WORLD HQ, Toronto — Top executives from BMR, Home Hardware, Lowe’s Canada, Spancan, Sexton Group and TIMBER MART have signed up for the upcoming Hardlines Conference. They’ll be joined by more independent retailers than ever this year, with key dealers from across Canada registered for the conference.

They’re all coming to learn and network with a world-class lineup of speakers sharing their insights and information, under the theme, “The Power of Brand”. The 23rd annual Hardlines Conference will be held November 13 and 14 at Queen’s Landing in Niagara-on-the-Lake, Ont.

To kick off the theme, one of Canada’s leading retail branding experts, Ian Madell, managing partner and president of LEVEL5 Strategy Group, will set the stage. For economic and housing insights, Peter Norman, vice president and chief economist of Altus Group, returns to the Hardlines podium to share his insights and forecasts.

Industry retail groups will be strongly represented, as well. They include:

• Darrin Noble, vice president and general manager of Home Hardware’s Beauti-Tone Paint and Home Products Division;
• Steve Buckle, president of Sexton Group, one of Canada’s largest buying groups for independent building materials dealers;
• Catherine Vaugh, brand building manager for Canada at Orgill, Inc.;
• Jillian Sexton of Hector Building Supplies in Nova Scotia and Sherwood TIMBER MART on Prince Edward Island;
• Russ Jones, owner of Coast Builders RONA on British Columbia’s Sunshine Coast.

For insights into the e-commerce side of the business, Robert Bigler, COO, eBay Canada, will explain the opportunities that vendors and retailers alike can exploit online.

Rounding out the conference will be presentations by two more individuals familiar to the Hardlines audience: Dan Tratensek, EVP and publisher, the North American Retail Hardware Association, and its publication, Hardware Retailing; and Anthony Stokan, partner with Anthony Russell and Associates, and a leading retail, shopping centre and consumer authority.

Some of Canada’s top retailers and managers in home improvement will be honoured during the Outstanding Retailer Awards Gala. This is a separately ticketed event that will close day one of conference.

The 23rd annual Hardlines Conference will be held at Queen’s Landing in historic Niagara-on-the-Lake, Ont., November 13 and 14. Click here to learn more and secure your seat and click here to buy your ticket for the ORA Gala Dinner!

SASKATOON — As Federated Co-operatives Ltd. enters its 10th decade, its CEO attributes the business’s longevity to the perennial appeal of its model. The co-op model “doesn’t appeal to everybody, but it appeals to some,” Scott Banda told the Saskatoon Star-Phoenix.

“And it appealed to enough people over our history that that local component of creating a virtuous circle—a business that’s local, generating profit and putting it back into local shareholders—I think has really been the difference.”

FCL traces its origins to the Saskatchewan Co-operative Wholesale Society, which started when co-ops in the province banded together in 1928. In 1944, it merged with the Consumers Co-operative Refinery in Regina and from there participated in further consolidation with networks in other provinces.

During its Fall Buymart last week, FCL hosted a conference for its senior managers. Calling it the Connected Conference, the co-op brought together some leading retail and trends speakers, including The Retail Prophet, Doug Stephens. The purpose was to expose the FCL team to next-level ideas and inspiration, says Cody Smith, home and building solutions director for FCL. A 15-year veteran of the company, Smith took over the director role back in May.

He adds that the company further celebrated its 90th a week earlier with a street fair right in front of its headquarters in downtown Saskatoon. There, Banda spoke to the gathered employees, who enjoyed a range of Co-op private-label products, one of the initiatives FCL is pushing this year, along with its “Made by Us” campaign to promote products made by small Canadian suppliers.

WOODSTOCK, Ont. — Gillfor Distribution is the newest wholesaler on the scene to expand to a national level. It’s doing that through acquisitions and shared best practices from across the four divisions that comprise this upstart distributor.

While the Gillfor name is relatively new, its component parts are not. Gillfor Distribution was created when OWL Distribution in Woodstock, Ont. (shown here), and McIlveen Lumber, an LBM wholesaler based in Calgary, merged just over a year ago. Since then, the company has added Brown & Rutherford in Winnipeg and Brunswick Valley Distribution, based in Fredericton.

Now, the organization of the sales and customer service teams is being drawn from OWL Distribution’s model.

According to Mike Schneider, VP business development for Gillfor, the OWL business model relies on a lower ratio of accounts to each account manager. Typically, he says, each account manager could have up to 100 accounts. Under the OWL model, that’s being reduced to 20 to 30. But it won’t be a quick transition. That process took about four years to take effect at OWL. He expects to roll it out company-wide over the next two to three years.

By refining Gillfor’s assortments to just nine core product lines, Schneider expects customer service levels to increase. And from the Woodstock national office, “We’ll be centrally supporting our account managers across the country with admin, design, tech and product management,” he points out.

SEATTLE — Amazon has invested in Plant Prefab, a California-based company that builds prefabricated houses using sustainable construction methods and materials.

The investment was made through Amazon’s Alexa Fund, its $100 million venture capital funding division that invests in voice technology innovation.

Plant Prefab aims to build homes quickly and lower the cost of home construction by using automated construction practices. The houses would be outfitted with smart home technology.

Amazon already sells pre-fab homes online made from shipping containers. The 320-square-foot houses cost $36,000 and come fully outfitted with plumbing, electrical and furnishings.

Amazon’s newest investment in prefabricated homes aligns with its continued efforts to become a leader in smart home technology. In September, the company released more than a dozen smart home devices powered by Alexa, Amazon’s voice assistant. Earlier this year, Amazon purchased video doorbell maker Ring for $1 billion.

The smart home market is reportedly poised for growth and research suggests the market could be valued at $53 billion by 2022.

Nite Ize Inc. has appointed Shelton Sylvestre as key accounts manager for Canada, reporting to Rick Smith, director of sales. Shelton has 20-plus years of sales experience in the Canadian and international markets, most recently as VP of sales at The Priority Group. (ssylvestre@niteize.com)

...that Hardlines will honour some of Canada’s top retailers and managers in home improvement at the upcoming Outstanding Retailer Awards Gala? The event will close day one of our 23rd annual Hardlines Conference on November 13 in Niagara-on-the-Lake, Ont. The ORA Gala is open to suppliers and retailers alike. We invite you to join your colleagues to celebrate the best of the best. Click here for tickets!

BOUCHERVILLE, Que. — Lowe’s Canada has opened its 68th store under the Lowe’s banner, and its second in Windsor, Ont. It represents an investment of more than $21.6 million and the creation of 75 new permanent jobs, as well as 80 seasonal roles. “The response to our Lowe’s offering in the greater Windsor area is excellent and we are thrilled to bring Lowe’s exciting shopping experience to even more customers in the region,” said Guy Beaumier, EVP of Lowe’s Big Box Retail. The store comprises 117,600 square feet, including 93,800 square feet of retail sales space and a 23,800-square-foot adjacent garden centre.

HOFFMAN ESTATES, Ill. — Sears Holdings chairman Eddie Lampert is in talks with investment firm Cyrus Capital Partners about financing part of a $300 million bankruptcy loan, sources have told Reuters. Cyrus currently holds a portion of Sears’ debt. The loan is separate from another $300 million loan the company’s banks have offered. According to the sources, Lampert is also being urged to replace the bank loan with his own funds, which would leave him potentially contributing to bankruptcy loans of $600 million in total.

SUPPLIER NEWS

BARRIE, Ont. ― Jacobs & Thompson, with its Polar Bear Products brand, has partnered with J.L. Gagliardi & Associates as its agency to rep the company’s lines of weather stripping products, floor protection felt, housewares, eavestrough foams and Wateraft products in Quebec, the Maritimes and Eastern Ontario. J.L. Gagliardi & Associates has been serving the hardware and housewares industry since 1978.

LONGUEUIL, Que. — AQMAT head Richard Darveau has written to incoming Quebec Economy Minister Pierre Fitzgibbon on behalf of the association’s members. Expressing his eagerness to work with the minister for the advancement of Quebec’s economy, Darveau cited concrete concerns of the industry. Among them are the projected end to financial aid for home renovation projects like the RénoVert tax credit, the circulation of counterfeit products and pay delays for construction workers.

VANCOUVER — West Fraser Timber Co. reported Q3 earnings of $238 million on sales of $1.65 million, compared with $1.25 million in sales and earnings of $120 million for the same period in 2017. The lumber segment generated operating earnings of $233 million, after posting $358 million in Q2. During the quarter, West Fraser bought back 3.5 million shares for $301 million and commenced operations at its new Opelika, Ala., sawmill.

MAPLEWOOD, Minn. — 3M Co. announced earnings of $2.58 per share on revenues of $8.15 billion in Q3. The results missed analysts’ expectations of $2.72 on $8.45 billion, and marked a 0.2% decline from those posted a year ago. In the previous quarter, the company had reported EPS of $2.59 on revenue of $8.39 billion. Total sales in Canada and Latin America rose 5.5% in Q3.

Investment in August in new housing construction decreased 2.2% from the same month last year, the first year-over-year decline since May 2014. The decrease in August was attributable to lower spending on single homes, semi-detached homes and row houses. Investment declined in five provinces, with Ontario, Alberta and Saskatchewan reporting the largest drops, due mainly to lower investment in single homes. British Columbia reported the strongest growth, thanks to increased spending on apartment building construction. In the East, Nova Scotia and Prince Edward Island were both up. —StatCan

Retail sales declined 0.1% to $50.8 billion in August, following a 0.2% increase in July. Sales were down in seven of 11 sub-sectors in August, representing 52% of retail trade. Sales at building material and garden equipment and supplies dealers edged down 1.1%, the second consecutive monthly decline. Excluding motor vehicle and parts dealers, retail sales declined 0.4%. —StatCan

You may have noticed a new look to the Hardlines newsletter, starting last week. We’ve made it more responsive and easier to read than ever before. It’s just one part of a bigger upgrade of our presence online, which will increase our accessibility for you, our Faithful Subscribers!

The Hardlines Team is not going anywhere for the next couple of weeks. Nowhere! We are hunkering down in preparation for the 23rd Annual Hardlines Conference, November 13 and 14 at the Queen’s Landing in Niagara-on-the-Lake, Ont. We hope to see you there!