Registration is now open for the 2023 National Hardware Show, Jan. 31 to Feb. 2, 2023, at the Las Vegas Convention Center. The upcoming show shares access to four other trade shows: the NAHB International Builders' Show (IBS), NKBA's Kitchen & Bath Industry Show (KBIS), International Surface Event, and Las Vegas Market (Winter) show.

While NHS now has added horsepower behind it, many Canadians are still considering whether to make the trek to Sin City at the end of January. NHS was last held in April of this year and attracted very few Canadians, whether exhibitors or buyers. But as COVID restrictions are lifted and as air traffic is expected to improve in coming months, Canadians appear to be ready to get back to business in Las Vegas.

Unquestionably, the notion that retailers will send larger groups of their buyers down to attend multiple concurrent shows is a big draw for vendors. And buyers are putting the combined event on their calendars. “Yes, we are attending,” says Randy Martin, vice president of procurement at TIMBER MART. “Now that they are combining the three shows, including hardware, building materials, and kitchen and bath, we see a great opportunity. The plan is to have our procurement team in attendance.”

However, some vendors are skeptical of the show’s draw for Canadian buyers. Sam Moncada, president of the Canadian Home Products Trade Association (CHPTA), which represents hardware and housewares vendors, notes that a lot of retailers are waiting to decide whether to go. “A lot of vendors are concerned that retail organizations have been able to conduct business and launch new products without travelling. We’ll have to see if that will continue.”

While some vendors Hardlines spoke to will take a pass this year, many more are very positive about the prospects for the next show. However, not all of them will exhibit. “I do plan on attending the show,” says Kim Laurette, director of retail sales and Canadian marketing at A.O. Smith. She will not, however, exhibit. “I don’t normally attend IBS or Kitchen & Bath, so I look forward to walking those shows as well since it is all combined next year.”

Maxime Lebon, national sales manager for Belanger Laminates, is also interested in the opportunity to take in multiple shows. “We are planning to be at the National Hardware Show, KBIS, and the Builder Show as visitors. It’s good news that they have decided to combine all together.”

Richelieu Hardware is definitely going to be there, and an exhibitor at that. According to Larry Lucyshyn, VP for sales to U.S. retail markets, his company will actually exhibit at two shows. A retail booth at NHS will showcase its retail divisions—Richelieu, Onward, Reliable, Madico, Cedan, Nystrom, Mibro, and Task. The company will also have a presence at the Kitchen & Bath Show to present its industrial lines. “The needed sales and marketing team members from Canada and the U.S. will attend,” he adds.

Steve Finlay of Imperial Manufacturing was one of the few Canadian exhibitors at the April 2022 National Hardware Show. Now, he says, he’s looking forward to the next one. “I’m confident it will be a good event, because of the three shows in one. It will definitely bring the people in.”

Even though Imperial has some industrial lines as well as hardlines products, Finlay says he will confine his company’s presence to the hardware show only, at least this time. “But I’ll consider expanding to the Builders’ Show the following year.”

At the CHPTA, Moncada says that a month ago his members were pretty much split down the middle on whether they would go to NHS. And even if they do go down to Vegas in January, many vendors will travel light. “A lot of our manufacturers are planning to go down, not necessarily to exhibit, but to look around.”

But in recent weeks, Moncada has seen his members get more positive about travelling. “We are starting see and hear of more vendors heading down. The confidence level to participate in the event is starting to increase,” he says. A recent survey of members showed that 15.2 percent of them will exhibit, and another 37 percent will be there to walk the show. But more than a quarter of the member vendors said they won’t attend. Just over one-fifth remain undecided.

CHPTA will go ahead with an industry cocktail reception as it has done at NHS in years past. It used to be called Maple Leaf Night, but it’s being renamed Canada Night. Another big change is vendor accessibility to the event, which has historically been for CHPTA members only. “It will be a more casual event than in the past. And we’re going to open it up. It won’t be a member-only event now. You just have to buy a ticket to get in.”

While caution may be the watchword for many, the inclusion of other shows into NHS is considered a viable strategy, one that’s expected to see Canadian retailers send even more buyers than usual to Las Vegas. “In theory it’s a great opportunity to have the shows converge,” says Moncada. “I think it’s the right strategy.”

With integration of Ace, Peavey can focus on expansion of its corporate stores

Managing multiple banners keeps Doug Anderson very busy. He’s the president and CEO of Peavey Industries, which operates corporate stores under the Peavey Mart and MainStreet Hardware banners. Anderson also directs the wholesale and branding needs of a group of independent dealers that operate mainly under the Ace banner.

Ace is the newcomer—and the disrupter, in effect, that turned the Peavey into a wholesale distributor. But Anderson is investing in growth on all fronts, including new stores under the Peavey Mart banner. A store opened at the end of September in Bedford, N.S., marking the first location for the company east of Ontario. Why there? Anderson notes that various metrics, including demographics, were aligned for Peavey. “There was an opportunity, and we’re very opportunistic,” he says.

Another new store will open at the end of October on the other side of the country. This Salmon Arm, B.C., outlet will be the company’s 90th Peavey Mart location.

In fact, the idea of opportunity comes up more than once in conversation with Anderson. Even under the Ace banner, Peavey has made a point of acquiring and maintaining a few as corporate locations—when the opportunity presents itself.

The renewed focus on incremental expansion reflects the alignment of the company following several years of aggressive growth. That included the acquisition of 50-plus TSC stores, mainly in Ontario, in 2017 followed by the takeover of the Ace Canada licence in March 2020 from Lowe’s Canada. The early part of 2021 marked the completion of the changeover of the TSC stores to the Peavey Mart banner.

“The TSC changeover was good but there’s always work to do with redirection, etc. But we’re getting good at that.” Anderson says the lead-up to the rebranding of TSC was carefully plotted, as buying teams were combined and systems consolidated. “We had moved the stores to be more aligned, so by the time of the switch it was just a matter of putting up the new sign.”

Now, as Peavey Industries sees its corporate stores and its wholesale business working together more effectively, the focus is on the continued growth of Peavey Mart. “We aim to be a true national company.”

Castle’s new business development director anticipates another strong year

A new national director with an expanded dealer development team reflects the changes—and growth—occurring at Castle Building Centres Group.

Doug Keeling took over as the buying group’s director of business development on Sept. 1 from Bruce Holman, who has retired. Keeling oversees a team of eight people taking care of Castle’s 300-plus members, while connecting with prospects to keep adding to the group’s ranks. “We’re making changes for the growth we expect in the future,” says Keeling.

Coming out of COVID, the industry and the economy are confronting a lot of change, and change is always good for dealer recruitment, Keeling adds. As things have slowed down a bit, dealers are willing to take time to look at their own businesses more closely.

In addition, new ownership at rival groups such as Sexton Group and TORBSA adds to the sense of disruption. “We’re coming out of a couple of years that were crazy for all the groups, not just Castle. There have been big changes across various banners. That is causing some dealers to relook at the groups they’re with,” he says. “As Castle continues to grow, we are attracting attention.”

Part of that growth has meant splitting the Ontario territory, which has about 100 Castle dealers. The reps there are André Laurin for central and northeastern regions, and Lillian Diaz, business development manager for the central and southwestern parts of the province. Also, Brad Dixon has recently left his post as business development manager for British Columbia; Castle is actively looking for a replacement.

Despite the headwinds of rising interest rates and continued inflation, Keeling expects the momentum in the industry to continue. “This has been another record year for Castle, for both our new members and our existing dealers. And while some are skeptical about 2023, we expect the momentum, especially on the commercial side, to continue.”

At BMR Group, Jean-François Lemelin has been appointed assistant VP, sales. He will report to Martin Lecomte, VP, corporate store operations and dealer service. Lemelin has over 15 years of experience in the retail, hardware, and renovation industries. Most recently, he was VP of sales, marketing, and customer service at Boiseries Raymond. He is also a former sales manager for Jeld-Wen Canada.

DID YOU KNOW...?

... that top retail executives from Home Hardware, Lowe’s Canada, Sexton Group, Orgill, Federated Co-op, BMR Group, Castle, and Peavey are all attending the 26th annual Hardlines Conference in Niagara-on-the-Lake, Ont., Oct. 18 and 19? If you’re already registered, give yourself a mighty pat on the back because you are going to have a blast networking with everyone this year! If haven’t registered, avoid FOMO and mark your calendar for next year—Oct. 17 and 18, 2023, in Whistler, B.C.!

The Home Depot Canada’s nine stores in Atlantic Canada will donate $125,000 to the Canadian Red Cross for relief efforts following Hurricane Fiona. Each store will donate over $13,000 to show their support to local communities.

Kent Building Supplies and the town of Bay Roberts, N.L., signed a letter of intent that could see the retail giant become the first tenant in the town’s commercial park, SaltWire reports. The deal is conditional on the town’s finding either a second anchor tenant or multiple smaller tenants. Although the agreement was signed about two years ago, the town has only recently been publicizing it as part of its effort to recruit tenants, Bay Roberts economic development officer Ron Delaney told SaltWire.

The Canadian Tire show was back last month after a two-year hiatus during the pandemic. It was held in Toronto at the Metro Toronto Convention Centre. Along with hosting Canadian Tire’s preferred vendors, the show floor showcased the company’s 100th anniversary with black-and-white graphics and images of old flyers and storefront ads.

SUPPLIER NEWS

Orgill has announced plans to build a new 800,000-square-foot distribution centre in Tifton, Ga. It will replace Orgill’s current facility in the city, which covers 650,000 square feet. It opened in 1995 and is currently the oldest location in the company’s network. Along with the Tifton location, Orgill operates seven full-service distribution centres in the U.S. and one in London, Ont.

Taiga Building Products is donating $30,000 to the Canadian Red Cross in support of the hurricane Fiona recovery efforts in the Atlantic Region. “Many of our people and partners call the Atlantic region home,” CEO Russ Permann said in a release. “We hope that our support will help those that are close to us, and the broader community, recover from this storm.”

Richelieu Hardware reported Q3 sales of $472.9 million, an increase of 26.7 percent. In Canada, sales rose by 14.8 percent to $279.6 million. Sales to Canadian hardware retailers reached $51.6 million, up 11.2 percent. Net income increased by 19.6 percent to $46.4 million. The quarter saw Richelieu acquire Quincaillerie Deno, a Quebec distributor of specialty hardware products.

ECONOMIC INDICATORS

The value of building permits in Canada rose by 11.9 percent in August to $12.5 billion. Both the residential and non-residential sectors saw strong gains, with Ontario causing much of the increase. Residential permits for the month increased 12 percent to $8.4 billion nationally. Gains in Ontario offset losses posted in seven provinces. Construction intentions in the single-family homes component edged up 0.4 percent. (StatCan)

Lumber production decreased 16.9 percent from June to 3.74 million cubic metres in July. Production was down 10.2 percent from the previous July. Sawmills shipped 4.3 million cubic metres of lumber in July, down 5.5 percent from June and up 3.1 percent from July 2021. (StatCan)

Investment in U.S. construction fell by 0.7 percent, the largest drop since February 2021. August’s decline compounded the 0.6 decrease seen in July. In a Reuters poll, economists forecast that construction spending would edge down by 0.3 percent. Year-over-year, spending was up by 8.5 percent. (U.S. Commerce Dept.)

NOTED

The Hardlines Conference kicks off this evening at the Queen’s Landing hotel in Niagara-on-the-Lake, Ont., with the RONA Pub Night. We look forward to welcoming our delegates, who will arrive from every part of the country to network and learn. See you there!

OVERHEARD...

“Our priority during this time is the safety of our customers and our associates while we support them during this unprecedented time.”
—Sebastian Brand, district manager for Home Depot Canada in Atlantic Canada, on the efforts of its stores in that region to raise money for victims of Hurricane Fiona.