Last week, Sexton Group has announced that it had signed its first international member. While that member is on French soil, it’s located just 19 kilometres off the coast of Newfoundland and Labrador. Habitat Confort SPM has been serving the residents of Saint-Pierre and Miquelon, a self-governing French overseas “territorial collectivity”, since 2003.

Most buying groups that can claim an international presence are on the same cluster of islands. BMR Group is represented by Ets Max Girardin, while Home Hardware has one location, Centre de Rénovation Marcel Dagort S.A.R.L. RONA has also had a dealer there for many years, RONA Derrible. These stores are all located in the community of Saint-Pierre, which represents the bulk of the territory’s 6,000-strong population.

One outlier is an Ace store, Quincaillerie François Detcheverry & Fils (shown here). It’s located on the larger but more sparsely populated island of Grand Miquelon.

Despite its geographic proximity, Saint-Pierre and Miquelon poses real international challenges. It shares a culture—and infrastructure—with France. Even telephoning there requires an international call.

Electricity is all based on European standards, using 220 amp service, complete with different plugs, instead of the North American standard of 120 amps. That means Canadian suppliers can’t ship any electrical products, including everything from small appliances to power tools. For dealers in Saint-Pierre, those products still come from France. This restricts the sales potential to these stores for any group or distributor. Prices tend to be much higher, while staffing costs are higher as well. Dealers operate providing higher wages along with big markups on their products.

Other groups that cross borders include Windsor Plywood, which has had five locations in the U.S. for many years. And there are plans for more, but those plans have been stalled.

Under the pandemic, Windsor Plywood has fared well, along with the industry in general, says president Curt Crego, adding that “results have been well above expectations.” However, those same conditions have hampered U.S. growth.

“We currently have four locations in Washington and one in Montana, two of which are franchised,” Crego says. “Had the pandemic not intervened I expect we would have opened additional locations by now. Unfortunately COVID, and in particular the cross-border travel restrictions, have and continue to pose an obstacle to our growth in the U.S.”

Orgill reorganizes its buying departments, now with two divisions

Orgill has announced the restructuring of its purchasing department. It’s been divided into separate merchandising and replenishment divisions.

The merchandising division, with a mandate to drive revenue, will focus on vendor relationships, promotions, pricing, sales, and reviews. The replenishment division will be responsible for managing inventory, service levels, inventory turnover, and supply chain.

“This division of merchandising and replenishment within the purchasing department is a change that we have seen coming for some time now,” Jeff Curler, the department’s EVP, said in a release. “This change helps us better address the distinctly different, yet connected, functions our purchasing department deals with on a daily basis.”

At Orgill’s head office in Memphis, the purchasing leadership lines up as follows:

1. Jeff Curler was promoted to executive vice president of purchasing
2. Jim Wilson will continue as vice president of Exclusively Orgill (formerly known as Worldwide Sourcing).
3. Lisa Pirtle was promoted to vice president of replenishment and vendor support.
4. Alan Shore was promoted to director of merchandising, seasonal.
5. Heath Kennedy was promoted to director of merchandising, hardlines.
6. Karen Meredith will continue as director of LBM Sales.

The purchasing team has been responsible for purchasing products for Orgill’s Canadian customers for several years, so these changes will directly benefit Canadian customers as well, the company told Hardlines.

According to company president and CEO Boyden Moore, this realignment will position Orgill’s teams to better serve its customers while improving efficiency and vendor relations. “We know how critical it is that we evolve as a company and constantly look for ways to respond to market changes and create efficiencies within our own operation,” he said.

“These changes will position Orgill and its customers for even greater success in the coming years.”

Housing market heat continues into 2022, with scarcity expected until spring

Canada’s stock of available housing is getting squeezed going into 2022, slowing home building and driving up prices. The Canadian Real Estate Association (CREA) said last week that the House Price Index rose 26.6 percent in the twelve months leading into December 2021.

That month, the average price of a resale home hit $713,500. Sales edged down 0.2 percent from November but buyers’ enthusiasm remains undimmed.

“With the housing supply issues facing the country having only gotten worse to start 2022, take any decline in sales early in the year with a grain of salt because the demand hasn’t gone away,” CREA chair Cliff Stevenson said in a release. “There just won’t be much to buy until a little later this spring.”

At the same time, the number of listings hit their record low, so “the housing affordability problem facing the country is likely to get worse before it gets better,” said Shaun Cathcart, CREA’s senior economist.

Demand is expected to cool off later this year, as the Bank of Canada is poised to raise interest rates. “When the central bank turns its eye to inflation again, I do think that will trigger a flattening in the market,” Royal LePage CEO Phil Soper told Financial Post.

Last week, the Canada Mortgage and Housing Corp. reported that the annual pace of housing starts took a 22 percent plunge between November and December.

There’s good news looking further out, however. New StatCan data shows that $11.2 billion worth of building permits were issued in November, with a 12 percent increase in the residential sector—a good indicator of what lies ahead in the coming months. Permits for single-family houses rallied by 20.2 percent after an 8.5 percent decline in October.

Activity remains hot south of the border too. The U.S. Commerce Department noted last week that housing starts rose by 1.4 percent in December to an annual pace of 1.7 million units. Building permits for the month surged by 9.1 percent to a rate of 1.87 million units.

The pandemic has been kind to Ikea Canada, a fact that’s reflected in its sales, both in-store and online.  The latter increased by 161.5 percent to $969.5 million, while sales overall climbed to $2.6 billion for the company’s financial year ending August 31, 2021, an increase of 11.8 percent.

While store visits dropped by 7.4 percent, online traffic saw a 32 percent increase from last year. Those online sales translated into 1.8 million orders delivered, up 63 percent from the previous year. Online sales picked up in-store were up a whopping 550 percent over pre-COVID numbers.

The company made a number of advances during the year. One was the introduction of its Design Studio concept. New to Canadian stores, it allows customers to design and order a new kitchen, bath, or bedroom by scheduling one-on-one planning sessions with an Ikea design expert (shown here). It also introduced a small-format showroom outlet in the heart of downtown Toronto.

The company continues to focus on its environmental action plan, an effort to reduce waste both in its store operations and with its products and services to customers.

Of those products, the pandemic has affected what sells at Ikea. This past year saw a trend toward making things more comfortable and flexible, as people continued to spend more hours in their homes. A list of some of the most popular Ikea products in 2021 shows how its shoppers stressed creature comforts over the practical and utilitarian:

• Pillows – sales increased 16 percent
• Candles – Canadians bought more than four million candles last year, a 123 percent increase
• Runnen patio tiles – a 135 percent increase in sales
• Applaro outdoor tables – sales doubled from last year
• Plants – especially Ficus, were up more than 233 percent
• Artificial plants like hanging eucalyptus saw sales increase sixfold

Other in-store favourites continued to be popular. Ikea sold 20 million meatballs and 1.8 million hot dogs last year.

At Sexton Group, Frank Bayuk, the group’s business development manager for British Columbia, has retired after 15 years with the group. Succeeding him is Dean Toews, who joined Sexton’s business development team last August.

DID YOU KNOW…?

…  that we are always looking for new products to feature in our publications? Our magazine, Hardlines Home Improvement Quarterly, is mailed to 11,000 dealers and managers four times a year. The Hardlines Dealer News email newsletter, gets emailed to thousands of people every month. We include a new product section in both HHIQ and Dealer News. If you have new products, send them to our product editor, Geoff McLarney!

Home Hardware Stores Ltd. has joined Fortinet’s Secure Software-Defined Wide Area Network. The retailer’s dealer-owners have been using a variety of platforms across some 1,100 locations, making network and security management a challenge as their business grows. The Secure SD-WAN will simplify and secure Home’s networks by replacing those products with one centrally managed digital system.

Giant Tiger Stores Ltd. has forged a partnership with TV interior designer Debbie Travis to promote a new home décor collection. The Debbie Travis Collection will be available in stores and online beginning Wednesday. It will include decorative pillows and throws, quilts and bedding sets, bath linens, shower curtains, and window curtains.

Canac has completed construction on a second building at its Drummondville, Que., distribution centre. The 432,000 square-foot structure will be geared toward seasonal products and building materials. It sits on a million-square-foot lot Canac purchased in 2019, situated in an industrial park opposite Canac’s current DC.

Canadian Tire Corp. has been listed as one of Corporate Knights’ Global 100 Most Sustainable Corporations, for the third time. CTC ranked as the top general merchandiser in the country and placed first among its peers headquartered in Canada. The honour reflects the company’s activity in environmental, social, and governance practices.

Lee Valley Tools shuttered its last Toronto store, located in Scarborough, on Christmas Eve, due to increased lease costs that “made keeping the store open unsustainable,” according to an explanation on the retailer’s website. Lee Valley continues to offer same-day delivery in the Greater Toronto Area from its Vaughan and Burlington locations.

Sleep Country Canada has launched its Sleep Country store on Loblaw Marketplace, the grocery retailer’s digital offering, which sells products not available in its stores. Launched online in 2019, Loblaw Marketplace carries a wide variety of products including home, baby, pet, and toy. Sleep Country will be the exclusive provider of traditional mattresses on Loblaw Marketplace.

SUPPLIER NEWS

Hardware stores were considered essential businesses under Quebec’s first round of lockdowns. With the vaccine pass expanded to large-surface retailers last week, however, the industry hasn’t made the cut. Quebec trade group AQMAT says that needs to change, and that it has the support of all three opposition parties in Quebec’s National Assembly.

ECONOMIC INDICATORS

Sales of existing homes edged down 0.2 percent between November and December 2021. Small gains in November and again in December followed on the heels of a nine-percent jump in activity in October, placing sales in the final quarter of 2021 between the highs and lows seen earlier in the year. (Canadian Real Estate Association)

Housing starts in December were at an annualized rate of 236,106 units in December. That was a decrease of 22 percent from 303,813 units in November. The pace of urban starts decreased by 24 percent to 212,918 units, with single-detached urban starts down four percent to 55,231 units. (CMHC)

Retail sales in the U.S. declined by 1.9 percent in December, the biggest decrease in 10 months. That figure follows a revised 0.2 percent increase in November. (U.S. Commerce Dept.)

NOTED

Industry observers are warning supply chain woes may worsen with the extension of vaccine mandates to American truck drivers. Under the new rules, Canadian truckers who aren’t fully vaccinated must quarantine on entering the country, though they can complete their deliveries first. The U.S. was planning a similar mandate on its side for Jan. 22.

OVERHEARD…

“If you have a burst pipe, you need supplies.”
—Vincent Marissal, who represents a Montreal riding for the left-wing Quebec Solidaire, challenged the Quebec government’s ruling that excluded hardware stores from essential status.

Dealers across the country continue to review their options under COVID, making new alliances and switching buying groups. But movement within those groups reflects further the dynamic nature of the business currently.

That includes the realignment of the LBM buying function at TIMBER MART. In November 2021, the group was able to secure Bruno Baldessari, an industry veteran who had spent years at a rival group, BMR, as vice president of forest products trading. Baldessari is responsible for leading and managing TIMBER MART’s national lumber trading division. He had left BMR following changes to senior management at that group.

With responsibility exclusively for lumber trading, Baldessari now works to increase TIMBER MART’s focus on commodity trading. In taking over this role, he relieves John Morrissey, the TIMBER MART vice president based in Halifax, who is in charge of the group’s presence in Atlantic Canada. Morrissey continues to oversee distribution for TIMBER MART Down East.

One of Baldessari’s objectives is to grow his unit and its functions with new products and services to support the TIMBER MART members. As a result, he has been adding to his team.

At the beginning of the year, Nathaniel Boyd, a sales development agent at TIMBER MART, was promoted to the position of commodity trader. He is responsible for securing commodity products for members in Ontario. Based out of the group’s Mount Forest, Ont., distribution centre, he reports directly to Baldessari.

Most recently, Milynn Bruneau has also joined as a commodity trader for Ontario. Like Boyd, she undertakes purchasing on behalf of TIMBER MART’s Ontario members. She has retail experience and was a panel trader at AFA Forest Products. She also reports directly to Baldessari. Bruneau and Boyd are part of a team of six traders nationally for TIMBER MART.

Growth continues as well at the dealer level. Aluminium J. Clément Inc. in Mont-Tremblant, Que., is the newest member to join TIMBER MART. Manugypse, a TIMBER MART member with locations in Quebec City and Boucherville, is set to open a third this March, in Mirabel.

Home Depot’s new credit card program for pros has benefits for Canadians

The Home Depot in the U.S. is enhancing its commercial credit offerings for pro customers and their respective businesses. The retailer introduced the Pro Xtra Credit Card, a new iteration of its Commercial Revolving Charge, as well as updates to its Commercial Account Card. But most of the services already exist in Canada, as well. The credit options in both countries are powered by Citi Retail Services.

Pro Xtra is The Home Depot’s loyalty program that offers members-only benefits like volume pricing, exclusive product offers, and paint rewards. The new card can be linked with the Pro Xtra loyalty program to earn registered users Pro Xtra Perks four times faster on regular card purchases, says the company.

The benefits spill over to Canada, as well. A spokesperson for Home Depot Canada confirmed that its pro customers can link their Pro Xtra membership here to Home Depot Canada’s store commercial credit card and receive similar benefits. These include rewards on all purchases, 365-day in-store returns, and the ability to issue cards to trusted staff members.

Walmart Canada to eliminate plastic bags in its stores

Walmart Canada will eliminate single-use plastic shopping bags in a move it says will prevent almost 750 million plastic bags from entering circulation each year. The changes apply to in-store purchases along with online grocery pickup and delivery orders. The phased approach will see all of Walmart’s more than 400 Canadian locations make the change by Earth Day 2022 (April 22). The national roll-out follows a 10-store pilot that began in August 2021.

Walmart says the pilot received overwhelmingly positive feedback from customers and associates and diverted nearly six million plastic bags. The change will help to eliminate more than 10 million pounds of plastic from circulation each year, the company claims.

“Eliminating plastic shopping bags is a significant milestone on our journey to becoming a regenerative company—and it’s the right thing to do,” said Horacio Barbeito, president and CEO of Walmart Canada, in a release.

In advance of the change, Walmart will launch a comprehensive customer awareness and education campaign to assist in the transition to a plastic bag-free experience. Customers will be encouraged to bring reusable options from home to carry their purchases. Reusable bags will also be available for purchase in stores if needed.

Walmart has already adopted a series of changes to eliminate unnecessary single-use plastics, especially in its food packaging. That includes increasing the amount of post-consumer recycled content in packaging for baked goods, a move that is avoiding the use of 925,000 lbs of new plastics annually.

Houzz, an online platform for home renovation and design, has released its 2022 U.S. Houzz Kitchen Trends Study. It was based on a survey that gathered data from 2,400 U.S. homeowners who are planning, are in the midst of, or have just finished a kitchen renovation.

The study found that kitchen countertops are the top priority this year, with more than a third (35 percent) of respondents spending on this category. It also represents the most frequently upgraded part of the kitchen, with nine out of 10 homeowners changing out their countertops during a kitchen renovation.

The survey found that homeowners choose their countertops based mainly on look and feel. The most popular materials are engineered quartz and granite, with 42 percent and 24 percent of respondents, respectively, desiring those materials. White is the most popular colour, identified by 39 percent of respondents.

“Hiring rates for home professionals to complete these projects are the highest we’ve seen in four years,” said Marine Sargsyan, a senior economist for Houzz.

U.S. homeowners spent more on both major and minor kitchen remodels in 2021. The median cost for a major renovation was $40,000, up 14 percent from 2020, while the median cost for a minor renovation was $10,000, up 25 percent. More homeowners also hired professional help in 2021, with 89 percent of renovations done by a contractor, up from 85 percent in 2020.

Lowe’s Canada’s new president, Tony Cioffi, has promoted Jean-Sébastien Lamoureux to the position of senior vice president for RONA affiliates, wholesale, and public affairs at Lowe’s Canada. Previously, Lamoureux was senior VP for public affairs, asset protection, and sustainable development. He joined the company in 2017 as VP, communications and public affairs.

BuildDirect.com Technologies has appointed David Lazar as interim CEO, subject to regulatory approvals. Lazar was previously CEO of Bailey 44, a premium apparel company that was sold to Digital Brands Group last February.

Walmart CFO Brett Biggs will leave the company in 2023. In his post since 2015, Biggs presided over a major expansion of the company’s online and international businesses. He was seen by some analysts as a contender to eventually succeed Doug McMillon as CEO.

DID YOU KNOW…?

…  that we never get tired of thanking you, our Faithful Readers, for your support through the past year? Now we want to make sure that you continue to receive communications from Hardlines that are relevant to you. We’ve added new products in 2021 and we don’t want you to miss out on any of them! Besides the Hardlines weekly, we now have three free newsletters—and a podcast! So please take a moment to update your profile by clicking here.

Matériaux Pont-Masson, which joined BMR last July, has acquired a neighbouring BMR location. The BMR F.V. Lalonde Renovation Centre in Les Coteaux, Que., will be the eighth store in Pont-Masson’s network, which straddles the Ontario-Quebec boundary. The store includes 17,000 square feet of sales floor, as well as a 70,000-square-foot lumber yard and 25,000 square feet of covered warehousing.

Matériaux de Construction Létourneau has joined Castle Building Centres, building on the buying group’s recent growth in Quebec. Based in Waterville, it also has a location in Bromptonville, a borough of Sherbrooke. After it departed from BMR at the end of 2019, Létourneau joined TORBSA the following year. It tendered its resignation from that group at the end of last month.

SUPPLIER NEWS

The Atlantic Building Supply Dealers Association has announced the cancellation of its 2022 Building Supply Expo. The event was set for March 9 and 10 at the Halifax Convention Centre. Organizers explained that they were not confident public health restrictions would be lifted in time to allow the expo to take place. Reimbursements for vendors who paid for their booths will be processed over the coming weeks.

A speaker series hosted by the Canadian Home Products and Trade Association and the Canadian Office Products Association is continuing in the new year. Making Waves is an online learning program presented in collaboration with the Schulich Executive Education Centre. (Click here to view the full schedule.)

Kohler kitchen and bath products will be rolled out at more than 200 Wolseley Canada outlets this month, the companies announced, expanding Kohler’s footprint across the country. Wolseley Canada will carry the products at its branches and showrooms nationwide and online through its online platform, Wolseley Express.

PPG has expanded its relationship with Home Depot in the U.S. to offer an extensive lineup of PPG paint products and services designed exclusively for the retailer’s pro customers. The new product lineup began rolling out on shelves in the fourth quarter of 2021 and will be available in all U.S. Home Depot stores.

ECONOMIC INDICATORS

Lumber production by sawmills in October increased 0.3 percent from September to 4.66 million cubic metres. Production was 8.4 percent lower than in October 2020. Sawmills shipped 4.48 million cubic metres of lumber, down 4.9 percent from September and 8.9 percent from October 2020. (StatCan)

NOTED

In the latest episode of our podcast series, What’s in Store, we talk to former Home Depot executive Jim Inglis, author of Breakthrough Retailing: How a Bleeding Orange Culture Can Change Everything. Inglis looks back on the early years of the company and the skepticism it was met with by the industry. He also delves into Home Depot’s entry into Canada through the acquisition of Aikenhead’s. You can now listen to the Hardlines Podcast on Spotify, Apple Podcasts and Google Podcasts. (Sign up now to get updates about the latest podcasts in your inbox!)

OVERHEARD…

“There’s a huge difference between knowing about the customer and knowing the customer.”
—Jim Inglis, retail consultant and a former executive vice president at The Home Depot during its early days of growth. He talks about his experiences working with the company’s founders in our latest Hardlines Podcast.

Canada’s number-two home improvement retailer has a new boss. Tony Cioffi has been appointed president of Lowe’s Canada. He replaces Tony Hurst, an American who had been sent up at the beginning of 2020 to steer the Canadian division.

Hurst returns to the U.S. as SVP of pro, services and international for Lowe’s Cos. Cioffi will report to Hurst in his new role.

Cioffi actually had the top job temporarily following the departure of former Lowe’s Canada president Sylvain Prud’homme, who left the company in October 2019. As interim president, Cioffi kept the company on track while a new CEO of the parent company, Marvin Ellison, got a handle on the Canadian operations. During that time, Cioffi reported directly to Ellison.

Cioffi joined Lowe’s Canada in 2016 as SVP, finance, as well as group financial officer. He then served as interim president before being named SVP, stores, a position before this latest promotion. Before joining Lowe’s Canada, Cioffi held leadership roles at ADT Canada and Bell Helicopter Textron Canada. In addition to that, he served as president and CEO of the Reader’s Digest Association (Canada).

TORBSA focuses on growth with new members—and a key new hire

TORBSA, the Ontario-based buying group, has experienced a lot of growth over the past 12 months. Once content to hold a role as a small, boutique-type group with a couple of dozen members, mainly in Ontario, it has since set its sights higher.

“We’re trying to grow the business,” says TORBSA president Paul Williams. He refers to the trend of ongoing consolidation within this industry, where “there’s a real emphasis on growing at the buying groups—not just with us, but our competitors as well.”

Most recently, the group has added ADSS Building Supplies as a new shareholder member. With locations in Edmonton and Calgary, ADSS distributes gypsum, steel framing, and insulation products for commercial and residential markets. The company began buying with TORBSA effective Jan. 1.

And the group expects to sign another dealer in that province before the end of this month. “We’re not done in Alberta,” says Williams.

Last fall, the group announced the signing of JDS Building Supply in Saskatoon. Under company founder Justin Scheuer, JDS services the commercial and residential stucco and exteriors markets across Saskatoon and surrounding areas.

Earlier in 2021, the group signed two more dealers in the Greater Toronto Area—still its area of greatest member concentration. In June, it added Peridot Supply in Brampton, Ont., which has a focus on the commercial and residential roofing markets across the GTA. And in April, TORBSA has announced the addition of RB Building Supply in Brampton, Ont.

But movement can go both ways. Another member dealer, Matériaux de Construction Létourneau, has tendered its resignation from the group. Létourneau, with locations in Sherbrooke and Waterville, Que., marked an important incursion into that province when it joined in 2020. However, its membership will end on Feb. 20. Williams says that dealer had a good experience with TORBSA, and relations between both sides remain amicable. “Quite simply, a new opportunity presented itself for Létourneau. Nevertheless, our relationship has stayed positive.”

Finding the right fit to help it grow in Quebec took some searching, but just before Christmas, TORBSA announced the appointment of John Longo as business development manager for eastern Canada. Longo brings more than 20 years of experience to the role, having worked at BMR, Lowe’s Canada, and RONA. “His phone is ringing off the hook thanks to his wealth of connections,” says Williams.

Growth is coming from existing members as well. Pro Con Building Supplies, based in Brampton, Ont., has opened a third location—with a fourth on its way. “We have expanded both the commercial door and hardware division and our commercial waterproofing and roofing division in Mississauga that will be fully functional by April 2022,” says Steve Guglietti, vice president of Pro Con.

A brand new location will open May 1 in Oshawa as well, Guglietti told Hardlines. “This new location is 38,000 square feet and we will have the same product offering that is available in Brampton and Mississauga, with an 8,000-square-foot showroom that showcases all of our product lines, including masonry, drywall, doors, roofing, specialty insulation, and many other products.”

Williams at TORBSA expects the year ahead to be an interesting one. He attributes that to the upheaval in the industry, with everything from hiring and succession to supply chain disruptions forcing dealers to examine their businesses more closely. When they do, they often have to confront what’s not working with their current business relationships. “I think people are looking for that opportunity to flip the switch and reset. They’re realizing that there are other opportunities out there.”

Former Home Depot exec shares stories, insights in new Hardlines podcast

Jim Inglis can count himself as one of the pioneers in the retail success story that is The Home Depot. As a former executive VP of merchandising for the company, Inglis worked closely with its founders. The combination of a bigger store and lower prices than the home improvement industry had ever before seen had Inglis hooked.

He shares his experiences as our latest guest on the Hardlines podcast, What’s in Store, which is out later this week.

After serving for 13 years in a series of executive positions with The Home Depot, Inglis went on to consult for some of the top home improvement retailers in the world. They include Sodimac in South America and Hornbach in Europe. Now, he’s the author of a new book, Breakthrough Retailing: How a Bleeding Orange Culture Can Change Everything.

Inglis recalls fondly his decision to join Home Depot. In the early 1980s, the big box was considered an outlier, and not a very viable—or credible—one at that. “I asked around the industry about this new thing called Home Depot, and was told, ‘boy, stay away from those guys. They’re crazy,’” he says. “So it was a big leap of faith to finally join the Depot. But certainly it was a very good decision and was a great ride.”

He speaks of the founding father of Home Depot, Pat Farrah, with fondness. “Every new concept in retail requires a merchant prince. For Home Depot, Pat was the merchant prince. He was that spark of creativity and ingenuity.”

If Farrah was “the creative genius,” the two other founders, who built the business over the longer term, likewise had their roles. Arthur Blank was “the financial genius,” while Bernie Marcus was “the ombudsman,” he says. “Bernie was the guy that would always be listening to the customers. He’d be listening to the vendors. He’d be listening to the financial community. He’d be listening to the employees. As a result, he created an environment where we were responsive to our customers, responsive to our stores. That was his contribution. Each of those gentlemen had a very specific role in creating that culture.”

Later in the podcast, Inglis talks about Home Depot’s entry into Canada. The Canadian industry had been watching closely the rise of Home Depot and several companies were developing big boxes of their own. One, in particular, was best poised for success. Aikenhead’s had been developed by a former Home Depot exec. “we determined that we could enter Canada faster and more profitably if we purchased Aikenhead’s.”

(The next episode of our podcast series, What’s in Store, will go live on Wednesday. Don’t miss this fascinating discussion with Jim Inglis, as he talks about the importance of corporate culture, the vendor-merchant relationship—and much more. Click here to sign up for our podcasts.)

As dealers, and all industries for that matter, face the challenge of hiring and keeping staff, the Building Supply Industry Association of British Columbia is trying to dig deeper into the situation to get some clarity for its members.

According to BSIABC president Thomas Foreman, his association contracted a consulting firm, R.A. Malatest & Associates Ltd., to conduct data collection and analysis. The result was a new report, Sector Engagement and Labour Market Study for B.C.’s Building Supply Sector.

Foreman calls it “a comprehensive study intended to provide the sector with much-needed information with respect to job vacancies and hiring challenges, recruitment and retention issues, compensation practices, and education and training needs.”

The project is being conducted with financial support from the B.C. Ministry of Advanced Education and Skills Training.

During the spring of 2022, the project will move into phase two. This will involve collecting detailed workforce data from industry members throughout B.C. via a survey.

Foreman urges companies that may be contacted, either by email or phone, to share details about their workforce.

“We urge you to please complete this survey. We look forward to sharing the findings of this research with all BSIABC members, and our findings will only be as good as the data you share with us.”

Milynn Bruneau has joined the national lumber trading team at TIMBER MART as a commodity trader for Ontario. She will be responsible for securing commodity products for TIMBER MART members in that province. Bruneau’s experience within the industry includes management roles at the dealer level with M. Daoust Building Supplies and, most recently, panel trader at AFA Forest Products. Working remotely, she reports directly to TIMBER MART’s VP of forest products trading, Bruno Baldessari.

West Fraser Timber Co. has announced several changes to its management team. Sean McLaren, currently the company’s president for solid wood, will become COO. Kevin Burke, currently VP, North American engineered wood products and renewable energy, moves to the position of SVP, wood products. Keith Carter, VP, Western Canada operations, will become SVP, Western Canada.

DID YOU KNOW…?

…  that our publication, HR Advisor, is a monthly e-newsletter to help you manage and support your team during these crazy times? In our latest issue, we look at truck driver shortages, effective management of remote workers, and the hiring challenge of the “Great Resignation.” If you’re not already receiving HR Advisor, click here to sign up for free!

Peavey Industries will not hold its in-person trade show and Ace Canada buying that was slated for later this winter. A virtual show will instead take place from Feb. 28 to March 4, the same dates the company originally planned to welcome dealers and vendors to the Toronto Congress Centre. This will be the fourth virtual trade show for Peavey, which acquired the Ace licence in Canada just as the pandemic broke out in North America.

Lowe’s Canada raised $73,328 for the fund-raising initiative Movember, through its PROvember campaign. The initiative was aimed at Lowe’s pro customers.

A $70,000 contribution by the Home Hardware Return to Sport Matching Grant helped more than 500 youth sports teams get back into action this fall after being sidelined by COVID-19. The matching grant was developed in partnership with FlipGive, a shopping rewards app for teams. In addition, a dozen Home Hardware dealer-owners in northern Ontario banded together over the holidays to provide more than 2,700 shoeboxes of gifts for Operation Christmas Child.

TORBSA is launching a series of product knowledge sessions, sponsored and hosted by the buying group’s vendor partners. The sessions will run weekly beginning on Jan. 19. They will also be recorded and made available to members.

SUPPLIER NEWS

The Western Retail Lumber Association has postponed its 2022 Showcase. Due to the current health situation, the event will take place in early spring instead of in January. Exhibitors will begin to arrive on March 28, with the show taking place on March 31 and April 1. Hotel bookings will be rolled over automatically.

Under the BMR banner, Novago Cooperative is extending its agreement with JRTech Solutions, an electronic shelf labels distributor, to equip additional BMR hardware stores with the latest generation of Pricer Power+ electronic shelf labels in 2022. The first implementation process will begin with the deployment in four stores. Depending on the success, Novago will migrate the rest of its stores to Pricer’s technology.

ECONOMIC INDICATORS

The value of building permits increased 6.8 percent to $11.2 billion in November. Seven provinces reported increases, led by Alberta at 20.6 percent. Construction intentions in the residential sector rose 12 percent while the non-residential sector declined 3.4 percent. Permits for single-family homes rose 3.3 percent, reflecting strength in Ontario and Quebec. (StatCan)

U.S. investment in construction rose by 0.4 percent in November. Spending on single-family homebuilding, which was up 0.6 percent, drove the increase. Year-over-year, spending was up 9.3 percent. (U.S. Commerce Dept.)

NOTED

Fully one-third of Canadian Tire’s revenues now come from its private-label or owned brands.

OVERHEARD…

“I am extremely proud to have been part of the Canadian team for the past two years and to have the chance to continue working with a talented group of people in my new role I want to thank everyone for all the work they have done, especially in the context of the pandemic. I look forward to working with Tony Cioffi in his new role. He is a very capable leader who will no doubt keep driving excellence for Lowe’s Canada.”

—Tony Hurst, who leaving his post as president of Lowe’s Canada to move back to the U.S., now as EVP of pro, services, and international for Lowe’s Cos.

Looking back over the past year, many of the top stories, as in 2020, were consequences of the pandemic.

Industry events continued to be disrupted, culminating in the December announcement that the 2022 International Hardware Fair would be postponed. Slated for March, Eisenwarenmesse is now planned for the fall. The 2020 event had already been postponed first to 2021 and then cancelled altogether.

Buying groups turned to online events in 2021, many carrying the format over from 2020. TORBSA pivoted to hold its inaugural Virtual Vendor Expo in May. The group’s board of directors issued a statement expressing its disappointment in having to decide while pledging to offer a “viable alternative” to a live event.

Buoyed by the success of its first virtual AGM in January, Sexton Group announced a new series of online informational sessions. Orgill, which first took its semi-annual buying event online in the fall of 2020, reprised the format in February and August 2021.

Supply chain and shipping challenges, another pandemic by-product, also preoccupied dealers and suppliers throughout 2021. Some companies went to extreme lengths to contend with those challenges. In August, Canadian Tire Corp. announced it had purchased a 25 percent stake in Ashcroft Terminal, an inland port facility east of Vancouver. “Our retail supply chain is a monster machine that needs to do its job before the customer order gets fulfilled,” said CEO and president Greg Hicks.

In June, we reported that Home Depot had contracted a ship for its exclusive use, set to make its first run the following month. Other measures included occasionally flying “smaller, higher value items” like power tools by air freight and paying a premium for inventory on the spot market.

New acquisitions and affiliations are always popular stories with our readers. Home Hardware pursued an aggressive strategy of expansion in Quebec throughout the past year. In February, it teamed up with a dealer-owner to take over the Patrick Morin chain. Groupe Turcotte is a network of seven Home Hardware stores in the province led by Louis Turcotte, with partners Daniel Gervais and Pierre Beauchamp. Under Turcotte’s leadership, the Patrick Morin stores have preserved their brand.

In June, Home Hardware announced that it was converting three other Quebec stores to its banners. In December, it unveiled plans for a brand new store in Sherrington, which had been without a hardware dealer since the closure of the local Unimat in 2018. That store is slated to open in March.

Lowe’s Canada picked up several new affiliated stores, particularly in Ontario and Quebec. A new dealer was announced for Beauharnois, Que., in May. Other affiliates expanded: a northern Ontario RONA merchant added its third store in Dryden, as reported in late March.

In Quebec, RONA affiliates in Rivière-du-Loup and the Eastern Townships added second locations in January. A Montreal-based affiliate added a fourth location in Marieville in July. In B.C., Fraser Valley Building Supplies expanded to its sixth location in March.

TIMBER MART welcomed new Quebec members in February, April, June, and November. It also picked up dealers in the Toronto and Ottawa areas, as well as one in B.C.

BMR Group continued its growth outside of Quebec. It welcomed a dealer in Shippagan, N.B., in January and one in Kemptville, Ont., in April. It also got a new CEO in 2021. Alexandre Lefebvre took over in March from Pascal Houle, who in April was named the next CEO of parent company Sollio. Houle assumed that role in September.

The rash of changes in dealer alliances is reflective of the turmoil the entire industry has withstood after two years of dealing with COVID. The upside has been strong sales at retail over the past two years, a trend which is expected to moderate only slightly in 2022.

Orgill makes executive changes as Brett Hammers heads to retirement

Orgill has announced a series of leadership changes as Brett Hammers stepped back from his role as EVP of sales and purchasing at year’s end. The sales and purchasing portfolios will be split into two roles, with the current senior VPs for those departments being promoted. Jeff Curler will take over as EVP, purchasing, and David Mobley will assume the sales role. In their new roles, both Curler and Mobley will now report directly to Orgill CEO Boyden Moore.

Hammers has served in a variety of positions during his 20-year career with the company. He will continue working with the executive team throughout 2022 to ensure a smooth transition in leadership leading to his retirement.

“Brett has done an outstanding job preparing Jeff and David for these roles,” Moore said in a release. “Restructuring this executive role into two positions will help us better manage our growth in these departments now and in the future.”

As far as Orgill’s oversight of Canada goes, its current team remains unchanged. Erik Schlaud continues as VP of sales for Canada and the Canadian purchasing team remains the same.

However, changes have been made in other Orgill divisions. Its eastern sales territory will be divided into two regions. This change also results in a shift in responsibility and the creation of a new role that puts Todd Nowels in the role of VP, dealer sales Southeast. Myron Boswell will continue to serve as VP, dealer sales Northeast. Frank West will lead Orgill’s corporate sales team as VP, corporate accounts.

In the purchasing department, three leaders have been promoted to newly created positions. Lisa Pirtle has been named VP, replenishment and vendor support; Alan Shore is now director, seasonal merchandise; and Heath Kennedy is director, hardlines merchandise.

UFA expands product lines and puts the push on e-commerce

A new look for UFA’s Farm & Ranch Supply stores also means more space. The 34 stores, which are located throughout Alberta, have been getting a refresh, store by store, that began in 2016.

The latest outlet to get a makeover is in Lethbridge, a key market for UFA (see our Nov. 29, 2021 edition). Despite increasing SKUs and widening aisles, the new look includes repatriating some storage and warehouse space and turning it into retail selling space. “We’ve actually increased our retail selling space, says Glenn Bingley, vice president, agribusiness and supply chain at UFA.

Some of the products the retailer has been moving into include household maintenance, such as cleaning and kitchen products. Workwear, an important line for farm and ranch retailers, has also been given a boost. The line is expanding beyond the utilitarian to a broader lifestyle approach.

Outdoor living, already a fast-growing hardlines category, took off over the past two years, and UFA’s newest reset capitalizes on that. “We saw a real surge in lawn and garden under COVID,” says Bingley.

The product refresh is reflected in the overall look of the store. “We’ve added a lot of new branding and design elements, something we will be bringing to more of our store locations.” Another strategy is an investment in more house brands. “We’re looking at adding more private-label products and see this as an opportunity for growth—but we’re in the early stages.”

Bingley, a former VP of merchandising at Home Depot Canada, is taking a page from that retailer’s playbook when it comes to expansion. When asked if any new stores are planned, he says the company will continue to focus on growing same-store sales, rather than adding new locations. The other part of that growth, as at Home Depot, is online sales. UFA is working to expand its product lines available online, creating what Bingley calls “an endless aisle.”

Those expansion efforts are being supported by internal improvements. “We’re making significant investments in our supply chain, which will support our online business—and our overall business.” Some improvements include digitizing supply and introducing new technologies to drive overall supply chain efficiencies. The decision to expand its digital business happened before COVID struck, so Bingley says UFA is effectively moving ahead on the strategy. “We’re really well-positioned.”

Peavey adds Guelph Tool Library as a Community Grant recipient

The Guelph Tool Library in Guelph, Ont., has received a Peavey Industries Community Agriculture Grant valued at $20,000. The funding will support the Guelph Urban Food Initiative, which includes a seed library and community garden.

The award was the result of a national contest in support of community agriculture projects across Canada. Peavey distributes a total of $100,000 each year to grants in support of projects in that field.

The Guelph Tool Library wants to promote and encourage people to grow and produce their own food. It is doing this by offering tools, as well as a seed library that lets people “borrow” a pack of seeds, then bring back more seeds from their garden the following year. The tool library is even providing training sessions and places to grow food. Over the coming year, the organization will host a series of events in response to the issues that make getting food harder, including growing income disparity, supply chain issues, and COVID-19.

The tool library is seen as a benefit to the community, providing users with the means to improve their homes. John Dennis, its co-ordinator, says the service “is essential, not only to supporting social outcomes, but for empowering communities to build their resilience—to confront change with confidence and not just survive, but thrive.”

“Peavey Mart is proud to support the Guelph Tool Library in their Urban Food Initiative,” said Doug Anderson, president and CEO of Peavey Industries. “It allows us to connect with our customers in a way that we haven’t before and addresses topics like food insecurity, supply chain issues, and intergenerational learning opportunities.”

Mark Mossman has joined the Ace Canada division of Peavey Industries as national recruiting manager. He is responsible for the full execution of Ace dealer conversions. His background includes stints at Royal Building Products, Freud Power Tool, and paint accessories distributor Lancaster. Most recently, he served as residential sales manager for Great Northern Insulation in Woodstock, Ont.

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Federated Co-operatives Ltd. says it recorded nearly $9.1 billion in revenue and $495 million in earnings for the fiscal year 2021. Those results were up from $7.9 billion and $177 million, respectively. From those earnings, FCL will return $353.5 million to local Co-ops across Western Canada. In a release, CEO Scott Banda said it was “remarkable how the Co-operative Retailing System continues adapting to ever-evolving circumstances.”

Lowe’s Canada has collected and donated 5,300 toys to children across Canada. In partnership with Opération Père Noël in Quebec, and the Salvation Army in the rest of Canada, participating corporate and affiliated stores temporarily transformed into the North Pole to receive and store gifts from donors. In Quebec, some 360 associates received children’s wish lists, purchased and wrapped the requested gifts, and signed their packages with Santa’s name.

Home Hardware Stores’ new Beaver Homes and Cottages’ Virtual Design Centre has been recognized with two international awards. The platform, developed in partnership with Aareas Interactive Inc., has garnered a Platinum 2021 MarCom Award and a 2021 Vega Digital Award. The Beaver Homes site allows users to personalize and visualize the features of their future home or cottage before they start building.

Ikea Canada has released its 2021 Summary Report, which details the retailer’s progress during another year marked by pandemic challenges. Total sales increased 11.8 percent to $2.59 billion for the fiscal year ending Aug. 31. Online sales soared by 161.5 percent to $969.48 million.

Sears’ parent company, Transformco, says it will put the troubled retailer’s head office on the market. It will also consider other redevelopment plans for the 273-acre site in the Chicago suburbs. Spokesperson Larry Costello said a number of employees have shifted, in whole or in part, to remote work.

Amazon has launched a network of staffed pickup points in Canada. Amazon Counter gives customers the option to pick up their Amazon packages at a network of locations. Delivery to a Counter location is available for millions of items sold on Amazon Canada and works with two-day and one-day shipping at no additional cost.

SUPPLIER NEWS

LP Building Solutions will build a SmartSide ExpertFinish pre-finishing facility on 75 acres in Bath, N.Y. Slated to open in Q3 of 2023, the new facility will join LP’s three siding pre-finishing facilities in St. Louis; Roaring River, N.C.; and Green Bay, Wis. The company also announced that LF Foundation and other corporate initiatives donated more than $550,000 in 2021. Organizations and schools were identified by employees at LP mills across the U.S. and Canada based on community needs.

Gypsum Management & Supply Inc. reported Q2 net sales of $1.15 billion, up 41.5 from a year ago. Net income increased 161.2 percent to $74.4 million, or $1.69 per diluted share, from $28.5 million ($0.66) in Q2 of 2021. At the same time, GMS announced the completion of its acquisition of Ames Taping Tools.

ECONOMIC INDICATORS

Retail sales were up 1.6 percent to $57.6 billion in October. The increase was led by higher sales at motor vehicle and parts dealers as new car dealer sales rebounded. Also contributing to the increase was a 3.2 percent rise with building material and garden equipment and supplies dealers. That increase was the third consecutive monthly gain, following four months of declines from April to July. (StatCan)

November housing starts in the U.S. were at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 1.68 million units. That was up 11.8 percent from the previous month and 8.3 percent from November 2020. The pace of single-family starts rose 11.3 percent from October to 1.17 million units. The SAAR of building permits was 1.71 million units. (U.S. Commerce Dept.)

U.S. retail sales edged up 0.3 percent in November, or 0.2 percent excluding gas and motor vehicles. That followed an upwardly revised 1.8 percent gain in October. (U.S. Commerce Dept.)

NOTED

We start the new year with a nod to a storied Canadian company. Garant is a manufacturer of tools for gardening, snow removal, cleaning and construction. Located in Saint-François-de-la-Rivière-du-Sud, the Quebec-based company, now in its 127th year, sells 4,000 different products through retailers across Canada and the U.S. Sales exceed $125 million and more than 375 employees contribute to its success.

OVERHEARD…

“Great retailers die when the merchants are replaced by the financial guys (Sears, Sports Authority, Toys R Us, Circuit City). Separating the physical stores from the online stores is the classic example of the financial guys taking over for short term gains that fatally damage great brands.”
—Former Home Depot VP Jim Inglis, responding on Linkedin to a post questioning activist shareholders’ latest push, to have retailers separate their online and bricks-and-mortar business.

Federated Co-operatives Ltd. is purchasing 181 Husky retail fuel sites from Cenovus Energy Inc. The $264 million deal represents FCL’s largest-ever retail acquisition.

The sites include a mix of gas bars, on-site car washes, and convenience stores. Upon closure of the transaction, which is subject to regulatory conditions, FCL will transfer the sites to local Co-ops across Western Canada.

Both FCL and another co-op company, Parkland Corp., entered into separate deals to acquire a total of 337 Husky gas stations and convenience stores. The seller is Cenovus Energy Inc. and the total cost of the stores is close to $420 million. FCL will purchase 181 sites and Parkland has agreed to acquire another 156. The purchase consists of both corporate-owned and dealer-owned locations.

Cenovus is a Calgary-based energy company with oil and natural gas production in Canada and the Asia Pacific region, plus refining and marketing operations in Canada and the U.S.

Some of FCL’s sites will be operated by local Co-ops while others will be operated by dealers under its Tempo banner. The company will spend the coming year and a half converting the outlets from Husky to Co-op.

“This historic deal for our organization clearly aligns with our vision of building sustainable communities together and reaffirms our commitment to Western Canada, to our member-owned Co-ops, and to their local members and customers,” FCL CEO Scott Banda said in a release.

Orgill has been growing its range of products available to its dealer customers during the last quarter of 2021. It now boasts access to an online inventory that exceeds one million SKUs. Independent retailers can, in turn, enhance their e-commerce capabilities using the products from Orgill, supported by its shareable product information database.

To make this amount of data easily accessible to retailers who subscribe to the service, Orgill houses the information in a product information management (PIM) system called the Orgill Industry PIM.

“Nearly a decade ago, we realized that independent retailers would need access to all of the product data, images, and information for the products they carry in order to populate their e-commerce engines. And, if they were going to properly represent their store brands, this would also include products that Orgill may not supply,” says Boyden Moore, Orgill president and CEO.

The giant wholesaler has developed the platform with its industry partner, Unilog.

At its core, the Orgill Industry PIM is a database that its customers can use to populate their e-commerce websites or POS systems. That includes images, text, specifications, filterable attributes, and links to supporting documents. But the products it contains go far beyond what Orgill stocks in its warehouses, according to Marc Hamer, Orgill’s EVP and chief information and technology officer.

Not only does Orgill’s product database include enriched items outside of the distributor’s stocking inventory of national brands, but it also includes LBM such as commodity wood products and sheet goods.

Orgill’s Industry PIM has product data across four different types of items: Orgill warehouse products, Orgill dropship products, products not sold through Orgill, and commodity wood products. In fact, only about 12 percent of the items are stocked in Orgill’s warehouse.

Orgill also has supports for retailers who are looking to build a website or e-commerce engine from the ground up.

Access to Orgill’s Industry PIM, as well as its e-commerce and website design services, are open to all Orgill customers. (For more information on any of these services, please contact ecomservices@orgill.com.)

The retail home improvement industry is coming off the second year of incredible returns, one positive outcome of the otherwise devastating impact of the worldwide pandemic. That reality provided the backdrop for the fiscal outlook provided last week by executives at Lowe’s Cos.

In a call to investors, CEO Marvin Ellison commented early on that the results for his company have been strong—and that trend is expected to continue. “We are very fortunate to be operating in a robust sector of the retail industry, which we expect to benefit from secular tailwinds for years to come. The traditional drivers that support home improvement demand are all pointing in the right direction, beginning with home price appreciation.”

Housing supply in the U.S. will take several years to catch up to demand, he said, even as existing housing stock continues to age. Both factors, which have their parallels in Canada, bode well for retail home improvement. The numbers at Lowe’s bear this out.

Add to that the impacts of people working and schooling from home, which mean “a permanent step-up in repair and maintenance cycles,” Ellison said, adding that two-thirds of Lowe’s sales come from spending on repairs and maintenance.

The company expects growth to come from both the DIY and pro markets.

When it comes to actual fiscal performance in 2021 and beyond, Ellison turned the presentation over to David Denton, EVP and CFO at Lowe’s. “We are expecting total sales of approximately $95 billion in 2021 and comparable sales of approximately 33 percent on a two-year basis,” he noted. Comp sales in 2020 came in at 26.1 percent.

Denton expected things to slow in 2022, but not by much, even though this year will be a tough act to follow. Total sales for Lowe’s are forecast to range from $94 billion to $97 billion, compared with the $95 billion expected this year. Despite a 53rd week in the fiscal year 2022, which is expected to increase total sales by about $1 billion to $1.5 billion, comp sales next year are expected to range from a decline of three percent to flat.

“Looking ahead to 2022, the home improvement sector is likely to contract modestly, given that the industry benefited from both higher inflation and government stimulus this year. While it still remains difficult to predict the market performance precisely, we are expecting a demand decline of mid-single digits on a mix-adjusted basis.”

The organizers of Eisenwarenmesse, the International Hardware Fair in Cologne, Germany, have rescheduled the event for Sept. 25 to 28, 2022. It was previously slated for March 6 to 9.

The show is the largest of its kind in the world and typically hosts close to 3,000 exhibitors from 60 countries. The 2018 event drew 47,000 attendees from 143 countries. It is spread through a network of buildings that comprise the Koelnmesse fairgrounds along the Rhine River.

The event, which is usually held every two years, was last held in 2018. It was next scheduled for March 2020. But the pandemic’s outbreak necessitated a last-minute postponement. Travel restrictions in place in several Asian countries threatened the viability of the fair, which counted on exhibitors from the affected regions. An attempt to hold the show the following year was likewise cancelled.

Koelnmesse CEO Oliver Frese made the announcement, saying the potential for bringing together a global audience “will be significantly greater in September thanks to the participation of the Asian market.” The event has historically served as a major showcase for Asian suppliers, along with European and North American vendors.

Hardlines has a long history with Eisenwarenmesse. Our Canada Night receptions, hosted for Canadian and international visitors on the opening night of the show, bring together vendors and buyers. Past guests include buyers from Canadian Tire, Home Hardware, Orgill, Acklands-Grainger, Home Depot, True Value, Ace Hardware, OBI, and Princess Auto.

A Koelnmesse release noted that the “pandemic situation continues to develop dynamically worldwide and strict travel restrictions are expected in March,” affecting key markets. The organization presented the new date as “a win-win for everyone.”

Given the current rise of the Omicron variant, which has spread around the world in a matter of weeks, the organizers expect that the new timeline will enable exhibitors to have more lead time to plan while also giving them a wider international exposure.

TORBSA has appointed John Longo as business development manager, Eastern Canada. He will report to the buying group’s president and board of directors. With more than 20 years of experience, Longo has held business development roles at BMR, Lowe’s Canada, and RONA. He will be based in Montreal’s west end.

Weyerhaeuser Co. has named David Graham as president of its Canadian subsidiary, effective Jan. 1. Graham will report to Travis Keatley, senior VP of Timberlands. His appointment follows the planned retirement of Fred Dzida, who has served as president since 2014. Dzida will stay on through March 2022 to aid in the transition.

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The Home Depot Canada Foundation rolled out its Orange Door Project holiday fundraising campaign again this year to combat youth homelessness. The company’s 182 stores partnered with local youth-serving charities who will receive all donations made in-store and online. The foundation has also made a donation of $2,000 to the Red Cross on behalf of each store in British Columbia to support communities affected by the recent floods and mudslides.

Aluminium J. Clément Inc. in Mont-Tremblant, Que., is the newest member to join TIMBER MART. Alain Journet is co-owner with Patrick-Guy Meury. The business opened in 1974 and has been serving DIYers, architects, and contractors in the Laurentians since 1980. Today, it employs 65 staff and occupies multiple buildings that house showroom space, product storage, and a carpentry shop for custom-built projects.

Lowe’s Canada has welcomed Mikael Lanthier as the new owner of RONA Ferronnerie St-Janvier in Mirabel, Que. The store was acquired by the Charbonneau family in 1969 and joined the RONA banner in 1972. Over the next few months, customers will see it modernized to allow for stock renewal and online shopping.

Matériaux H. Bondu Inc. in Notre-Dame-de-Pontmain, Que., is Castle Building Centres’ newest member-dealer. Founded in the late 1930s, owner Louis Bondu took over the business in 2014, the third-generation owner in his family. The full-service LBM and general store, under general manager Julie Cloutier, serves the Laurentides region.

Costco Wholesale Corp. will expand its Costco Next program in a bid to hold its own against Amazon. The program allows Costco members to save 20 percent or more on online purchases from participating brands. It was initially launched in 2017 with just a handful of brands, but Costco has expanded their ranks and has plans to add more over the coming year.

Dollarama reported that sales rose by 5.5 percent in Q3 of fiscal 2022 to $1.12 billion, from $1.06 billion a year prior. Comp sales were up 0.8 percent, over and above 7.1 percent growth in the prior year. Net earnings were $183.4 million, or $0.61 per diluted common share, compared to $161.9 million ($0.52) in Q3 of 2021.

Home Hardware’s newest location is in Sherrington, Que. Quincaillerie Sherrington will operate under the Home Hardware banner when it opens in March 2022. “It has been our long-time dream to own a Home Hardware store in Québec,” said Jean Fredette, who is dealer-owner of the 9,000-square-foot store along with partners Martine Boyer, Pier Alexandre Boyer-Couture, and Ève Desbiens.

SUPPLIER NEWS

West Fraser Timber Co. says regulatory reviews and other closing conditions of its latest acquisition have been completed, allowing the company to close the purchase of the Angelina Forest Products lumber mill in Lufkin, Tex.

Henkel North America has announced an expansion of its scholarship and internship program for Black, Hispanic, and Indigenous students. An investment of more than $1 million will support dozens of students with financial aid and internship opportunities. The initiative is in partnership with UNCF (United Negro College Fund), the Hispanic Scholarship Fund, Pathways to Education Canada, and the American Indian Science and Engineering Society.

Équipement Boni, Forma Fil, and Etalex, the three companies operating under the umbrella of SJM Group, have rebranded under the Etalex name. Etalex was founded in 1966 as L. D’Amour Inc. In 1982, then-owner Jacques Majeau purchased competitor Boni, adding Forma Fil in 1989. SJM Group was established as the parent of the three firms in 1995. Groupe Desjardins became its majority shareholder in late 2019.

ECONOMIC INDICATORS

Sales of existing homes in Canada increased by 0.6 percent in November. This small increase followed on the heels of a nine percent jump in October. Across the country, sales gains in Calgary, Edmonton, the B.C. interior, Regina, and Saskatoon offset declines in activity in the Greater Toronto Area and Montreal. (Canadian Real Estate Association)

The seasonally adjusted annual rate of housing starts was 301,279 units in November, an increase of 26 percent from 238,366 units in October. The SAAR of urban starts increased by 29 percent to 279,396 units, with single-detached urban starts down one percent to 58,243 units. (CMHC)

NOTED

Canadians plan to shop overwhelmingly online this holiday season. Zip Co.; which specializes in digital buy now, pay later programs; has released Holidays Unzipped: Zip Canada’s 2021 Holiday Spending Report. The survey found that Canadians in general, and younger generations in particular, are likely to spend more this holiday season. Household items such as furniture and décor continue to figure prominently on Canadians’ wish lists, with 70 percent of respondents citing those categories. Almost three-quarters of those surveyed are doing their holiday shopping online this year.

The North American Hardware and Paint Association has opened registration for its latest class on financial management. The offering is part of the NHPA’s Foundations of Leadership series. Applicants can enroll until Jan. 6 or get started now with a self-paced option.

UFA, the Calgary-based co-op, continues the ongoing upgrades of its chain of 34 UFA Farm & Ranch Supply stores. This spring, UFA tackled its store in Lethbridge, Alta.

“It was our biggest remodel yet. It’s our latest and greatest store,” says Glenn Bingley, vice president, agribusiness and supply chain at UFA.

The store refresh program began in 2016 and the latest reno represents a key step for the company. Sitting in the middle of Alberta’s “livestock alley,” the Lethbridge store has the highest concentration of intensive livestock in Canada and represents a key location for UFA. “Lethbridge is a big part of our business and an important market.”

Bingley says all improvements were generated in-house and reflect a strategy to appeal to more contractors and farm management pros. The enhancements at the Lethbridge Farm & Ranch Supply store reflected the work of the company’s field service team and UFA’s marketing team. They included more digital elements in the signage, wider shopping aisles, and a new building supplies area that merchandises products like drywall, doors and windows, and moulding. The added emphasis on building materials has already been implemented in UFA’s Medicine Hat and Westlake stores.

A new service desk near the entrance encourages better engagement and conversation between customers and UFA team members while letting pros get in and out quicker. Assortments in the yard have been beefed up with livestock supplies and added LBM. A new office in the yard provides easy checkout for a new drive-through (shown here), so customers can remain in their vehicles. “We also did a fully expanded paint program with full-service tinting.”

Merchandise at the Lethbridge store is displayed according to projects, so everything needed to get a job done is in one spot. “The team really remerchandised the entire store,” says Bingley. “The layouts, the adjacencies, are completely changed.”

He says the company has learned a lot about online selling during COVID and those best practices have been applied to the Lethbridge site. For buy online, pick-up in store customers, or those who need to get in and out quickly, the store now features an e-commerce pick-up desk.

“Wider aisles, new adjacencies, reflect a project focus for both contractors and our farm and ranch customer. We’ve polished up the concrete floors and added a lot more ‘bright and white’ to make the merchandising more and more improved for our customers.”

The Canadian retail home improvement industry will get a chance to return to in-person trade shows starting early next year with the Western Retail Lumber Association’s Building & Hardware Showcase, from Jan. 19 to 21.

The show, which effectively brings most of the industry from west of the Lakehead together, will be in Winnipeg, for the first of three years the show is scheduled for that city.

The relocation is just the beginning of a new policy by the WRLA to move the show around on a more regular basis, after six years in Calgary and 16 years before that in Saskatoon.

“When we were looking at it with the [WRLA] board, we said, you know, maybe it’s time for us to start moving things around,” says Liz Kovach, president of the WRLA. “We really wanted to make it accessible to all of our members. If you have it in one place for too long, you’ve got folks from various provinces that might only travel every two or three years. Yes, it’s convenient when it’s in your home province. But that means it’s inconvenient for everyone else, to some extent. So we wanted to keep it fresh, we wanted to keep moving things around because it helps us evolve the event and make it a different experience every year.”

This year’s show will put more emphasis than ever on providing content and learning, along with the deals in the exhibitor aisles. “We did a rebrand session in 2020, when we had our last in-person event, because we really want the show to evolve with the industry and with the needs of our members.”

One outcome was the decision to add more educational components. “This year, we’re going to have a day dedicated completely to building science and energy efficiency, with the movement towards net zero. With the grants that have been put in place in terms of retrofits, we want to make sure that people are equipped with the information they need to translate that into a business opportunity.”

Other sessions will include HR basics for supervisors and managers, plus lessons in pro-active selling for store staff. A panel has been formed to discuss the labour shortage situation.

The show will be held at the RBC Convention Centre in downtown Winnipeg. That venue has been renovated and the third floor expanded so the show will fit on one floor now, Kovach says.

The show already has more than 170 exhibitors registered, “but we still get requests daily and we have a few spots still available.” She says the dealer registration has also increased in recent weeks, as people wait out the impacts of COVID. “Honestly, the momentum is picking up. It’s great to see. We can’t wait to host everyone.”

Retail sales continue to be hot even as the housing market shows signs of stabilizing, economist Peter Norman told the audience at this year’s Hardlines Conference. The event, which gathered dealers and industry leaders from across the country, was held last month in Niagara-on-the-Lake, Ont.

“It’s hard to remember how much we lost because the recovery was so fast and enveloped us so fully,” said Norman. That said, he noted that economic recovery had not been as strong in Canada as in the U.S., where it was “deeper and steeper.”

“Recovery has been very strong but uneven. It’s the unevenness that brings risks but also opportunities. More of the recovery will be pushed into 2022 compared to the U.S., where things are already slowing now.”

With hardware dealers considered essential retailers through most provincial lockdowns, Norman said, “there was really no recession in hardlines sales,” with a “huge surge in sales” in May and June. Except for the second wave, the renovation boom had been a constant throughout the pandemic. He observed that at the time he was speaking “some cooling down” was only just beginning to be felt.

“Home sales are starting to normalize. You might call that going down, but it’s not. It’s returning to regular levels that we would expect around now, and that’s probably good news.”

Demand remained high for single-family homes, “of which we have a massive shortage in Canada. Single-family homes are king. The apartment and condo sector continues to do okay. But that’s not where all the froth was late last year and it’s not where all the froth is right now.”

By the end of its second quarter, Canadian Tire’s retail division had realized a 23 percent revenue increase on a year-to-date basis. But sales in the third quarter were up by only eight percent, setting a trend that continued with more shrinking sales for CTR in Q3. However, customers who belong to the company’s Triangle loyalty program are driving growth, which has resulted in the testing of a premium level of service for the program.

Greg Hicks, president and CEO of Canadian Tire Corp., commented on the trend in the company’s Q3 analyst call, noting that the two previous years were “exceptional” for all of CTC’s banners. “Revenue declined, as expected, led by lower shipments to dealers after significant revenue increases in both Q1 and Q2.”

An important aspect of CTC’s marketing efforts has been its Triangle rewards program. Hicks called it “a key driver of our top-line performance overall and in the quarter,” with 10.7 million active members. Participants in this loyalty program, which applies online across all of the company’s retail banners, spend more on average than other Canadian Tire customers.

“In Q3, our loyalty members spent 30 percent more per visit than non-loyalty members, accounting for 57 percent of our total retail sales in the quarter. Our member base continues to grow, with 680,000 joining in Q3 alone.” And the Triangle program is attracting younger, more digitally engaged customers, Hicks explained.

CTC has been working on Triangle Select, a subscription program that is currently in beta testing. Advantages of this program include free delivery for online purchases, the ability to earn 10 times more points on purchases, and incentives for buying Canadian Tire’s private-label products.

“We have just over 5,000 invite-only customers subscribed as part of the beta test. Over 50 percent of them are skewing younger than our average Triangle member, many have our credit card, and they’re spending more across our banners.”

Lisa Mason has joined store merchandising and detailing company RDTS as director of business development. She brings 20 years of experience as a accomplished manager. Previously, she was at MasterTag Manufacturing as the national account manager for Canada.

DID YOU KNOW…?

… The 2021 Hardlines Market Share Report is now available! It features exclusive information on the market share in every store format, region, and province using sales data for year-end 2020. Sales by province and region of every hardware and home improvement retailer in the country are detailed. Changes from the 2019 to 2020 data are presented in percentages and market shares are broken down by store format. Click here to order yours today!

A BMR store in northwestern Quebec is the group’s first location to offer drive-through service. Customers at BMR Bergeron & Filles in Amos can place orders at a window and receive them without exiting their vehicles. They can also place orders by phone or online. All in-store merchandise is available through the service.

Home Depot reported that its third-quarter comp sales were up 6.1 percent. In the U.S. they grew by 5.5 percent while Canadian stores also posted positive comps. That growth came despite supply chain challenges. “We improved our in-stock levels in the back half of last year, and we’ve been able to sustain, and in some cases improve, our levels even as home improvement demand remains elevated,” president and COO Ted Decker said on a call to analysts.

Lowe’s Cos. has launched Lowe’s Livable Home as part of the company’s “commitment to become the leading retail destination for ageing-in-place and life-change solutions.” In partnership with AARP (formerly the American Association of Retired Persons), the initiative, which is exclusive to Lowe’s in the U.S., will offer expertise, services, and affordable products in a range of styles and budgets aimed at making living at home easier and safer for an ageing population.

The e-commerce division of Leon’s Furniture, Furniture.ca, has a new virtual storefront on Walmart Canada’s online platform, Marketplace. Customers on Walmart.ca are now able to shop for a range of brands and categories from Furniture.ca suppliers. The storefront currently offers more than 2,000 furniture and home décor items, with plans in place to expand the selection in the coming months.

Target stores will no longer open on the U.S. Thanksgiving holiday. Last year, as a crowd-control measure during the pandemic, the retailer replaced its Black Friday event with an extended sales season starting in October, which proved to be enormously popular with shoppers. Target first began opening its stores on Thanksgiving a decade ago, as part of a trend of retailers moving to start the Black Friday rush a day early.

SUPPLIER NEWS

Taiga Building Products Ltd. is donating $100,000 to the Canadian Red Cross in support of the victims of flooding in British Columbia’s lower mainland. The national LBM supplier is headquartered in Burnaby, B.C., and many of the company’s staff, customers, and colleagues have been affected directly by the devastation. “The impacts of this event are being felt throughout our industry community, both in the immediate affected area and well beyond,” said co-CEO Russ Permann. “We hope that our support will help the region bounce back quickly and ease the suffering of those in the most immediate need.”

ECONOMIC INDICATORS

Retail sales were down 0.6 percent to $56.6 billion in September. The decline was led by lower sales in automotive categories. LBM and garden equipment sales edged down by 0.2 percent to $3.74 billion. (StatCan)

Sales of existing U.S. homes rose unexpectedly in October, the second consecutive monthly increase. Sales rose by 0.8 percent to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 6.34 million units. That was their highest level since January. (U.S. Commerce Dept.)

NOTED

One of the outstanding speakers at our Hardlines Conference last month was Rob Faries, owner of GG’s Ace Hardware in Moose Factory, on the shores of James Bay in northern Ontario. One of the many things Faries revealed about his colourful background was his role as the singer in an indigenous rock band. The Relic Kings performed last week at the storied Horseshoe Tavern in Toronto and our intrepid reporter was there to catch the show. Faries is as assured and engaging in front of a roomful of club-goers as he was speaking to the professionals at the Hardlines Conference. Here’s a 30-second clip of the Relic Kings in action. Great rock ’n’ roll!

OVERHEARD…

“I’m convinced this project will have offspring. Other dealers have already approached us to try it.”
—Jonathan Gendreau, VP for strategy and network development at BMR Group, on the development of a drive-through window at one BMR store, as discussed in Le Journal de Montréal.

Home Hardware has unveiled its new ‘Built to Build’ campaign as part of a relaunch for its private brand, Benchmark. Developed in collaboration with Toronto ad agency john st., the campaign will be supported through social and digital channels as well as a 30-second TV spot, in-store signage, and newly designed packaging. In French-language markets, it will be presented with the slogan “Conçus pour bâtir.”

The campaign runs until Dec. 24.

“Home Hardware’s‘Built to Build’ campaign is about connecting with DIYers across Canada and highlighting Benchmark as an innovative and affordable tool brand that can help them tackle the projects they’ve been dreaming of with ease,” said Laura Baker, vice president, marketing, Home Hardware Stores Limited. “We want Canadians to understand they can depend on Benchmark products, and that by using them, they are practically unstoppable.”

The announcement reinforces the full range of products that bear the Benchmark brand for Home Hardware. It also reflects the wider movement among retailers to beef up their private label offerings. (See the next story in this issue.)

Working with Toronto ad shop john st., Home Hardware’s agency of record for the past five years, the fully integrated campaign relies on traditional media, including television, highlighted by a new 30-second TV spot, plus in-store signage and newly designed packaging. The rebranding is also being supported through social and digital channels.

A cornerstone of the Benchmark relaunch is the brand’s new Omega 20-volt battery system. Keeping pace with the thrust of power tool technology, the system is compatible and interchangeable across all of Benchmark’s 20-volt cordless products, which includes power tools and lawn and garden equipment.

“We know that home renovation and repair projects continue to be a focus for our customers and innovative tools that help them get the job done within budget are important to them,” said Baker.

“The Benchmark brand offers a broad assortment of power and hand tools at affordable prices, without sacrificing quality and dependability.”

Canadian Tire enjoyed strong results in its third quarter, and while comp sales for its Canadian Tire Retail (CTR) stores were up just 1.4 percent, that follows on the heels of a whopping 25.1 percent increase during the same quarter of 2020. Much of the chain’s success came from its ability to drive private-label sales while managing its supply chain challenges.

Private brands are hot properties, and Canadian Tire has led the charge with a range of proprietary lines for everything from power tools to home décor. Supported by a strong infrastructure here at home, the company has been able to manage its inventories effectively.

“The non-perishable nature of our products gives us flexibility around lead times and commercial terms,” said CEO Greg Hicks on a call to analysts. “As the owner of significant distribution and storage capacity through our store network, corporate-owned real estate and the REIT, we can easily hold excess inventory in Canada.”

He pointed out that more than one-third of Canadian Tire’s revenue comes from its owned brands. As the supplier for its own products in these areas, the company can keep control of when and where goods are produced. Hicks cited NOMA Christmas lights, Mastercraft tools, and Denver Hayes apparel as examples.

CTR’s performance was helped by growth in their own brands such as Canvas, Master Chef, Raleigh, and Sherwood. Executives on the call noted that the control over these lines gives Canadian Tire a real advantage, despite ongoing sourcing challenges worldwide.

“Our seasonal, living, and automotive divisions had the strongest performance in the quarter,” said Gregory Craig, Canadian Tire’s EVP and CFO. “Garden, backyard living, cleaning, and car care were among CTR’s top-performing categories, and our access to inventory was a key contributor to their performance.”

Craig said Canadian Tire is “the largest importer of record in Canada,” with strong vendor relationships and large investments in shipping and transportation, “particularly on the main routes in and out of Asia and across Canada to our more than 1,700 plus retail locations and distribution centres.”

Earlier this year, Canadian Tire invested in ships of its own to carry CTR products exclusively. “This strategic decision to charter four vessels enabled us to bring in key Christmas and winter categories in time for Q4. We have successfully built inventory to meet anticipated customer demand,” Craig said.

“We’re already working through our volumes and lead times for summer and fall of 2022, placing orders with vendors, looking at our product pipelines, and—while not across the board— anticipating an increase in some input costs.”

The National Hardware Show made its comeback last month as a live event, after moving to a virtual format in 2020. The show, which typically runs in early May, was pushed out to late October this year, to maximize the odds of people attending as North America continues to contend the persistence of the pandemic. While it did not attract too many Canadians, it did reach a critical mass that proved worthwhile for many in attendance.

The 75th edition of the show gathered exhibitors, industry leaders and other attendees for a return to business at the Las Vegas Convention Center’s new West Hall. There were 690 exhibitors, including 259 that attended for the first time. In 2019, the show had about 2,500 exhibitors.

“Despite a smaller footprint, we made important investments this year to ensure NHS remains the top destination for industry members to make meaningful connections and celebrate successes for years to come,” said Beth Casson, event leader for NHS.

One Canadian who was there noted the smaller size. Robert Greene, VP for the Consumer Products Division of Jacobs & Thompson, which has the Polar Bear brand of weatherproofing products, says the show was “just okay,” with traffic low overall.

“We didn’t see any Canadian retailers at the show except for one Home Hardware store that had won the trip.” He was referring to Ian McNaughton of Gravenhurst Home Hardware. McNaughton was an award winner and panellist at the conference portion of the show, held by the North American Hardware and Paint Association.

Another Canadian exhibitor, a Toronto-based garage storage company, was reportedly looking to expand its U.S. presence and was happy with the buyers walking the show and stopping by their booth.

The smaller size of the show did have its upside. Greene says the few connections he made were good ones. “On a brighter note, the customers, suppliers, and representatives that we did interact with were quality contacts that we expect will garner new business within the future.”
 
He adds that his support of this show gave his company the opportunity to negotiate better pricing and a more favourable booth location for next year. The 2022 show will be held April 5 to 7, once again in the West Hall at the Las Vegas Convention Center.

AQMAT held its 10th Congress of Decision-Makers last month under the theme “Se retrouver pour mieux s’allier” (finding one another to better unite ourselves). Dominique Bélanger, chairman of the Quebec industry group’s board, dubbed the occasion “historic.”

“When I look at the importance of the topics on the agenda, I indeed think we are called to reflect, even to speak out on some of the most critical issues facing our hardware stores and the suppliers who allow us to operate, namely the suppliers and buying groups.”

Delegates adopted resolutions dealing with price controls, Sunday closures, and a potential code of best practices for hardware retailers. While supporting a mostly free-market approach, AQMAT and construction industry group APCHQ are exploring algorithm-based technologies that can take out some of the guesswork as supply remains unpredictable.

Participants also heard from Pierre-Alexandre Blouin, head of Quebec’s food retailers’ association. Blouin suggested that AQMAT has an advantage in bringing together all kinds of hardware industry actors. In the food business, by contrast, “to make progress it’s necessary to coordinate ten or so different and sometimes diverging associations.”

AQMAT president Richard Darveau (shown here) noted that new federal cabinet ministers were receiving their mandate letters the same day in Ottawa. Like them, he said, he felt “entrusted with clear and engaging objectives for the collective good of the members of our community.”

DID YOU KNOW…?

… that Hardlines has the tools to help you identify Canada’s top home improvement retailers? If you want to know who the big retail customers are, what their sales are in each province, and the product strategies of the top players, check out the Hardlines Retail Report and the Hardlines Market Share Report. This exclusive info is just not available anywhere else but at Hardlines. We even have special pricing if you buy both reports together. Let us help you get ready for the year ahead!

Lowe’s Cos. announced its Q3 profits rose to $1.9 billion, or $2.73 per share, compared with $692 million a year earlier. Revenues increased to $22.92 billion from $22.31 billion. Same-store sales were up by 2.2 percent in the quarter. Like rival Home Depot, Lowe’s benefited from a strong housing market, even as house prices and building materials costs heat up.

The Home Depot posted Q3 revenues of $36.8 billion, an increase of $3.3 billion or 9.8 percent from 2020. The ongoing trend toward investment in the home seen since the COVID-19 outbreak continued to propel sales, with comp sales increasing by 6.1 percent. Net income rose to $4.13 billion (or $3.92 per share), from $3.43 billion ($3.18) a year earlier.

Digital construction platform Toolbx has expanded to Vancouver. The service offers a single platform from which builders can source materials from any local supplier, to be delivered to the job site within two hours. The expansion comes amid skilled labour shortages in the area, which the Vancouver Regional Construction Association expects to continue over the coming years.

Vancouver-based BuildDirect Technologies has acquired Superb Flooring & Design LLC in a $10 million cash transaction. The Michigan-based flooring retailer serves pro customers across the U.S. Midwest. At the same time, BuildDirect reported Q3 revenues of $22.4 million, up 51 percent from a year ago. Gross profit increased 48 percent to $8.1 million, compared to $5.5 million for the comparable period of 2020.

Walmart Canada and Duo Bank of Canada are launching the Walmart Rewards Mastercard Installment Plan. Customers can split their in-store and online general merchandise purchases into six equal installments billed to their Walmart Rewards Mastercard monthly when the total purchase is $199.99 or more. As part of the launch of the program, the 2.5 percent set-up fee is being waived for a limited time.

SUPPLIER NEWS

CertainTeed Canada, a subsidiary of Saint-Gobain, has announced a new partnership with Hyperframe, which specializes in AI-powered software for the construction industry.

Intertape Polymer Group’s Q3 sales rose 23 percent to $395.6 million. Net earnings fell by five percent to $25.3 million. Net income was $58.7 million, up from $55.6 million a year ago.

ECONOMIC INDICATORS

Sales of existing homes have already set a new annual record in 2021. Sales were up 8.6 percent between September and October 2021, marking the largest month-over-month increase since July 2020. Actual (not seasonally adjusted) monthly activity was down 11.5 percent on a year-over-year basis. (Canadian Real Estate Assoc.)

The seasonally adjusted annual rate of housing starts in Canada was 236,554 units in October, according to the Canada Mortgage and Housing Corp. That was down 5.3 percent from 249,922 units in September. The SAAR of urban starts declined by 3.7 percent to 214,797 units. Single-detached urban starts increased by one percent to 58,016 units. (CMHC) 

U.S. construction starts were at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 1.52 million in October. That was a decrease of 0.7 percent. Compared to October 2020, however, starts were up by 0.4 percent. The SAAR of building permits for the month was 1.65 million. That was four percent higher than in September and 3.4 percent above the previous October’s pace. (U.S. Census Bureau)

NOTED

A Quebec man whose family is behind a series of trademark applications using the Zellers name says Hudson’s Bay Co. missed out on its chance to retain rights to the name. HBC’s “lawyers didn’t do their work. The trademark was expunged,” Robert Moniz said in a CBC Radio interview. “They had enough time to take over the trademark. They didn’t take it.” Members of the Moniz family are named in a statement of claim filed by HBC, with allegations including trademark infringement and deceptive marketing.

OVERHEARD…

“Our owned brands continue to be a key focus for us, providing several differentiated advantages, one being a healthy margin premium over national brands.”
—TJ Flood, president of Canadian Tire Retail, on the importance of its private labels.

TIMBER MART has appointed Bruno Baldessari as the group’s new vice president of forest products trading, effective Nov. 15. Baldessari will be responsible for leading and managing TIMBER MART’s national lumber trading division.

As a member of TIMBER MART’s senior leadership team, he will report directly to the buying group’s president and CEO, Bernie Owens. That group is one of the largest national member-owned buying groups in Canada, representing hundreds of dealers in every province across the country.

The group is also working on growing its presence in Quebec. Baldessari will make a valuable addition to the TIMBER MART team as it ramps up its efforts in that province. In taking over the lumber trading role, he relieves John Morrissey, the TIMBER MART vice president based in Halifax, who is in charge of the group’s presence in Atlantic Canada.

With responsibility exclusively for lumber trading, Baldessari will work to increase the group’s focus on commodity trading. Morrissey will continue to oversee distribution for TIMBER MART down east.

“Bruno will be accountable for growing the lumber trading unit of our group with new products and services in support of our members’ evolving business needs and long-term success,” Owens said in a release.

Baldessari brings over 30 years of experience in the building materials industry in a variety of senior leadership positions in building materials procurement, marketing, retail operations, and sales. He was most recently at BMR Group, where he spent 15 years, most recently as group VP of merchandising and vendor relations.

Before his stint at BMR, Baldessari worked at RONA and Cameron Ashley Building Products.

Federated Co-operatives Ltd. successfully hosted its second virtual Buymart tradeshow on Oct. 18 and 19. The event hosted over 190 vendors and attracted 600 local Co-op associates, who connected online to discuss product and program opportunities for 2022.

The first day opened with a welcome from Cody Smith, director of the co-op’s Home and Building Solutions business. He congratulated the Co-op Home Centres on their successful sales and operational performance over the past year. Smith then highlighted key initiatives, projects in development, and future opportunities designed to position the Co-op Retail System for continued growth.

Category manager informational sessions were hosted on day one, outlining strategic program opportunities for the upcoming year for Co-op associates. In addition, the retail delegates could connect with vendors at Buymart through chat and video to explore and review product offerings.

Event organizers report that response during the show from vendor partners and the local Co-op associates was enthusiastic; all appreciated the opportunity the virtual Buymart provided to let delegates collaborate and reconnect with peers across the home improvement industry.

The contractor customer is evolving, and Home Depot Canada is adapting its offerings to keep up. That was Jamal Hamad’s message to the delegates at the 2021 Hardlines Conference.

Hamad heads up the retailer’s contractor services and pro rentals division. He spoke to about 150 people, a mixed live and virtual audience, about how the digital revolution continues to drive change as the giant retailer fine-tunes its offering to its trade customers.

“Data has become king. We have always said the customer is king, and they certainly are, but what a difference it has made to really understand what data can do for you!”

Consumer behaviours have also changed, and contractors are no exception. Hamad remarked that, had he been told 15 years ago that pros would be choosing to make certain purchases online, he wouldn’t have believed it.

Today, he said, “we know how our pros shop, what they shop for online versus what they come into the store for.”

“Cultivating our relationships is still a big deal,” Hamad stressed, citing the importance of Home Depot Canada’s inside and outside sales teams in catering to pros. “We’re investing to meet the changing delivery needs of our DIY and pro customers.”

Those investments included the opening of two new direct fulfilment centres in 2020, advances in low-cost, same-day delivery, and a loyalty program dedicated to pro customers. Expanded product offerings, including rentals for a new generation of space-crunched contractors, are also part of the effort.

Critical to Home Depot Canada’s contractor strategy is its Local Pros platform, which Hamad calls “a game changer.” It connects homeowners with participating Home Depot pro customers who can complete their desired projects. The business generated for that pro customer is an added value, “and we don’t charge a damn thing!” he added. “We want to ensure that we reward our pros and thank them every single day for shopping at Home Depot.”

As retailers scramble to meet the challenge of standing out during the Black Friday promotions that dominate in November, Lowe’s Canada has developed a program that targets its growing contractor customer base. Called “PROvember,” the campaign aims to boost sales and strengthen the retailer’s position as a destination for contractors and pros.

Right through to Dec. 1, pro customers will be celebrated and rewarded through a mix of in-store activities and media investments. The company’s corporate Lowe’s, Réno-Dépôt, and RONA stores are involved. In addition, 77 of its RONA affiliated dealers that offer Lowe’s Canada’s existing VIPpro loyalty program are participating.

VIPpro is designed to offer pro customers an improved and integrated purchasing experience with the use of an associated app. With VIPpro, contractors can keep track of their purchases and access discounts of five percent on all purchases and 10 percent on paint. The program, which was introduced in September 2020, has had a series of upgrades and the introduction of a dedicated web portal.

The current PROvember campaign has two themes to benefit contractors. One is featured products and the other is the chance to win prizes. Weekly offers highlight “Pro Worthy” products chosen for their innovative features. A series of games and contests are also being featured in-store.

The pursuit of the contractor customer is supported by a new survey conducted by Lowe’s head office in Mooresville, N.C. Called the Pro Pulse Survey, it reveals that more than 70 percent of pros surveyed expect to be busier than ever this winter. Pros reported an average of nearly 11 projects per month in 2021 and expect that number to increase by 45 percent in 2022, with the number-one project expected to be updates for energy efficiency.

The Western Retail Lumber Association has named Trent Balog, co-CEO of Taiga Building Products, as the winner of the association’s 2021 Industry Achievement Award. The award recognizes someone who has contributed to their business, the building supply industry, the WRLA, and the communities in which they live. Balog has been an active member of the building supply industry for nearly 40 years. He started his career at MacMillan Bloedel, where he worked as a sales rep. He moved to Taiga in 1995. Balog, who retires at the end of the year, will be awarded at the awards night on January 20, 2022, during the WRLA Building & Hardware Showcase in Winnipeg.

DID YOU KNOW…?

… that we have the marketing backup you need to plan for 2022? If you want to know how big your retail customers are, what their sales are in each province, and who the top 20 retail home improvement players are, check out the Hardlines Retail Report and the Hardlines Market Share Report. This exclusive info is just not available anywhere else but at Hardlines. We even have special pricing if you buy both reports together. Let us help you get ready for the year ahead!

BMR Group’s annual trade show, under the theme More heart per square foot, concluded last week. Dealers got to discover product offerings and new additions for the coming year and learn about BMR Group’s vision, all under a mostly virtual format. The webinars were presented in three separate phases: Sept. 20 and 21, Oct. 19 and 19, and Nov. 8 and 9.

Canadian Tire Corp. reported Q3 earnings of $3.97 per share, down from $4.84 a year earlier. Net income attributable to shareholders was C$243.7 million, compared to $296.3 million in 2020. Revenues declined to $3.91 billion from $3.99 billion. Retail sales however rose to $4.6 billion from $4.41 billion. Comp sales in the Canadian Tire Retail division grew by 1.4 percent, following the 25.1 percent surge from the lockdown effect in Q3 of 2020.

Castle’s newest member has been signed in the province of Quebec. Monsieur Debeaunavet is a building centre in Val D’Or. The business was founded two decades ago by Serge Bourgault and includes a garden centre. Bourgault has brought on two partners, Alex Gobeil and David Boutin, to help expand product lines and underwrite future expansion.

Lowe’s Canada held its first Vendor Forum for the Lowe’s, RONA, and Réno-Dépôt banners. It brought together over 600 participants from some 225 partner companies. The event let the Lowe’s Canada buying team share their goals and vision with vendors and discuss next steps to increase collaboration. Three vendor partners were honoured as Vendors of the Year during the event: Chervon in the Hardlines category, Samsung in Home Décor and Appliances, and Waterline in LBM. The Lowe’s Canada Foundation presented both Opération Enfant Soleil and Children’s Miracle Network with a cheque for $360,000, thanks to the generosity of vendor partners.

Toronto-based Bolt Logistics, which specializes in last-mile fulfilment of e-retail orders of large items, has raised $115 million for expansion. Founded in 2017 as Second Closet and renamed last summer, the company more than quadrupled its sales in 2021. It has landed Ikea Canada as both a client and an investor.

Walmart has paired up with Silicon Valley start-up Gatik to fulfil online grocery orders using driverless trucks. Since August, the companies have been operating a pair of autonomous box trucks on a seven-mile loop for 12 hours daily.

SUPPLIER NEWS

The Western Retail Lumber Association is gearing up for its first live show since COVID hit. The WRLA’s Building & Hardware Showcase will be held in Winnipeg at the RBC Convention Centre, from Jan. 19 to 21. Early bird registration is available until Nov 15 (that’s today! —your time-managing editor). The organizers promise two days of new product launches, the latest tech, trends, and hot topics. For more information, contact Myriah at the WRLA today.

Hardwoods Distribution Inc. reported that Q3 sales grew 99.1 percent to $471.7 million, a year-over-year increase of $234.7 million. Sales in Canada rose to $56.7 million from $36.6 million a year ago. Profit per share soared by 327 percent to a record $1.58, from $0.37 in Q2 of 2020.

ECONOMIC INDICATORS

Investment in building construction declined 0.7 percent to $17.5 billion in September, continuing a downward trend that started in May. A decrease in the residential sector, which was down 1.6 percent, was partially offset by a small increase in the non-residential sector. Despite the month-over-month drop, investment in residential construction was still up 21.6 percent over pre-pandemic levels in February 2020. (StatCan)

NOTED

According to the Canada Revenue Agency, businesses are falling behind on remitting sales taxes, the Globe and Mail reports. The agency has calculated that the total GST and HST debt owed the federal government was $14.3 billion in September. That was up by 24 percent from $11.5 billion at the outbreak of the pandemic in March of 2020.

OVERHEARD…

“We welcome Bruno to the TIMBER MART team and look forward to seeing our group and members across Canada benefit from his visionary leadership and years of experience in our industry.”
—Bernie Owens, president and CEO of TIMBER MART, on the group’s recruitment of Bruno Baldessari after many years at BMR Group.

Running up to the holiday season—and in anticipation of the online drawing power of Black Friday—Lowe’s Canada is promoting its stores as the destinations for everything consumers need to fill their homes for the season.

Black Friday is the day after American Thanksgiving, a holiday which, unlike in Canada, always falls on the same day of the year—a Thursday. Like Boxing Day here, it is a huge day for retail sales. Thanks to the internet, which recognizes no borders, those Black Friday sales quickly migrated north of the border. Now, Canadian retailers must offer sales of their own, or get left out.

While Black Friday is just one day—this year it lands on Nov. 26—the sales around it have grown beyond that one day, to a week of specials and now a full month of promotions and deals leading up to the holiday season. For most of these retailers, Black Friday deals were available starting Nov. 4. In the U.S., many retailers, including Amazon, began offering Black Friday specials as early as mid-October. They continue until the end of November.

So the Lowe’s, RONA, and Réno-Dépôt stores in Canada are in good company. Canadian Tire is offering 70 percent off a wide range of products, and Best Buy promises to offer more products and services than in the past through their website and in their stores. The power of Black Friday will dominate promotions for the rest of this month.

Early in October, well ahead of the holiday season, Robin Lee, CEO of Lee Valley Tools sent an email message to customers that made him sound more like the Grinch than a Christmas elf. Worried about product and raw materials shortages, Lee warned the company was expecting major delays in order fulfillment ahead of the holiday rush.

“The message for consumers is buy early, because there is no chance to reorder or to replenish” before Christmas, he said. He also announced Lee Valley’s Christmas catalogue was being sent out “uncomfortably early.”

Stories of supply chain woes have filled the news at an unrelenting rate since then. Not only are retailers focusing on the fun and convenience of shopping, but they’re taking steps to reassure customers that they’ll have the products in stock.

Canadian Tire issued a holiday-themed flyer at the beginning of November that warns customers, not once, but in two places, that shortages could occur. “We are currently experiencing exceptional demand for many popular items,” the blurb reads. It then invites customers to keep track of availability by going online or downloading an app.
 
In a release from Lowe’s Canada last week, Catherine Laporte, vice-president of marketing, said, “We secured large inventories of popular items early so our customers can have access to great products now at a great value to better enjoy their holidays.”

Those assurances extend to the online shopping experience. The company says it has developed several new functionalities to offer an improved omnichannel experience. That includes beefing up its call centres and digital platforms and the introduction of same-day delivery in some markets (see our Oct. 4, 2021, edition for more on this). It’s all to make shopping easier online and in store, but it’s also to confirm that Lowe’s Canada has the products on hand and in time for the holidays.

The Building Supply Industry Association is rolling out a Sector Engagement and Labour Market Study, seeking input from key stakeholders on what key issues are of most concern to the industry today.

The BSIA represents the retail home improvement industry in British Columbia. The association is working with research firm Malatest, which will conduct virtual interviews and focus groups.

The study aims to uncover what dealers and suppliers believe are key issues, including labour needs, and other factors that influence hiring, training, and retention in the sector. “We’re doing it,” says BSIA president Thomas Foreman, “because the industry needs to have a better sense of what the issues are that are challenging us.”

He says HR-related challenges top the list for many in the industry, which faces a shortage of workers and a struggle to retain people. The final study will result in an in-depth understanding of key labour market trends and needs in the sector, including training needs, average compensation, and anticipatedhiring needs over the next five to 10 years. Findings will be shared with participants after the study is completed.

“The study is going to provide us with scientific information, not hearsay or speculation, on what the challenges are,” Foreman adds. “These issues are not exclusive to British Columbia, or just to retailers, but the sector as a whole.”

He recently sat down with the other members of the umbrella group that gathers regional LBM associations, the Building Material Council of Canada (BMCC). Those associations will undertake similar studies in their sectors. “We will share our findings to create a national view, so we can come up with a national solution,” he says.

“To me, this is the most exciting project we have been able to start because the initiatives are critical.”

(Want to participate? Contact BSIA president Thomas Foreman directly.)

During one of the biggest shopping seasons of the year, Ikea Canada is shifting attention to show how sustainable living can be easy and affordable. While other retailers promote their Black Friday specials, Ikea Canada will use this month to raise awareness of green initiatives at its stores.

Through its Green Friday campaign, the retailer will invite Canadians to focus instead on re-using and re-purposing existing products. It is encouraging customers to bring in gently-used Ikea products, through its Sell-Back program, in exchange for an in-store credit. From Nov. 1 to 14, the company is offering a bonus of 1.5 times the sell-back value of used items.

In addition, customers can take advantage of special promotions within the retailer’s "as-is" section, which has been renamed the Circular Hub to further promote the concept of re-use. There, shoppers can buy used and discontinued products that would otherwise end up in the landfill.

The Green Friday campaign is one of a range of initiatives by Ikea to become an eco-responsible and climate-positive business by 2030. This includes using only renewable, recycled, or recyclable materials, eliminating waste, and introducing services that help customers to extend the life of their products.

TIMBER MART has appointed Jean-François Caron as regional director of member services for Quebec. In his new role, he will report directly to TIMBER MART’s VP of member services, Jon Irwin, and work remotely. Caron will be responsible for managing relationships with TIMBER MART members in Quebec, acting as a liaison to the members there. Caron began his career in the building materials industry in 2012 at Chalifour Canada in merchandising. In 2015, he joined TIMBER MART as a merchandising co-ordinator.

DID YOU KNOW…?

… that we have the marketing backup you need to plan for 2022? If you want to know how big your retail customers are, what their sales are in each province, and who the top 20 retail home improvement players are, check out the Hardlines Retail Report and the Hardlines Market Share Report. This exclusive info is just not available anywhere else but at Hardlines. Let us help you get ready for the year ahead!

W. W. Grainger reported Q3 sales of $3.4 billion, up 11.7 percent. Operating earnings of $438 million marked an increase of 17.4 percent. Earnings of $5.65 per share were up 25 percent compared to the third quarter of 2020. The company said strong supply chain and operational performance drove results above its expectations.

IN MEMORIAM: Ron Sherk, Sherk Lumber TIMBER MART

Ron Sherk passed away on Oct. 13. Born in 1931, he was the owner of Sherk Lumber TIMBER MART in Port Colborne, Ont., which claims to be one of the oldest building centres in the country. Started in 1813 by his grandfather, who had already established a sawmill in town, the company has endured for more than 210 years. Sherk worked there himself for more than 70 years. The Sherk family will receive visitors at the Davidson Funeral Home in Port Colborne on Nov. 13 from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m.

SUPPLIER NEWS

The Lumber and Building Materials Association of Ontario (LBMAO) has introduced an app to replace the association’s annual printed directory. The new version provides listings of its retailer members alphabetically and by region. It also provides information on member suppliers and their products. Unlike the printed directory, the app will be updated regularly to reflect changes in membership. It can only be accessed by downloading it from the Android Store or the App Store onto your phone or tablet.

The Western Retail Lumber Association has relaunched its Shop Local campaign.
The campaign consists of eight social media posts and two posters, to which independent businesses can add their logo. Click here for more information.

West Fraser Timber garnered sales of $2.36 billion and earnings of $460 million in Q3 of 2021. Its lumber business generated earnings of $52 million. The company’s quarterly results were impacted by wildfires in its home province of British Columbia.

Higher prices for logs, coupled with a smaller-than-expected drop in demand as U.S. Thanksgiving approaches, are keeping prices for lumber up. And some analysts expect retail prices to stay high well into 2022. Reduced output from mills in western Canada, along with labour troubles at mills in the southern U.S., has aggravated the situation.

Canadian small and mid-sized businesses expect to have to raise prices over the next year as supply chains continue to be squeezed. In a survey by the Canadian Federation of Independent Business, respondents on average anticipated a 3.9 percent hike in prices. Twenty-seven percent of businesses said they expected to implement increases of at least six percent. Another 19 percent estimated that increases would amount to five percent or more.

ECONOMIC INDICATORS

The total value of building permits rose 4.3 percent to $10.1 billion in September, led by Ontario (+6.3 percent). Construction intentions in the residential sector were up 8.2 percent, while the non-residential sector decreased 3.2 percent, despite climbing 55 percent in Alberta. (StatCan)

NOTED

Ontario Premier Doug Ford will raise the province’s minimum wage to $15 an hour effective Jan. 1, 2022. The hourly minimum wage is currently $14.35. While the move is being cheered by some, many employers, especially small businesses and retailers say they were surprised by the move and felt they were not adequately consulted.

OVERHEARD…

"Now we know the ideal home is a greener, spacious, and more comfortable place to live, where we can be close to the people we care about and do the activities that make us feel good.”
—Kathy Davey, head of home furnishing and retail design, IKEA Canada, referred to a study by IKEA that revealed 60 percent of Canadians made a change to their home in the past year, and that one-third increased the importance of green space or private gardens. The survey also found that nearly four out of 10 Canadians experienced a negative impact on their mental health throughout the past year.

This year’s Hardlines Conference featured the inaugural round of the Hardlines Debates. The new event took the form of a dialogue between Hardlines president Michael McLarney and Bill Morrison, a veteran retail consultant who formerly oversaw the Ace banner for Lowe’s Canada.

The conference was held on Oct. 19 and 20 in Niagara-on-the-Lake, Ont. More than 150 people attended, both in person and virtually, for the conference’s 25th edition.

The Hardlines Debates were created to provide a forum for open discussion about some of the key issues confronting home improvement retailing. Morrison and McLarney found much common ground in their forecasts for the industry over the coming years, but Morrison expressed more pessimism about the trials to be endured in the medium term on the road to recovery.

Three questions were considered during the debate. The first was, “Is green growth good for our industry?” Speaking in favour, McLarney noted that this trend was cutting across all industries. “Big corporations are on board” with green renewal, he said, noting that major auto manufacturers have set cut-off dates for the sale of gas-powered cars even as they invest heavily in electric technologies.

Morrison agreed that “our planet needs to be protected: the last time I checked, we only have one.” At the same time, he argued “we need to understand what governments are actually trying to do to us.”

Allowing that there is “tremendous opportunity” for such innovations as solar panels, Morrison expressed his concern that green growth “will be very expensive, very difficult, and may accomplish very little.”

Next, the debaters discussed whether an uptick in inflation was on the horizon. Both McLarney and Morrison agreed that a major hike in interest rates was out of the question politically. As Morrison put it, “you would see mortgages go underwater.”
“Canada has a unique economy that’s somewhat disconnected from the rest of the world and that’s going to have to absorb some inflation.”

The final question was, “Are we entering the roaring ’20s?” McLarney took the “pro” side. “No matter what the macro issues are, people love their homes. They live in their homes—it seems obvious to say—and they want to make them better.”

“I think our industry is going to grow,” Morrison said, “but there is going to be more turbulence.” He pointed to “huge price increases and shortages” continuing in the medium term. “People are stressed, and our business is not immune,” he added.

“I am tremendously confident in our industry, but there are bills coming due.”

Gibson Building Supplies has joined Sexton Group, effective Nov. 1. The independently owned Canadian company offers roofing and exterior building supplies through its seven locations in central and southwestern Ontario.

Gibson has its roots in Chouinard Bros., a roofing company based in Aurora, Ont., that was established in 1972. In 2001, Gibson Building Supplies was created. It specializes in roofing and related materials but also carries some hardware and safety products, including nail guns, hoists, and ladders. To this day, Chouinard Bros. remains a key account for Gibson.

Chouinard and Gibson joined Independent Lumber Dealers Co-operative in 2004, where they remained members for only a few years. A brief stint with TIMBER MART followed, but Gibson has been on its own for roughly the past decade. CEO Michelle Chouinard-Kenney explains why the company hooked up with a buying group after so many years flying solo.

With the company expanding to seven locations, she’s found the customer base has grown beyond the core roofing installer. Some of the stores are serving more general contractors, she says. As a result, “we’re looking to expand our product line and we were looking at who we could align with.” As Gibson looks to diversify, she wanted a partner that aligned with her company’s ethics and philosophy. She found many parallels with Sexton Group, whose values and roots she respects. “It was a good fit.”

Chouinard-Kenney, who grew up in the business at Chouinard Bros., has held the CEO role for the past seven years. She says Gibson Building Supplies will continue to add locations, with one—and maybe two—slated to open in 2022. These will expand the current market area that the stores serve, which stretches from Peterborough to Brantford in central and southern Ontario.

In the middle of negotiation season now, Chouinard-Kenney admits that the shortages facing the industry since 2020 have complicated the process, even as her company is adding new lines. “It’s a moving target for us.” But, she says, the alignment with Sexton is helping with these negotiations.

BMR Group has forged a sponsorship with the Ottawa Senators hockey team for the 2021-22 season. Now the green BMR logo appears right in the ice at the Canadian Tire Centre in Kanata, a suburb on the west side of Ottawa.

Canadian Tire Corp. took over the naming sponsorship of the arena from Scotiabank in 2013.

According to Julie Crevier, a spokesperson for BMR, the partnership with the Ottawa Senators is for the entire 2021-22 regular season, which concludes at the end of April 2022. During that time, the BMR logo will remain on the ice at Canadian Tire Centre, close to the net.

“So when the Sens play locally, the logo will be seen on TV on all main sports channels broadcasting the matches. It is a great way for us to have our brand visible to Ontario communities,” Crevier said.

The promo is the latest move by BMR to build its presence outside its home province of Quebec. In July of this year, Simon Gouin joined the group as senior director, business development, eastern Canada. He oversees the development of the dealer network in Quebec, Ontario, and the Maritimes.

Peavey Industries is coming out of COVID, like so many retailers, looking for a new normal. That includes how it handles its flyer program.

In a new podcast from the Retail Council of Canada, Jest Sidloski, vice president of marketing, customer experience, and e-commerce, shared how the Red Deer-based retailer has re-evaluated paper flyers for its Peavey Mart stores. The new approach reflects the company’s attempt to return to some kind of normalcy with its customers, as well as a new level of digital expertise it has gained through the acquisition of the TSC Stores chain.

To determine the importance of paper flyers post lockdowns, Peavey turned to the people who shop in its stores. The result weighs on the side of the status quo. “We have to take a very cautious approach and ask and listen to our customers,” says Sidloski. “Over and over the majority of Peavey Mart customers say they still prefer the paper flyers.”

However, the company has made changes within that mandate. Sidloski admits in the podcast that Peavey had some catching up to do regarding online selling. But TSC, which was purchased by Peavey in 2016, “had a decade of expertise online,” he says.

In fact, in 2010, TSC launched a distribution arm called TSC Country Pro Services. The wholesale business provided a range of tools and hardware, with a focus on farm and ranch, to dealers throughout Ontario and Manitoba. That involved expanding its warehouse capacity, recruiting a fleet of trucks, and building up an online sales portal.

With the additional support of the TSC digital expertise, Peavey relaunched its website in April of this year, making it easier to select and purchase products. But the paper flyers have remained an important part of the mix.

Sidloski says the printed promos were reduced from 52 times a year to 36, and the page count was reduced as well. They feature what Sidloski calls “bread-and-butter products,” augmented by links to a wider array of items. Digital flyers fill in for the other weeks. “We were able to take that paper flyer and add digital pages to it for online views.”

Daniel Rioux, TIMBER MART’s regional director of member services for Quebec, has retired. Rioux has been in the building material and hardware industry since 1979. In 2008, he joined TIMBER MART and was charged with establishing the group’s office in Quebec. In 2014, he was appointed TIMBER MART’s regional director of member services for Quebec and eastern Ontario. He worked as a liaison with the vendor community and TIMBER MART head office on behalf of the members in that area. In his retirement, Rioux has achieved status as a certified personal coach.

Lindsay Barber, Masco Canada’s director of product management, has been named a winner of the 2021 Canada’s Most Powerful Women: Top 100 Awards released by Women’s Executive Network. The award recognizes 100 outstanding women across Canada who advocate for workforce diversity and inspire tomorrow’s leaders. Lindsay joined Masco Canada in St. Thomas, Ont., in 2002 in the customer service department. In 2019, she was appointed director of product management in charge of Masco’s plumbing portfolio.

The Home Depot has promoted John Deaton to the role of EVP of supply chain and product development. He replaces Mark Holifield, who has moved to another company after 15 years with Home Depot in Atlanta. Deaton began his career with Home Depot in 2007 as VP of supply chain development. In 2011, he was promoted to senior VP of brand and product development. Since 2017, he has been senior VP of supply chain.

DID YOU KNOW…?

… that our recent Hardlines Conference was a huge success? Okay, we’re biased, but it was just so great to see our colleagues from across Canada join together at last! They all helped us celebrate our 25th anniversary (postponed from last year). Thanks to everyone who attended, and to our amazing sponsors, who made it a reality during these difficult times.

This year’s Lowe’s Canada Heroes campaign garnered the greatest participation to date. Eight distribution centres and 71 RONA affiliated dealer stores joined the Lowe’s, RONA, and Réno-Dépôt corporate stores. As a result, more than $1.5 million will be distributed to more than 235 charities and schools.

Home Depot is using Walmart’s GoLocal delivery service. Launched in late August, it is being tested in stores in New Mexico and will be rolled out across the country before the end of the year. GoLocal drivers can be either Walmart staff, gig workers, or even third-party delivery services, offering two-hour and next-day delivery options. Products being delivered in this fashion include paint, fasteners, and hardware items that can easily fit in a car.

Lowe’s Cos. is launching an advertising venture, One Roof Media Network, to sell ads on its website and app. It will also make its first-party data available for use in targeted ads elsewhere. Lowe’s said its website has a “big, aggregated audience” that makes it suitable for tailored ads.

SUPPLIER NEWS

The National Hardware Show returned to the Las Vegas Convention Center from Oct. 21 to 23 for its 75th edition. A new feature this year is the Habitat platform, both online and on site, which explored new ideas and technologies that are impacting the concepts of home and living. The show also unveiled NHS Backyard, an outdoor component with live demonstrations and grilling competitions.

Trex Co. plans to develop a new production site in Little Rock, Ark. The company says building a third U.S. manufacturing facility will help it keep pace with the ongoing high demand for products in outdoor living categories.

MoistureShield, a division of Oldcastle APG, has launched the MoistureShield Valued Partner (MVP) certified contractor program. The three-tiered program offers contractors additional training, support, and rewards, along with a labour warranty program for pros who regularly use MoistureShield products. Benefits include access to the MoistureShield University (MSU) online training resource.

3M Co. says it will raise prices amid inflation and supply chain difficulties. “Inflation has come in faster than anybody thought,” CFO Monish Patolawala told analysts on an earnings call. “We don’t see the raw material or the inflation environment slowing down in any way.” The company will also resort to dual sourcing of raw materials.

DuPont has signed an agreement to acquire MaxLife Industries’ ArmorWall business. The transaction, slated to close in Q4, includes the ArmorWall brand, patented technology, and a manufacturing facility in Salisbury, N.C. The financial terms of the deal were not disclosed.

West Fraser Timber has reached a deal to acquire Georgia Pacific’s oriented strand board mill near Allendale, S.C. The transaction, valued at about $280 million, is expected to close after satisfying U.S. regulatory requirements. The Allendale facility, which began producing OSB in 2007, has been idle since late 2019.

ECONOMIC INDICATORS

Retail sales were up 2.1 percent to $57.2 billion in August. A 2.8 percent hike in LBM and garden supply sales contributed to the increase. The biggest growth was in food and beverage stores, gasoline stations, and clothing and accessories. Sales increased in nine of 11 subsectors, representing 94.6 percent of retail trade. (StatCan)

Sales of new U.S. homes rose by 14 percent to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 800,000 units in September. That was the highest level since March. (U.S. Commerce Dept.)

Sales of existing U.S. homes in September rose by seven percent to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 6.29 million units. That was the biggest increase in a year, surpassing analyst expectations of 6.09 million units. Home resales declined by 2.3 percent on a year-over-year basis. (National Association of Realtors)

NOTED

Walmart claims that about 90 percent of Americans live within 16 kilometres of one of its stores. It has about 4,700 stores in the U.S.

OVERHEARD…

“We’ve once again reached a new campaign milestone in terms of the number of participating locations this year, as a record number of distribution centres and affiliated RONA dealers joined forces with our corporate stores network. We couldn’t be prouder of our 2021 results and how our teams came together under challenging conditions to support worthy causes across the country.”
—Jean-Sébastien Lamoureux, senior VP, public affairs, asset protection, and sustainable development, on the success of this year’s Lowe’s Canada Heroes campaign, which raised $1.5 million for causes across the country.