the U.S. The concept appears to have roots in the Home Depot “Crossroads” concept that was tested in the U.S. in three Midwestern towns in 1995 and 1996. That concept sputtered, however, in part because the stores, weighing in at 117,000 sq.ft. with another 100,000-sq.ft.  drive-through lumberyard and 28,000-sq.ft. garden centre, were way too big for the markets being served.
The new Canadian store will be tested for several months before any firm plans are made for more such outlets. However, the company is optimistic about the store’s prospects. “It’s the future,” says Tiziana Baccega, manager, public relations and external affairs for Home Depot Canada. “The possibilities for this format are limitless.”
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| Exclusive report: buying groups face competitive challenges | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
WORLD HEADQUARTERS, Toronto — Canada’s LBM buying groups continue to grow, even though they face competitive pressure from the big boxes, and pressure on membership from RONA. According to a new report in our sister publication, Hardlines Quarterly Report, in 2007, sales at retail by dealers within the groups went down slightly, despite overall growth in the industry. Buying groups still represent one-third of retail sales in the industry, however, and sales for the first half of 2008 have been stable or up slightly overall. The report, which details the size and growth of the groups, as well as their myriad inter-relationships with other groups and wholesalers, outlines a number of trends affecting the groups as they move into 2009. These include:
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| TIM-BR MART hosts virtual trade show | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| CALGARY — TIM-BR MART, the giant national LBM buying group, held a “virtual” buying show last week for its members in Atlantic Canada. The online show will give TIM-BR MART members the opportunity to view product pitches online from a total of eight key vendors serving the Atlantic market.For one hour each, throughout the day, a video three to five minutes in length was available to view online by the dealer members — from the comfort of their own stores. That video included product info, introductions by key staff, and even a tour of the vendor’s facility. Dealers could then download an order sheet, and had until midnight the following day to take advantage of any “show specials”. After that hour, the video was taken down and another vendor’s was put up. At the end of the day, all the videos and ordering information were then re-posted for viewing by dealers who missed them earlier. Not only does the virtual format make “attendance” easier for dealers, especially those in Newfoundland and far-flung locations, but it also helps TIM-BR MART conform to its green mandate. “It keeps the dealers at their stores and doesn’t take them away from their business,” says Aimee Feaver, director of communications for TIM-BR MART. “It’s also green, because there’s no travel involved." The event garnered strong support from the buying group’s members in the region, with most of the 54 locations there signing on at some point during the day. However, says Feaver, TIM-BR MART does not plan to do another one in another region right away. “We will concentrate on this area and see the response before doing another one,” she says. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Broadleaf will hold first-ever product showcase | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| BRAMPTON, Ont. — Broadleaf Logistics will host a product showcase and open house at its Brampton customer service centre on Nov. 4. The event, a first for the national building materials distributor, will provide a forum for promoting Broadleaf’s green initiative. Given the industry’s heavy emphasis on eco-friendly and environmentally responsible products, Broadleaf wants to communicate clearly to its customers that its products reflect those values.That message will be backed by a full program of product demos, seminars, and tours of the company’s facility. According to Gary Coleman, national accounts manager for Broadleaf Logistics, “Dozens of products will be featured, and an invitation has gone out all the buying group and industrial customers that we have.” Coleman says the day will also help reinforce the Broadleaf brand, which reflects the takeover of the former Weyerhaeuser by Platinum Equity in June 2007. “One of the challenges we had was to demonstrate that we are a different company with fresh values.” Broadleaf has locations in Langley and Kelowna, B.C.; Calgary and Edmonton; Saskatoon and Regina, Sask.; Winnipeg; Timmins, Sudbury, Brampton and Ottawa, Ont.; Montreal and Quebec City; St. John’s; and Sussex and Dartmouth, N.S. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Does your company have a strategy to grow as the economy slows down? Come to the 13th Annual Hardlines Conference for the competitive information you need to grow in the months ahead. Learn from the industry’s best: Oct. 23-24, 2008 in Toronto. Click below for more info. —Beverly |
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Speakers - Registration
Questions contact Brady at 416-489-3396 |
| COMPANIES IN THE NEWS |
| ATLANTA — A class-action suit charging that Home Depot received excessive rebates from vendors in the early part of this decade has been dismissed. The 11th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals ruled unanimously that the lawsuit failed to meet the requirements of a class-action suit.CHICAGO — Third-quarter sales for wholesale distributor Grainger reached $1.8 billion, up 11% vs. the third quarter of 2007, while net earnings were up 28% to $140 million, from $109 million in 2007. BUFFALO , N.Y. — Saint-Gobain Technical Fabrics, which makes reinforcement fabrics for a variety of industries under brand names such as FibaTape, FibaCrete, and SureScreen, has launched a newly re-designed website: www.sgtf.com. The new site is designed to be user-friendly and easy to navigate for both new and experienced visitors. Highlights of the re-designed site include: easy search functions which include: search by keyword, brand name, industry or technology; downloadable sell sheets on products for more information; technical information on many of products; contact section for product quotes and information; plus an employment section for job opportunities within the company. CLIFTON, N.J. — Linens ’n Things began its liquidation sale last week, after filing Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in May. Unable to find a buyer that would take it over as a going concern, the specialty retailer is now having a going-out-of business sale. The process, involving the company’s 371 remaining locations, is expected to take about 11 weeks. LONDON — Homebase, the UK DIY chain, is testing a new online ordering program in seven of its stores. Called “Check and Reserve”, the program allows shoppers to search for products online from their homes and check whether the product is available locally in one of the Homebase stores, then reserve the product for later purchase. The program, part of the retailer’s multi-channel strategy, has already been in place at Homebase’s sister company, Argos. CLEVELAND — Sherwin Williams, the largest paint maker and retailer in the U.S., saw its sales rise by 3.1%, to $2.27 billion, during the three months ended Sept. 30. But the company’s net income for this quarter slipped 11.6% to $1771 million. Through the first nine months of its fiscal year, Sherwin Williams generated $6.28 billion, up 2.1% from the same period a year ago. Its profit, though, fell 17.1% to $426.7 million. |
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ECONOMIC INDICATORS |
| Investment in non-residential building construction reached $10.8 billion in the third quarter of 2008, up 1.5% from the second quarter, mainly the result of price increases in institutional and commercial building construction. |
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| Posted July 14 Highly effective relationship management skills with a track record of developing and executing programs effectively. Strong strategic thinking and management background. Solid propensity for team building, coaching, mentoring and developing others. A competitive manager with a proven sales, marketing, merchandising and, leadership record. |
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