When Peavey Industries took over the Ace Canada brand two years ago, it was heading into unknown territory. The corporately-owned chain of farm and hardware stores was now in the wholesale hardware business. And that required the creation of a whole new division within Peavey, supported by many of the people who had moved over from Lowe’s Canada, which had held the rights to the Ace brand previously.

Two years in, the assimilation of the Ace brand by Peavey Industries continues. That includes a reorg based on a consulting project with The Foyer Group that looked at ways to make Peavey’s operations more efficient, says COO Dave Simmonds. “When we took on Ace, we did a lot of adapting on the fly and a lot of it wasn’t that efficient.” Much of the uncertainty came with the onset of COVID lockdowns which began just weeks after the deal was announced.

The latest efficiencies have extended to operations, supply chain, and category management. Buying teams for Ace, Peavey Mart, and Peavey’s MainStreet Hardware banner have been combined—both for in-store and online purchases—resulting in a handful of layoffs. “We’ve switched that around,” Simmonds says. “The category manager now operates in three channels, while respecting that each banner has different needs.”

The move was a positive one, Simmonds notes. “We were overbuilt and overstaffed for what we need to accomplish.”

The COO is proud of Peavey’s track record so far. He says that 100 people at Peavey are dedicated to supporting Ace either exclusively or as part of the whole team—far more support than Ace dealers had received before Peavey took over.

Simmonds stresses that Peavey’s commitment to Ace “is as strong as or stronger than when we started.”

Home Hardware “reimagines” its dealer event with move to Toronto

Home Hardware Stores Ltd. is returning to a live event this fall with a new location—and a new look—for its dealer event. After almost 60 years being held in and around Home Hardware’s headquarters in St. Jacobs, Ont., the dealer event will move to Toronto between Sept. 23 to 25.

While the event used to be called the Home Hardware Dealer Market, it’s got a new name: “Homecoming.” It is expected to host close to 3,000 dealer-owners, store staff, suppliers, business partners, and corporate staff at the Enercare Centre, on the grounds of Exhibition Place just west of downtown Toronto.

The fresh face for the event reflects the company’s shift from operating as a wholesaler to being an integrated retail-focused company. Home Hardware says that everything from the kick-off of the fall event to the training sessions—and even the pop-ups on the tradeshow floor—will be aimed at increasing support of its dealers.

“We are taking a successful Home Hardware tradition that started in 1963 and elevating it to meet the evolving needs of our dealers, as well as our brand’s growth and business strategy,” said Rob Wallace, Home Hardware’s chief retail operations officer.

Home Hardware’s past dealer markets have always included lots of training and education, but this year’s event is placing more emphasis than ever on promoting the culture and training aspect of the dealer experience. In addition to the traditional buying show, the event will include strategic updates and training sessions for dealer-owners and store staff along with social activities, keynote speakers, and a celebration dinner to recognize winners of Home’s own dealer awards.

“This reimagined event combines tradition with innovation, allowing our dealer-owners to stay on top of emerging retail trends, innovative products, and merchandising strategies,” said Marianne Thompson, Home Hardware’s chief merchandising officer.

Bonhomme rebrands with contractor stores and a focus on Ottawa market

Les Entreprises P. Bonhomme, a major dealer in the Ottawa and Gatineau market, has been repositioning itself over the past six months. That includes downsizing and developing a new customer focus—and launching a new banner to go with that new direction.

A long-time member of the Independent Lumber Dealers Co-operative, Bonhomme has been rationalizing its store count over the past decade. The Gatineau stores on the Quebec side of the Ottawa River used the Bonhomme name, while stores on the Ottawa side used the name Bytown Lumber (Bytown is a nickname for Ottawa).

Now more tightly focused on the Ottawa market, the four remaining Bonhomme stores have further narrowed their focus on the contractor customer, with an emphasis on core building materials for both residential and commercial markets. Those Ontario stores, in Rockland, Aylmer, Carleton Place, and Limoges, have been rebranded Bytown Pro.

But the company does not intend to exit the Quebec market. The Aylmer outlet is being relocated to Bonhomme’s head office location in Gatineau across the river. It will be bannered as Bonhomme Pro.

According to the company’s website, the repositioning puts the stores more in line with the needs of contractors and builders in and around Ottawa: “Recognizing the explosive growth and need for housing in the region, the company rebranded itself as Bytown Pro in 2022, with a distinct focus in providing supply and service to regional builders and developers that is second to none.”

Last week, the Bank of Canada raised its benchmark interest rate by a full percentage point, to 2.5 percent. This was the largest single increase to the rate since 1998. It was also the fourth increase since March, as the central bank seeks to counter runaway inflation. It had been speculated that the rate increase would be only 0.75 ppt.

Economist Peter Norman of Altus Group (seen here addressing the 2021 Hardlines Conference) told Hardlines that he expects to see a “softening through this year” in the reno market. The sector “has been holding up so far” but “traditionally … has been fairly interest rate-sensitive due to the amount of borrowing” that fuels the sector.
The renovation sector “last year was nuts, up about 25 percent,” Norman said in an email. “[It’s] also up so far this year a further 20 percent … so there is room for it to drop.”

Norman also provided a counter-argument to his prediction of decreased reno activity. “On the other hand … there is a school of thought that as the home sales market cools off, some homeowners will look more closely at a reno rather than a move. Also, some potential renovating homeowners have been waiting for availability of contractors and possibly lower prices before they pull the trigger. Those segments may be active later this year.”

BMF, the store design and installation provider for home improvement dealers, has made some organizational changes. Sarah Hounslow, who has been a key player in the growth of the company since its inception almost 20 years ago, has been promoted to president. Rob Wilbrink, formerly president and CEO, will retain the CEO position. Mark Ehrlick, former director of operations at Lowe’s Canada and director of dealer development at Canadian Tire, joins BMF as vice president of sales and marketing. Ehrlick joins Gavin Ford, who recently joined the company after working at Lowe’s leading store setups across North America.

Lowe’s Canada has named Denis Ouellet as category director, hardware and cleaning products. Ouellet was previously national sales manager at Sherwin-Williams, and he also held category management positions at RONA between 2012 and 2018.

At Castle Building Centres Group, André Laurin has been named a new business development manager for Ontario. Laurin will be responsible for the dealer support and business development in the north and east of the province. He joins Castle with some 15 years of LBM experience.

DID YOU KNOW…?

… that you can now buy tickets for the next Hardlines Conference? That’s right, registration is now available online for the 26th annual Conference, being held Oct. 18 and 19 at the Queen’s Landing Hotel in Niagara-on-the-Lake, Ont. Sign up now as tickets are limited for this year’s event.

BMR Group welcomes a new member, H. Dagenais et fils Inc., beginning January 2023. Founded more than 90 years ago, Dagenais operates two locations in Quebec’s Laurentian mountains, in Saint-Sauveur and Sainte-Anne-des-Lacs. Owners Annie and Martin Dagenais oversee a team of 180.

Ace Canada has forged a deal with Thunder Bay Co-op in Thunder Bay, Ont., that will see the cooperative co-branded and presented as Thunder Bay Co-op Farm Supplies – Ace Country & Garden. Thunder Bay Co-op Farm Supplies opened in 1952.

BeautiTone, the paint business of Home Hardware Stores, is partnering with Mattel Canada to mark the 60th anniversary of the Barbie Dreamhouse. The palette of the BeautiTone Barbie Dreamhouse Colour Collection was designed with “playfulness and liveability” in mind, the company said in a release. Each of the 13 colours comes with its own Barbie-inspired persona. HGTV Canada host Tiffany Pratt is the line’s ambassador.

Inventive Construction Supplies in Dartmouth, N.S., has joined TIMBER MART. The dealer has been serving DIYers, contractors, and builders in the Dartmouth market with a wide assortment of hardware and building materials since 2015. With continued growth, the store looked to partner with a group to access greater buying power and brand recognition. Craig Humphreys is the store’s owner.

Goulais River Country Store, a Castle dealer in Goulais River, Ont., has changed owners. The location opened its doors over a decade ago and will continue its Castle affiliation under new owner Kenneth Peter Van Daele, who will operate it with his daughter Kendralyn.

Lowe’s Canada presented $385,000 to the Fondation Charles-Bruneau at this month’s Tour CIBC Charles-Bruneau cycling event. Between July 2 and 8, the Lowe’s Canada team of nearly 70 cyclists—including associates, affiliated RONA dealers, and vendor partners—completed a variety of treks ranging from 50 to 900 kilometres. Lowe’s Canada was a Diamond Sponsor of the event, which supports pediatric oncology research and development projects. In the last seven years, the Lowe’s Canada teams have raised over $3.7-million for the foundation.

SUPPLIER NEWS

Richelieu Hardware reported Q2 revenues of $487.9-million, up 31.4 percent. Net earnings rose by 27.7 percent to $77.9-million, or $0.83 per diluted share. Canadian sales grew 17.3 percent to $292.3-million. Sales to Canadian retailers reached $55-million, up $9.3-million or 20.4 percent from the comparable period of 2021.

Oldcastle APG, an outdoor living and building materials manufacturer based in Atlanta, has acquired Barrette Outdoor Living. Founded in 1975, Ohio-based Barrette has 14 locations in the U.S. Its fulfilment needs are served by a warehouse just outside Granby, Que., 45 minutes from the Vermont border. Oldcastle’s parent company is CRH plc, based out of Dublin, with operations in countries from Switzerland to the Philippines.

Shares of Resolute Forest Products soared by 58.3 percent recently after the announcement of its pending acquisition by B.C.-based Paper Excellence, The Toronto Star reports. Under the terms of the deal, Paper Excellence’s U.S. business Domtar will purchase the Montreal-based paper and pulp maker for about $2.7-billion. Resolute is itself the product of a merger. Abitibi-Consolidated and South Carolina-based Bowater Inc. formed what was initially known as AbitibiBowater in 2007.

ECONOMIC INDICATORS

Investment in building construction edged down 0.2 percent to $20.6-billion in May, StatCan reports. That, however, was largely due to a strike action by Ontario’s unionized construction workers. Excluding Ontario, construction spending rose by 1.1 percent nationally. Likewise, the residential sector edged up by 0.1 percent. Single-family investment slid 2.5 percent, ending a seven-month growth streak.

NOTED

The July edition of our sister publication, Hardlines Dealer News, came out last week. In this issue, we discuss supply chain woes, Home Hardware’s contractor business, and evolving customer habits. Plus, learn how one B.C. retailer is reaching out to local tourists. (Hardlines Dealer News is monthly—and it’s free. Sign up here to subscribe!)

OVERHEARD…

“The new organization makes Peavey leaner and meaner, which is a benefit for the dealers.”
—Dave Simmonds, COO of Peavey Industries, on the recent reorganization at Peavey’s head office to align the Ace Canada banner operations. Peavey holds the licence for the Ace brand in Canada.

The retail home improvement industry came off a second record year of sales growth in 2021.

Blame—or thank—pandemic conditions, which took their toll on so many businesses. Nevertheless, lockdowns encouraged Canadians to spend money on their homes. And so many dealers across Canada posted record sales increases.

But just how big were those gains? According to the 2022 Hardlines Retail Report, the industry grew by a healthy 11.3 percent last year, which followed even bigger growth the preceding year. Over two years, retail sales by hardware and building supply dealers advanced by almost 27 percent. (Editor’s Note: click on the link above to order your own copy of this 188-page, PowerPoint ready, report on the Canadian industry.)

The report, which includes essential intelligence on our industry’s Top 20 retail banners, buying groups, and big box players, calculates that our industry exceeded $58-billion in retail sales in 2021. The 2022 Hardlines Retail Report contains proprietary data available only from Hardlines.

While conditions during the past two fiscal years were not positive for all dealers, the exceptions could often be attributed to local business conditions. On a regional basis, however, every province and territory enjoyed positive gains in their overall sales. The biggest 2021 gains were posted in Alberta (almost 16 percent), followed by Saskatchewan (just over 14 percent).

The Hardlines Retail Report examines the performance of hardware stores, building centres, big boxes, and Canadian Tire stores to identify different trends affecting the industry. With people staying close to home during COVID, the importance of convenience and accessibility became very important. That trend was reflected in the performance of hardware stores—which experienced national growth of some 16 percent.

Big boxes represent the retail format with the largest rate of growth after hardware stores. Large-format retailers saw their collective sales increase by 12 percent last year, slightly ahead of the industry’s average growth rate of 11.3 percent.

(To pre-order you own copy of this exclusive report, click here now.)

Faced with rising rents, especially in urban locations where it flourishes, Lee Valley Tools is working on a smaller-format store. The Ottawa-based retailer, which currently has 18 stores, had to close two of them during COVID. One was in Toronto’s King Street West area, in a building being torn down to make way for a condo.

“Toronto is a challenge for us—and a challenge for all retail,” Lee Valley CEO Robin Lee admits. He told Hardlines that the pandemic temporarily put the brakes on further store openings. But the retailer is now in development phase for new stores—with a new format. He expects the new look to be finalized within the next 12 to 16 months.

Lee Valley will not follow a cookie-cutter approach in its new outlets. “We’re looking at the ability to tailor each store,” Lee says. “We’re working with Ernst & Young to imagine a greenfield retail model.”

And that starts with the size of the new model. They’ll weigh in at between 5,000 to 12,000 square feet, much less than the 20,000-square-foot size of a typical Lee Valley store. “Size will be informed by the design project, and may vary somewhat from community to community,” says Lee.

More importantly, he adds, these locations will provide an interface for customers to order online with the support of store staff, or serve as pickup points for orders made from home. “It’s not necessary to represent the entire product line.”

Canadian Tire marked its 100th birthday by “turning a random residential street in Toronto into a kilometre-long advertisement,” reports The Toronto Star.

Held between June 30 and July 3, the Summer of the Century event saw almost 50 homes on Bastedo Avenue in Toronto’s Danforth east-end neighbourhood transformed. Front yards were decked out with inflatable decorations. Across two blocks, residents got to see everything from garden gnomes to pink flamingoes.

The event, which kicked off with live music, treats, sidewalk chalk art, and giveaways, comes at a time when spending on outdoor (known as out-of-home or “OOH”) advertising has exploded.

“For the last two years, most interactions that companies have had with people have been virtual,” said David Soberman, who teaches marketing at the University of Toronto. “So they’re now wanting to get outside and advertise in the community.”

No permits are required for advertising on private property in Toronto—only the consent of the owners. While bylaws limit the scale of marketing installations, the city’s resources for enforcement are limited, even if a complaint were lodged.

“There are bylaws about how big advertising can be, but the benefit of displays like these is that they’re very temporary and probably take a few hours to put up and take down,” said Soberman. “And the community is evidently on board with it, so the risk isn’t high.”

At the conclusion of the festivities, all street decorations were donated to residents or saved for reuse.

Several Home Hardware dealers in Ontario recently finished a series of contractor events. It was a COVID-era version of Home Hardware’s Pro Road Show, and it was hosted at 10 Home Hardware Building Centres in Ontario last month.

Pre-COVID, Home Hardware had traditionally hosted these contractor events at half a dozen locations across the country. Each one was supported by multiple stores, drawing as many as 1,000 pro customers at a time.

As conditions under COVID have eased, Home Hardware tried out a modified version this year, using individual stores as the hosts for their respective contractor customers. For example, the one held at the Home Hardware Building Centre store in Picton, Ont., was held right in the dealer’s lumberyard.

“In the past, our Pro Shows have been hosted in Peterborough every two years,” says Busscher, “and generally we take two to three busloads of our pro customers.” But this year, Busccher’s hometown event grew to 200 pros who perused booths and watched demos from 19 vendors.

Brian Crouch is retiring from his position as sales director at Spectrum Brands, after nearly 25 years of service to the Weiser and Pfister brands. Crouch has been a key figure of the locks and faucet industries during a career that took him to Kwikset and Black & Decker before he joined Spectrum’s hardware and home improvement business. At the same time, Spectrum Brands is promoting AJ Bayne to the role of national sales manager, traditional retail.

DID YOU KNOW…?

… that you can now buy tickets for the next Hardlines Conference? That’s right, registration is now available online for the 26th annual Conference, being held Oct. 18 and 19 at the Queen’s Landing Hotel in Niagara-on-the-Lake, Ont. Sign up now as tickets are limited for this year’s event.

Les Entreprises P. Bonhomme, an ILDC dealer in the Ottawa and Gatineau market, earlier this year divested itself of two stores in Quebec. Located in Papineauville and Buckingham, the businesses were acquired by Claude Bélec and Chantal Veilleux, co-owners of RONA Val-des-Monts.

Castle Building Centres Group has resumed its in-person Buying Expos, starting in central Canada. The summer events began in Quebec where Castle hosted a group of members from across the province for two days. That was followed by a three-day buying expo in Ontario at the Deerhurst Resort, where Castle welcomed hundreds of members and staff. Both the Quebec and Ontario events included one-on-one meetings with vendor partners and an extensive product showcase. (Click here to check out a video of event highlights.)

A fire of unknown origin in Palmarolle, Que., has destroyed a hardware store and an adjacent block of apartments. The blaze broke out late last Monday afternoon at Quincaillerie Palmarolle TIMBER MART and was subdued a few hours later. There were no injuries. Store owners Cindy Caron and Raphaël D’Amours are past winners of our Outstanding Retailer Awards, being named Young Retailers of the Year in 2016.

Lee Valley Tools held its first Plant Swap event at its Vaughan, Ont., location. It was hosted by Cheryl Li of The Modern Monstera. The Modern Monstera offers a variety of services, from plant styling consultations to plant rehab and DIY workshops, including tutorials on Lee Valley’s livestreams.

Century Home Hardware in 100 Mile House, B.C., held a grand opening last week, but with a twist. Along with special pricing on a variety of products, the celebration featured some unconventional inventory. The store has also expanded its offering with an M&M Food Market Express section. M&M has been growing its footprint in partner stores. The Express format allows retailers to carry a curated selection of frozen meals.

Canadian Tire is holding a Summer of the Century contest throughout July. Customers shopping with the Triangle Rewards program are entered to win prizes valued up to $1,000 in Canadian Tire money, offered daily. In addition, each purchase is eligible for one of 10 grand prizes of $10,000 in CT money.

SUPPLIER NEWS

Montreal-based Resolute Forest Products is set to be acquired by British Columbia’s Paper Excellence, through the latter’s U.S. business unit, Domtar. Paper Excellence will pay $20.50 for each Resolute share in a deal valued at about $2.7-billion, while retaining Resolute’s existing operations and personnel. Paper Excellence finalized the acquisition of Domtar last year, while Resolute was formed in 2007 from the merger of Bowater Inc. and Abitibi Consolidated. The transaction is expected to close in the first half of next year.

ECONOMIC INDICATORS

The value of building permits rose 2.3 percent in May to $12.1-billion. The increase was aided by a seven-percent spike in the non-residential sector, to a value of $4.3-billion. Residential permits edged down 0.1 percent to $7.8-billion overall due to declines in multi-family building intentions. For single-family dwellings, the value of permits rose by seven percent. (StatCan)

Investment in U.S. construction fell unexpectedly in May, with single-family building activity slowing down. Spending edged down by 0.8 percent. Investment in private builds was flat, while residential construction spending was up 0.2 percent. (U.S. Commerce Dept.)

OVERHEARD…

“I want to be the best I am at my job. But I also want to be the best mother. And juggling those two things can be difficult.”

—Jillian Sexton, co-owner of Sherwood TIMBER MART in Charlottetown, P.E.I., and winner of Hardlines’ 2021 Young Retailer of the Year Award. She dedicated her award to “the working moms.”

Hardlines has confirmed its speaker lineup for this fall’s 2022 Hardlines Conference (Queen’s Landing, Niagara-on-the-Lake, Ont.). This special roster of presenters is guaranteed to deliver two days of hard-hitting insights and ideas. Today and for the rest of this week, Hardlines subscribers can at last book their tickets.

If you are a Hardlines subscriber (dealers/retailers qualify for special pricing by using case sensitive coupon code DEALER2022), get front-of-the-line access to registration by clicking here now. Starting next week, remaining Hardlines Conference tickets will be released to the rest of the industry.

The top executive from Lowe’s Canada will headline this year’s conference. As president, Tony Cioffi oversees a network of stores in a range of formats that is unique in the world. Cioffi joined Lowe’s Canada in September 2016 as senior vice president, finance, and two years later was promoted to executive vice president. He then served as interim president of Lowe’s Canada before being named senior vice-president, stores, a position he held until his appointment to the top job in January 2022.

The Hardlines Conference will take delegates from the executive suite to the front lines. Rob and Joanne Lawrie are a dynamic husband-and-wife team behind seven Home Hardware, Home Hardware Building Centre, and Home Furniture stores in southwestern Nova Scotia. From its beginnings in 1982 when Rob’s parents founded a store in Annapolis Royal, N.S., The Lawrie Group has grown into one of the most innovative and inspired home improvement groups in Atlantic Canada—not to mention an Outstanding Retailer Award winner in 2021.

Hardlines speakers will also include Dan Tratensek, COO and publisher with the North American Hardware and Paint Association (NHPA). Tratensek will do a deep dive into the growing importance of e-commerce and how independent dealers need to understand the huge opportunity that it presents.

Don’t miss the 26th annual Hardlines Conference on Oct. 17 and 18 in Niagara-on-the-Lake, just 80 minutes from downtown Toronto. (Attendance is strictly limited. Book your tickets today by clicking here!)

Hardlines announces Whistler, B.C., location for 2023 Conference

The Hardlines Conference will move away from the Greater Toronto Area for the first time in its history beginning in 2023. Next year, the conference will be held in Whistler, B.C.

The fresh location is the first step in moving the Hardlines Conference to a different destination around the country from year to year, to better serve our industry on a truly national basis. And locating it at the Chateau Whistler, a premier Fairmont hotel, will ensure it is another first-class event. It will be held Oct. 17 and 18, 2023.

“As Canada’s only truly national event for the retail hardware and home improvement industry, we felt it was important to make the Hardlines Conference as accessible as possible to all Canadians on an ongoing basis,” said David Chestnut, vice president and publisher at Hardlines Inc.

“We plan to provide an improved venue by holding the Conference in the Chateau Whistler,” Chestnut said. “And the calibre of speakers will likewise be top-notch. We intend to bring to Whistler some of retail’s top international experts.”

The 2023 Hardlines Conference will be the 27th edition of the one-of-a-kind annual event, which is a key gathering point for top retail executives, leading dealers, major vendors, and of course a prestigious roster of Canadian and international presenters.

Hardlines is working with British Columbia’s Building Supply Industry Association (BSIABC) in presenting the Whistler event. BSIABC president Thomas Foreman said he and his team are looking forward to working with Hardlines to ensure next year’s conference will be superb. “It will bring a fresh perspective for Conference delegates,” said Foreman. “And it will be a huge opportunity for our members to participate locally.”

“The Hardlines Conference is simply the best information event I attend every year,” said Foreman. “It offers more information than any other event we attend. To have this now available right on our doorstep in British Columbia is very exciting. I believe it will be a really positive move for all of us. We’ll be working closely with our friends at Hardlines for our members to participate in a positive way.”

The 2022 Hardlines Conference will be held again this later year at the Queen’s Landing Hotel in Niagara-on-the-Lake, Ont., October 18 and 19. “We have had tremendous success at the Queen’s Landing in recent years,” says Chestnut. “Niagara-on-the-Lake is one of Canada’s most prestigious tourist destinations. Moving to the mountains of Whistler in 2023 is going from strength to strength, as far as impressive surroundings is concerned.”

Lee Valley Tools’ new stores will tie in closely with digital sales

One retail company that’s had a strong online presence well before COVID hit is Lee Valley Tools. The national specialty tool, gift, and seasonal products retailer has just 18 stores, but its reach online in both Canada and the U.S. is significant.

CEO Robin Lee says rising rents forced the company to shutter two stores, including one in Toronto’s pricey downtown west area, over the past two years. Still, as the world comes out of COVID, Lee Valley Tools is gearing up to open yet more stores. “We’re excited to get back on track with new stores,” he said.

These new Lee Valley stores will be built with a difference, Lee adds. They will accommodate the important digital side of the business. “Every one has to be a shipping centre as well.”

Lee uses terms like “zone skipping” and “flex labour” as he explains what the new stores will look like. But the stakes are high: as service levels keep rising (for example, Walmart Canada is launching a pilot program to deliver groceries and home goods to customers in 30 minutes) along with shipping costs, the challenge is always to figure out how to compete against the likes of Amazon.

Lee Valley will use a shipping network model, which means a single product can be taken off a store shelf and shipped cost-effectively. “It offers an improved service level for customers while at the same time it can balance the workload in-store when traffic is slow. It’s allowed us to really leverage our labour efficiency inside the stores.”

Another important advantage of the new system, says Lee, is that it will allow Lee Valley to find store locations that aren’t just based on street traffic.

Lowe’s Canada is in a unique position when it comes to e-commerce in Canada. Customers have at least three options for buying online from Lowe’s in this country: the Lowe’s site supporting some 70 Lowe’s big boxes in Canada; the RONA site, supporting more than 210 independent RONA dealers as well as close to 150 corporate-owned RONA stores; and the Réno-Dépôt site supporting 20 corporate stores.

Hardlines asked Michel Bernier, Lowe’s Canada’s senior director, sales and dealer services, about how the company’s e-commerce strategies have changed since the pandemic began.

“True expertise is the product,” Bernier replied. “It’s about the service, not just the product and the price. During the pandemic, we introduced online tools like our colour selector, which is easy to use … and also our deck design tool.”

“Customers are often building a project,” not just ordering individual SKUs, Bernier said. Lowe’s recognizes that customers needing expertise want to have a discussion online,  too.

Retail consultant Bill Morrison says that an important part of all smart retailers’ online strategies is to have exclusive or control brands that can protect them from direct price comparisons with the Amazons of the world.

Lowe’s Canada’s Bernier told Hardlinesthat his company’s control brands such as Ego, Craftsman, Kobalt, and Eklipse Cabinets have all been very important to growing his company’s online sales.

When the world began to lock down in March 2020, Lowe’s and RONA were already reasonably well prepared, he explained. “RONA was already in a favourable position because we had made significant investments in online.”

(Excerpted from a feature article on e-commerce in the forthcoming issue of our companion publication, Hardlines Home Improvement Quarterly. HHIQ is being mailed out to 11,000 dealers and store managers across Canada in early July. If you want your own subscription to HHIQ—it’s free to stores—click here now!)

Mike Tzimas will become president of Barrie, Ont.-based barbecue maker Napoleon, effective July 11. He joined Napoleon in January 2020 as vice president of finance and was promoted to CFO a year later. He succeeds Ron McArthur, who previously announced his intention to retire at the end of 2022. Prior to joining Napoleon, Tzimas held senior finance and manufacturing roles within the auto industry. He will report to Napoleon’s co-CEOs Chris Schroeter and Stephen Schroeter.

DID YOU KNOW…?

… that Hardlines subscribers can now buy tickets for the next Hardlines Conference? That’s right, online registration is now available exclusively for our faithful Hardlines subscribers. Sign up now before tickets go on sale to the wider industry by clicking here!

Pemberton Valley Building Centre in Pemberton, B.C., is the newest dealer to join TIMBER MART. Founded more than 20 years ago, the business has 36 staff across two properties. These include a 7,200-square-foot retail space in Pemberton and a four-acre lumber yard with a 24,000-square-foot storage unit for building materials a few kilometres away. By the fall of 2024, the owners, Garth and Valerie Phare, Blair Gourlay, Deborah Phare, and Jeff Clarke, plan to open a new 20,000-square-foot store that will combine hardware and building materials in one location.

IKEA Canada has a new marketing campaign ahead of Quebec’s July 1 Moving Day. It plays on French expletives and fictitious versions of the retailer’s distinctive Swedish product names. The day when most leases in the province end is famously fraught with headaches for tenants and movers alike. The new ads, developed with agency Rethink, pay homage to those challenges with taglines such as Les enfants ont cassé toute la KALAS de vaisselle (“the kids have broken all the ******* dishes”).

Gypsum Management & Supply reported Q4 adjusted earnings of $2.09 per share. Net sales were up 38.2 percent on a year-over-year basis, rising to $1.29 billion as compared with a projected $1.27 billion. The company has been expanding its product offerings in its Canadian outlets, adding lines such as tools and fasteners, exterior envelope, and roofing.

SUPPLIER NEWS

Attendance returned to pre-pandemic levels at this year’s spoga+gafa event. The world’s largest garden trade show was held in Cologne, Germany, earlier this month, a shift from its usual fall date. Foreign participants made up 67 percent of those attending, up from 65 percent in 2019. Next year’s event will be held June 18 to 20 in Cologne, on the heels of the Global DIY Summit, which takes place in Berlin from June 14 to 16.

Intertape Polymer Group’s pending acquisition by Clearlake Capital Group has been approved under foreign investment regulations. As first announced in March, the California-based investment firm offered $40.50 per share to take IPG private.

ECONOMIC INDICATORS

The inflation rate between May 2021 and May 2022 grew at its fastest in 40 years. Higher gasoline costs helped drive the rate of inflation to 7.7 percent in May. Because of the steepness of the increase, it’s now expected that the Bank of Canada will raise the benchmark interest rate by a 0.75 ppt in July. (StatCan)

NOTED

Overall holiday spending is expected to rise 31 percent in 2021, and up eight percent since 2019, with Canadians looking to shop, celebrate, and spoil friends and family, (Deloitte Canada: 2021 Holiday Retail Outlook)

OVERHEARD

“Retail prices should drop. Absolutely. It does take about three to four months for wholesale prices to feed through to retail pricing. So, I would think sometime fairly soon over the next month or two, we should start to see lower prices at the hardware store as well. From a retail perspective, it could be August.”
—Paul Jannke of Forest Economic Advisors, quoted in DrydenNow. Lumber analysts are expecting the pricing bubble to burst this summer, possibly reducing costs by as much as 50 percent.

The speaker lineup for the 26th annual Hardlines Conference has been finalized. It represents some of the brightest lights in retail—and starting next week, exclusive to Hardlines subscribers.

This year’s conference will be held at the Queen’s Landing Hotel, Niagara-on-the-Lake, Ont., Oct. 18 and 19. It will introduce the Hardlines audience to speakers and ideas that will help them improve their own businesses and provide insights into how to grow.

The new lead merchant for one of Quebec’s leading retail groups is the latest retail executive that we’ve confirmed to take to the podium this fall. Charles Grégoire-Béliveau was recently appointed vice president, merchandising, for BMR Group, where he oversees all activities related to the merchandising and commercialization of the group’s products.

What is driving the growth of Sexton Group? What is the continued appeal of buying groups in this industry that is helping them attract new members, often from outside the traditional building centre model? What does the world look like for dealers as we come out of COVID? Eric Palmer, vice president and general manager of the group, will share how Sexton Group has found a sweet spot with independents across the country that enabled it to grow by a whopping 36 percent in 2021.

What has retail learned through COVID and what learnings and best practices do we need to maintain or expand on? What can we learn from other retail sectors moving ahead? Considered one of the world’s leading retail and consumer futurists, Doug Stephens will challenge delegates to consider these questions carefully. In a high-touch retail environment like home improvement, the in-store experience will remain important alongside digital and both should be integral parts of how any dealer goes to market.

Other speakers include Lowe’s Canada president Tony Cioffi and Dan Tratensek, COO of the NHPA.

The 26th Hardlines Conference will be held Oct. 18 and 19 at the Queen’s Landing Hotel in Niagara-on-the-Lake, Ont. It will also be webcast virtually to delegates across the country. Hardlines subscribers who want to ensure their attendance can mark their calendars for next week to get front-of-the-line access, before tickets go on sale to the general industry. Dealers and their staff get a 30 percent discount off the in-person ticket price.

(To see the full list of speakers, please click here!)

Home Hardware’s new warehouse management system is up and running

Home Hardware Stores serves almost 1,100 dealers of all sizes, in every part of Canada. Their trucks are a familiar sight on Canadian highways. What is the engine that drives the product delivery system and keeps those trucks rolling and those store shelves filled?

Hardlines had the opportunity last week to get a first-hand look at Home Hardware’s distribution system. The company has three distribution centres, in Debert, N.S.; in Wetaskiwin, Alta.; and at its head office in St. Jacobs, Ont. That’s where we went behind the scenes to see the technologies that make up Home Hardware’s new warehouse management system.

Our guide was John Dyksterhuis, the company’s chief supply chain officer. Dyksterhuis was well known for many years as a buyer at Home Hardware, but he actually got his start with the company in distribution 36 years ago.

Inside the distribution centre, Dyksterhuis explained that Home Hardware has just finished installing and refining a warehouse management system that replaces its own Oracle system, a platform which dated back to 1990. The need for upgrades was identified in 2012, with implementation beginning two years later in the Debert DC. Home Hardware chose a system this time by Manhattan. Wetaskiwin followed, with St. Jacobs, Home’s largest DC, saved for last.

Dysksterhuis says some additional automation has been added to the St. Jacobs system, further enhancing the ability to manage supply chain and product flow. “With the automation comes the accuracy of the picking process,” he says.

The St. Jacobs DC processes orders for 130 stores on average per day, with three shifts operating daily, and two 12-hour shifts on weekends. Together, all three facilities fulfill 1,300 orders nationally per week.

Over the past two years, many Home Hardware dealers saw their delivery schedule curtailed. Deliveries that used to arrive twice a week were reduced to once a week. Dyksterhuis says this was not due to supply chain issues related to COVID. It was due to the limitations on the WMS as it was changed over to the Manhattan system.

“We’ve started to re-implement twice-a-week deliveries and we’re in phase one of that.” Stores that serve cottage markets have been among the first stores to return to full service, as they are heavily reliant on the summer business that is happening now.

Home Hardware says it’s operating at 95 percent capacity now and expects to be at full capacity by September.

BMR pulls the plug on La Shop, its urban store format in Montreal

BMR Group has closed its two La Shop locations on the island of Montreal. The smaller-format urban concept was designed to offer a more curated selection to condo dwellers in up-and-coming neighbourhoods. Hardlines was there in 2018 when BMR launched the banner’s inaugural store in Montreal’s Griffintown neighbourhood. A second location opened in the nearby town of Mount Royal, northwest of downtown Montreal, the following year.

In an email to Hardlines, Kaven Delarosbil, BMR’s director of communications and events, explained that circumstances have changed considerably since then. “The COVID-19 pandemic that has been raging since March 2020, the major repair work on Peel Street, and the construction of the Réseau express métropolitain [rapid transit system] near one of our stores have had a considerable financial impact on the operations of our two locations,” he wrote. “Conditions that were considered highly favourable in 2018 have unfortunately since dissipated.”

Delarosbil added that all affected staff members were given the opportunity to transfer their employment to other BMR locations. For their part, customers have the option of shopping at other local BMR stores or ordering online for home delivery or in-store pick-up.

The announcement comes at a time of significant challenges for urban retailers, who face mounting costs to maintain their square footage even as city centres densify with an influx of potential customers. Competition has also grown: the same year BMR opened the second La Shop location, IKEA and Walmart both announced concepts for urban proximity stores.

A new report indicates that the appetite for home improvements among Canadians remains strong. The 2022 Homestars Reno Report provides details of how Canadians have spent on renovations in their home.

HomeStars is an online marketplace connecting homeowners with home service providers. The survey was done with pollster Angus Reid.

Despite current economic conditions that include a hot national real estate market, inflation, and overall economic uncertainty, the survey revealed that, now more than ever, Canadian homeowners on average have been investing more of their cash on hand into home renovations. The report further indicates that this trend is expected to increase over the next 12 months.

Here are some highlights from the report:

• In the past 12 months consumers spent about $13,000 on average on renovations, up from up from $8,260. In the coming year, homeowners who plan to upgrade their spaces said they’ll spend nearly double that, or an average of $25,222.
• Forty-one percent of homeowners said they postponed planned renovations this past year due to high building materials costs, up from 35 per cent in 2021.
• Amongst those who have completed outdoor renovations or improvements in the last 12 months, the average spend was about $6,600, an increase of nearly $2,000 from last year.

Meanwhile, the trend to DIY remains strong. When it comes to completing renovations, just over half surveyed said they attempt to complete some renovations themselves to reduce costs. Homeowners in Atlantic Canada and Alberta are most likely to be willing to complete their own renovations.

Judy Palmer will retire from her position as director of sales and marketing for Cathelle,  effective June 30th. She spent 10 years with the Montreal-based electrical and plumbing supplier, but her career covers a range of specialties in the hardware and home improvement industry. She got her start as a buyer at Beaver Lumber, then moved to hardware wholesaler D.H. Howden as a marketing manager and buyer. Before joining Cathelle, Palmer worked for a number of retail POS providers, including Epicor and Dimensions. Alex Spillane, who has been part of the sales and marketing team for the past four years, has been promoted to take over Palmer’s role.

At Lixil Canada, Cosimo Coffa has been named general manager, trade sales and marketing, responsible for the American Standard, DXV, and GROHE brands. Marlon Thompson is now VP, marketing for Canada. He is responsible for the Canadian integrated marketing team of product, channel, digital, and pricing. He joined Lixil in 2019.

Goodfellow Inc. has appointed Robert Hall as its chair. He is a prominent Quebec lawyer and is also currently chair of the board of Bishop’s University. Hall replaces Douglas Goodfellow.

DID YOU KNOW…?

… that Hardlines Classified Ads are an effective—and targeted—way to connect with experts in the hardware and building materials sector for your next hire? Affordable rates and a broad reach through our huge database of industry executives, managers, store owners, and operators make Hardlines Classifieds a valuable tool for finding your next key hire! Contact Michelle Porter at the Hardlines World Headquarters to get hiring today!

The RONA Outaouais store in Buckingham, Que., held a grand opening ceremony following renovations to the 18,000-square-foot location. Owners Chantal Veilleux and Claude Bélec welcomed local dignitaries and managers from the RONA Dealer Support team to the board cutting. RONA Outaouais began in 2012 with the Val-des-Monts Building Centre. Veilleux and Bélec expanded to Buckingham and Papineauville earlier this year.

Schell Lumber Home Building Centre is marking 100 years of serving the Stouffville, Ont., community. The store was founded in 1922 by Wes Schell as Stouffville Planing Mill and is currently owned by fourth-generation dealer-owner Kyle Schell and his uncle, Steve Schell. Steve has been involved with the store for almost 50 years and previously co-owned the store with Ron Schell, who died this spring.

Ace Le Centre du Bricoleur in Saint-David-de-Falardeau, Que., has a new owner. Jessy Gauthier has more than 30 years of experience in the hardware industry. Through Ace’s partnership with Sexton Group for building materials supply, Gauthier will also be a member of that group.

Wiener’s Home Hardware, a downtown Toronto hardware store, is celebrating 100 years of serving the city’s Annex community. The Wiener family started the business in 1922 and joined Home Hardware when it was founded in 1964. Currently owned by Marty Wiener, the business will eventually move to the family’s third generation as Marty’s daughter Melanie prepares to move into the role of dealer-owner.

Wolseley Canada recently celebrated the grand opening of its newest branch in Vernon, B.C. The 12,000-square-foot facility offers the full assortment of Wolseley Canada’s plumbing and HVAC products.

SUPPLIER NEWS

The Recycling Council of British Columbia presented the 2022 RCBC Environmental Awards this month. The award for the private sector, which honours “businesses with outstanding initiatives to preserve and protect our environment,” went to EAB (Exchange-A-Blade). EAB has been recycling used power tool accessories such as blades for over 40 years. It also favours paper-based packaging and maintains a dedicated fleet of 29 hybrid and electric vehicles for its sales teams.

Liz Kovach, president of the Western Retail Lumber Association was in Ottawa recently for a series of meetings with the Canadian Chamber of Commerce. She also took part in direct meetings with the Canadian Real Estate Association and three MPs. The Transportation and Infrastructure Committee, where the WRLA participated, had several meetings with officials including infrastructure minister Dominic LeBlanc and Conservative transport critic Melissa Lantsman.

ECONOMIC INDICATORS

Retail sales increased 0.9 percent to $60.7-billion in April. Sales were up in six of 11 subsectors, led by higher sales at general merchandise stores. The largest decline to retail sales came from building material and garden equipment and supplies dealers. The 4.3 percent decrease was the first in four months. (StatCan)

U.S. housing starts and building permits both fell by more than expected in May. Residential starts declined by 14.4 percent to an annualized pace of 1.55 million, their lowest level in more than a year. Building permits for May were down by seven percent. (U.S. Commerce Dept.)

NOTED

The Building Supply Industry Association of B.C. is teaming up with HR and health and safety specialist Peninsula Canada. You can read some of Peninsula’s advice in our monthly Hardlines HR Advisor newsletter. (If you’re not already receiving this incredible HR newsletter, click here to sign up for free!)

OVERHEARD

"Sexton Group is very excited to embark on this new relationship with Mr. Gauthier. With his experience and entrepreneurial mindset, Le Centre du Bricoleur is sure to see a smooth transition into his ownership.”
—Eric Palmer, vice president and general manager of Sexton Group, welcoming Jessy Gauthier, the new owner of an Ace store which is also a member of Sexton.

Lowe’s Canada will roll out two dedicated brands in its stores over the next few months. The Flex and Kobalt tool brands are already in Lowe’s U.S. stores.

Flex is a power tool line for contractors and pros. The Flex line first arrived in Lowe’s stores in the U.S. just over a year ago as part of the retailer’s strategy to strengthen its connection with contractors. It’s produced by Chervon, a global tool manufacturer, which also manufactures Kobalt’s cordless power tool lines for Lowe’s.

The new lines are already available online, but they’ll be gradually introduced to stores beginning with Réno-Dépôt, which will get an expanded selection in time for Father’s Day. Lowe’s stores will get the lines in the fall.

“These two brands are real game changers for DIYers and contractors nationwide,” said Chris West, SVP merchandising at Lowe’s Canada, “thanks to products that set new standards in the market in their respective categories and offer more value to our customers.”

For the pro customer, Flex cordless tools boast fast charging times, long runtimes, and more power. Lowe’s, RONA, and Réno-Dépôt customers currently have access to some 30 Flex products, but this range is expected to grow later in the year with a second wave of products that feature lithium batteries.

“The addition of this brand is exciting news for our professional customers,” said Jeff Oben, senior director, pro sales – in store, at Lowe’s Canada. “Things move fast on a job site, so it’s essential for contractors to have reliable, high-performance tools that allow them to do more work, more efficiently. And that’s exactly what the Flex assortment offers.”

The Kobalt brand is a private label line of power tools designed for DIYers. It consists of a wide selection of cordless tools and outdoor power equipment for the retail market. The cordless tool assortment features more than 70 products in 24 and 40 volts. Kobalt also offers corded power tools, hand tools, and storage products.

Global DIY Summit: expect a new consumer mindset, more project sales

Expect the supply chain to remain in disarray for at least another eight months. Nor will inflation go away any time before that, though it will likely start to ease into 2023.

These were just some of the insights shared at the eighth Global DIY Summit, held earlier this month in Copenhagen, Denmark. The event drew 900 people from 55 countries, including retail leaders from 250 hardware and home improvement companies worldwide. Hardlines was there, and we met retail executives from Denmark, Finland, France, Italy, Australia, Germany, Japan, Britain, and the U.S.

The first day kicked off with an emphasis on the importance of sustainability in this industry, the quickened rate of change due to staggering worldwide inflation, the war in Ukraine, and disruptions in the supply chain.

Against that backdrop of world events, Mark Herbek, executive director, home improvement at the Cleveland Research Co., noted that home improvement retail was up 35 percent in the U.S. over two years under COVID (comparable to growth in Canada, according to Hardlines).

Out-of-stocks continue to run as high as 25 percent and this will extend the home improvement cycle as people push out projects until product is available. “But more dollars will be chasing fewer products and this is resulting in staggering inflation.”

While online sales continue to stay healthy, in-store traffic has flattened compared with pre-COVID rates. “We are past the peak in the U.S. We are now seeing a declining environment.” Herbek said that it has taken from 10 to 17 months historically for this cycle to recover.

Herbek believes that pent-up demand will keep home improvement stronger than other retail for the near future. But he pointed out some things to watch for. Expect permanent lifestyle changes among consumers: 13 percent of people surveyed by Cleveland Research say they’re not going back to pre-COVID activity.

And expect continued pent demand to drive in-store traffic. Half of consumers said they want to get going on projects that they’ve intended to do even before the pandemic, not because of COVID. So dealers should expect to sell more big projects.

Why your brand has to stand for something that’s important to consumers

One thing a roomful of retail leaders was looking for from the recent Global DIY Summit, held recently in Copenhagen, Denmark, was some direction on the way back to a normal world following the devastation of COVID. But one presenter did not have encouraging news.

“If you’re looking to settle into the new normal, there’s no normal to return to,” said Ken Hughes, a consumer and shopper behaviour specialist and customer experience strategist.

Succeeding in retail will always require retailers to understand their customers. But Hughes went even further. “You have to get inside the head of today’s consumer.” And with all the talk these days of being agile in business, he said resilience represents true agility now.

But he added another factor to the mix of evolving one’s business: “innovation must find ways to have fun” while attempting to confront and manage the forces of change.

“The metaverse is coming, but we’re not too sure how it will work. It’s coming, and we’ll all be immersed in it, but don’t know how it will work.” And it will grow, he predicts, to be worth several billion dollars.

Hughes talked about the “blue-dot consumer,” someone who stands in the middle of a virtual map of services and products, which will all now come to that individual. “We even have restaurants coming to us,” he noted. “Everything has circled around the customer.”

Through all that the digital, virtual world embodies, it will remain crucial to maintain the capacity for connecting with other people. For retailers, the idea of the “customer lifetime model” is still strictly transactional, which is no longer enough. The connection has to be deeper; it has to be real. “We need to get to that place with our customers. We need to give them some reason to connect with us as a brand.”

This requires a company to “know what you stand for and why the customer should be involved with you at all,” he said.

“It takes vulnerability and courage.”

A new retail strategy called “Concept Connect” is in the works at Canadian Tire, with plans to roll it out by the end of 2025. The program involves getting more sales space out of its stores.

“We’re looking to expand our square footage by 10 percent in the network, and we’ll be able to enhance over 50 percent of the square footage in the network,” said TJ Flood, president of Canadian Tire Retail, during a call to analysts following the release of its first-quarter results.

The project involves over $1-billion of the $3.4-billion Canadian Tire announced in March it plans to invest over the next four years to expand its digital reach and drive long-term growth.

The rollout of the new Concept Connect store format involves about 225 Canadian Tire stores. “And we’re making great progress,” Flood continued. One group of stores has already been launched, while another group will be launched during September and October.

“We’ve already opened five of them in the spring, including markets like Hamilton and Montreal. And we’re excited that we’re on track to launch two of what we’re describing as remarkable, retail versions of Concept Connect, which offer a little bit larger and augmented brand experience to showcase the best of what we have to offer.”

The Concept Connect format is being rolled out at the same time that Canadian Tire is introducing a new, large-format store called “Remarkable Retail.” This footprint exceeds 100,000 square feet, with openings already in Ottawa and Welland, Ont., and a location in Calgary targeted for 2025.

M-D Canada has appointed Andrew Gladstone as VP of sales, retail channel, effective June 6. He will oversee the management of all sales functions for the retail and consumer segments of the Canadian business. Gladstone joins M-D Canada from Onward Manufacturing, where he most recently served as VP of sales for all customer channels. Prior to that, he worked with MTD Products.

John Herbert, general secretary of the European DIY Retail Association (EDRA) and the Global Home Improvement Network (GHIN), was honoured with the Global DIY-Lifetime Achievement Award at the international associations’ Global DIY Summit, held in Copenhagen, Denmark. Herbert built GHIN to be an umbrella association linking major home improvement retailers worldwide. He is also co-founder and chairman of the Global DIY Summit.

DID YOU KNOW…?

… that the Hardlines podcast series, “What’s in Store,” has become a runaway hit? The latest episode features a conversation with Marianne Thompson, chief merchandising officer at Home Hardware Stores Ltd. To make sure you get access to every podcast as soon as it’s released, sign up here. Hardlines Podcasts are free!

The Atikamekw Council of Wemotaci is the new majority owner of the BMR store in La Tuque, Que. The $1.8-million transaction leaves the prior owner, Pierre Naud Inc., with the remaining 49 percent interest. The band council is the smallest of three in the Atikamekw nation, who are indigenous to central Quebec and speak a variety of Cree. A future second phase of the partnership would see a point of service set up in Wemotaci itself.

Federated Co-operatives Ltd. has named the latest beneficiaries of its Community Spaces program. FCL is investing a combined total of $1 million in 13 community projects across western Canada. This year, these include swimming pool improvements in Bengough, Sask., and a park revitalization in Hornby, B.C.

Canadian Tire Corp. has launched “Forward With Design,” its first in-house activewear brand. The line consists of three collections: Push (described as “elevated activewear”), Free (loungewear), and Friday (“transitional work-leisure”). Forward With Design’s full assortment is available at more than 200 SportChek and Sports Experts locations across Canada.

Giant Tiger Stores will hold the grand opening of a new store in Madawaska Maliseet First Nation, near Edmundston, N.B., on June 25. It’s a 17,800 -square-foot outlet; the retailer’s store count now boasts more than 260 stores.

SUPPLIER NEWS

Kruger Specialty Papers has completed its acquisition of the Domtar pulp mill in Kamloops, B.C. Operations at the facility, which makes softwood kraft pulp, will continue unaffected. The deal will allow Kruger to source high-quality pulp to some of its paper mills.

Gypsum Management & Supply has acquired Construction Supply of Southwest Florida Inc. The company has also opened four new greenfield locations and five new AMES Taping Tools stores. Established in 2002, Construction Supply of Southwest Florida is a distributor of stucco, building, and waterproofing supplies.

ECONOMIC INDICATORS

Sales of homes recorded via Canadian MLS systems fell 8.6 percent in May. That followed a larger drop recorded in April. The actual (not seasonally adjusted) number of transactions in May 2022 came in 21.7 percent below the record for that month set last year. (Canadian Real Estate Association)

Investment in building construction increased by 2.7 percent to $20.9-billion in April. Spending on residential construction rose 3.2 percent, a seventh consecutive monthly increase, to $15.7-billion. British Columbia saw the largest gain, up 8.3 percent. Investment in single-family homes increased 4.5 percent to $8.8-billion. (StatCan)

NOTED

Hardlines is now receiving entries for the 2022 Outstanding Retailer Awards. All Canadian hardware and home improvement retailers and managers who have operated under their current ownership for at least two years are eligible. Dealers may submit their entries directly to Hardlines. ORA submissions are due Wednesday, June 22. (To fill out the ORA application, please visit www.oras.ca; or contact our Acting Editor, Steve Payne, for further information. Le formulaire est également disponible en français.)

OVERHEARD

“We don’t have a percentage goal but I can tell you that if we have an opportunity to buy locally instead of from another country of region, we will buy local.”
—Marc-André Bally, senior VP at Costco Canada. He told Le Journal de Montréal that his company is focusing more on sourcing locally.

The departure of Pierre Laberge from the helm of Canac last month may have come as a surprise to many, but the Laberge family remains firmly in control of the Quebec home improvement chain.

Based in L’Ancienne-Lorette, in the Quebec City region, Canac has 31 stores throughout the province—with number 32 scheduled to open early in 2023—plus sales well in excess of $1-billion (source: Hardlines 2022 Retail Report). Canac employs 4,200 people and may, in fact, be the largest independently owned home improvement retailer in Canada.

Pierre Laberge retired early in May after 45 years in the business. He had been at the helm of both Canac and its parent company, Laberge Group, for two years, following the retirement of company founder Jean Laberge, Pierre’s cousin.

However, according to the company itself, Canac had already structured its higher management to ensure a smooth and successful transition. Martin Gamache took over from Pierre Laberge at Canac. Already the group’s director of operations, he keeps those responsibilities in addition to being named Canac’s general manager. Laberge Group’s new president, in charge of overseeing all the Laberge companies, including Canac, is Gilles Laberge.

All these changes will help support continued growth at Canac. It already has a dozen stores in the Quebec City region, but only about four in the Montreal area. Its next store will be in Contrecœur, 57 km northeast of Montreal along the St. Lawrence River. That store was supposed to be open by the end of this year, but complications due to COVID have delayed that until next spring.

Canac is also thinking about a new store near Hawkesbury, Ont., halfway between Montreal and Ottawa on the Ottawa River. There have also been rumours of a store in the Ottawa area. But, for now, Canac remains focused on expansion in the province of Quebec, where it anticipates adding several more stores, at the rate of one a year, in the coming years.

Top merchant at Home Hardware talks shop in latest Hardlines Podcast

A brand-new podcast from Hardlines features an in-depth conversation with the senior merchant at Home Hardware Stores Ltd.

Marianne Thompson is the company’s chief merchandising officer. On the latest episode of the Hardlines podcast series “What’s In Store”, she shares details about how Home Hardware has invested directly in its supply chain. And how it’s using new technology to track selling cycles, manage product orders, and get closer to its customers.

Thompson talks about the importance of the new buying team that has been created in St. Jacobs over the past few years. Following her arrival in 2019, a number of company veterans retired and both the hardware and LBM buying teams underwent a reorganization.

Whereas Home Hardware Stores Ltd. had traditionally promoted from within, maintaining Home Hardware’s culture and values, Thompson has brought a new rigour. The company has now been looking outward, hiring new buyers from other industries such as grocery—and even from competitors.

For example, Carol Crystal joined Home Hardware from Lowe’s Canada in 2020 as director, merchandise hardlines. Last month, Crystal, whose background also includes Walmart Canada and the Hudson’s Bay Co., was promoted to VP, merchandise LBM.

“Our strength at Home here lies in ensuring that our talent and our culture remain a competitive advantage,” Thompson says. New team members “come in with this exceptional level of expertise. And it continues to propel our business forward as we really stay focused on our vision, which is to be Canada’s most trusted and preferred home improvement retail brand.”

The new team is well positioned with the skills and experience to manage change as Home Hardware has been transitioning from a wholesaler to being more of an integrated retailer. “This is supporting our growth of moving Home’s business forward. So, I’m very, very proud of the team here at Home.”

(The full conversation with Marianne Thompson covers many more topics. You can hear it in its entirety at the Hardlines Podcast Series, “What’s in Store”. To make sure you don’t miss a podcast, sign up here. Hardlines Podcasts are a free service to you, our Faithful Readers!)

Insights from the Retail Council of Canada convention

What do staffing challenges, mental health, and brand alignment all have in common? They were all themes being explored at the latest “Store” convention held recently in Toronto by the Retail Council of Canada.

The opening session was a panel that tackled no less significant a topic than the trends facing retail coming out of COVID. The big one, said Dr. Sylvain Charlebois, a professor of food distribution and policy at Dalhousie University, is the importance of aligning the in-store experience with expectations customers will form online.

Another is labour. Patricia Baker, director for retail at Scotia Capital, stressed the importance of hiring people who understand the digital world, who know tech and data and how to use it. “I think labour is going to drive change over the next several years,” she said.

Customer expectations will continue to rise in the face of new technology, as well. When retailers are figuring out how to deliver groceries within 15 minutes, “The bar is rising,” Charlebois added.

Other sessions covered the human side of the business in even more personal terms. Henry’s Cameras is a well-known photography store in Toronto, considered the go-to for any serious photographer. Gillian Henry is the CEO of this family-owned business. She shared the very personal story of her battle with mental illness, which started with a breakdown during her first year at university. It was eventually diagnosed as bipolar disorder.

She urged companies to be willing to talk about mental health. That’s the best way to create awareness and acceptance, she said. Too many people are concerned that talking about their own issues will stigmatize them and cause them to lose their job.

“You have to show that it’s okay not to be okay.”

A well-defined and focused brand can not only present value to consumers but also help guide staff. At the latest “Store” convention held by the Retail Council of Canada, Susan O’Brien, chief brand and customer officer for Canadian Tire Corp., talked about how far-reaching the effects of a good brand strategy can be.

“Even staff can take pride that’s fostered when they’re involved in your brand,” she told the audience of retail representatives from across the country.

Throughout the pandemic, Canadian Tire faced challenges along with the rest of the retail community, but its high profile among Canadians made it more vulnerable to criticism. For example, when its website crashed in the early days of the lockdowns, the story made newspapers. But despite store closures and efforts to keep its people safe, Canadian Tire found money for COVID response and for investing in local communities.

On Nov. 22, 2021, O’Brien and Canadian Tire CEO Greg Hicks presented the new branding to the entire staff: “We are here to make life in Canada better.” The statement requires melding a company’s purpose with the need to make money and grow sales, but together these ideas make a company better, said O’Brien.

“Being there for Canadians isn’t just part of our brand. It is our brand,” she stressed.

Carol Crystal has been promoted to VP, merchandise LBM, at Home Hardware Stores Ltd. She joined the company as director, merchandise hardlines in August 2020 and moved to the comparable role in LBM in June 2021. Previously, she held executive positions at Lowe’s Canada, Walmart Canada, and Hudson’s Bay Co. In her new role, Crystal reports to chief merchandising officer Marianne Thompson.

DID YOU KNOW…?

… that Hardlines Classified Ads are an effective—and targeted—way to connect with experts in the hardware and building materials sector for your next hire? Affordable rates and a broad reach through our huge database of industry executives, managers, store owners, and operators make Hardlines Classifieds a valuable tool for finding your next key hire! Contact Michelle Porter at the Hardlines World Headquarters to get hiring today.

Lowe’s Canada has completed this year’s campaign to raise money and awareness for Opération Enfant Soleil and Children’s Miracle Network. Thanks to Lowe’s, RONA, Réno-Dépôt, participating dealer store teams, customers’ generosity, and donations from vendors, the network has raised $1,470,000 for these organizations this year.

Arthur Rivest Inc. in Sainte-Julienne, Que., is the newest member of TIMBER MART. Founded as a sawmill business in 1950, Rivest went on to branch out into hardware and building materials. Today, Arthur Rivest’s grandchildren, Michel Ricard and Nathalie Fortin, own the business, while his great-granddaughter Marie-Michèle Ricard, manages it. The retailer boasts a 2,000-square-foot store, a 4,800-square-foot warehouse, and a 2,400-square-foot garage.

The Home Depot has launched a line of children’s décor products exclusive to its U.S. e-retail site. The collection of almost 70 items includes everything from bedding to shower curtains.

Empire Co., parent of grocer Sobeys, will drop Air Miles and has instead acquired a stake in the Scene+ rewards program. Sobeys intends to exit the Air Miles program on a region-by-region basis, beginning with Atlantic Canada, between August and the first quarter of 2023. Founded in 2007 by Scotiabank and Cineplex, Scene+ has more recently expanded its range of rewards to include options for redeeming points at restaurants, Expedia travel bookings, and with gift cards for retailers such as Apple and Best Buy.

Dollarama’s Q1 profits rose by 28 percent to $145.5-million, compared to $113.6-million a year earlier. Sales for the quarter were up 12.4 percent to $1.1-billion. The removal of pandemic restrictions helped to drive store traffic, while inflation has made discount retailers an attractive destination. Dollarama opened 10 new stores during the quarter.

Home Depot Canada and Lowe’s Canada are among the recipients of this year’s Energy Star Canada awards. Overseen by Natural Resources Canada, the program recognizes organizations that offer energy-efficient products and technology to Canadians. Lowe’s Canada was named Retailer of the Year, National. It’s the company’s third win from Energy Star. Home Depot Canada was recognized for Sustained Excellence for the second time, its 14th Energy Star Canada award overall.

SUPPLIER NEWS

Jeld-Wen was a recipient of an award this year from Energy Star. It won in the windows and doors category. The company has now earned nine Energy Star awards, including six in that category.

ECONOMIC INDICATORS

The value of building permits fell 0.6 percent in April to $11.7-billion. Residential permits decreased 3.3 percent to $7.7-billion nationally, driven mostly by lower intentions in Ontario and British Columbia, while seven provinces posted increases. That decline was largely offset by a five-percent gain in the non-residential sector. (StatCan)

NOTED

Metro will no longer sell single-use plastic bags at its stores beginning this fall. The grocer says the move will mean that 330 million bags will be kept out of circulation annually. It follows other retailers who have phased out single-use plastics. Most recently, Walmart Canada pulled them from its stores in April.

OVERHEARD

“Each bedroom set leans into a central theme, including nautical décor, the great outdoors, modern princesses and more, to appeal to a broad range of children and parents.”
—Some of the verbiage that accompanied a release about Home Depot’s new line of products created to appeal to children. The products are available on the retailer’s U.S. e-commerce site.

The latest changes at the head office of BMR Group have resulted in a new head buyer, a new COO, and the departure of at least one senior executive.

Charles Grégoire-Béliveau (shown here) has been named vice president, merchandising. He joined BMR in 2016 as director, purchasing for corporate stores. In that role, he led the merger of the purchasing, distribution, and corporate stores teams. He also increased BMR’s imports from Asia. He was promoted in 2020 to senior director, merchandising before getting this latest title. Grégoire-Béliveau is chairman of Éco-Peinture, an organization that regulates paint recycling in Quebec.

Other changes at BMR include a new chief operations officer, Antonio Di Pasquale. He joined BMR Group in 2020 as vice president, supply chain and operational excellence. In this new role, he will oversee all of BMR’s operations.

In addition, Jonathan Gendreau, who had been VP business development, marketing, and customer experience at BMR, has left the organization. He had been with BMR since 2017.

BMR has seen a number of changes at head office over the past year. In March 2021, Alexandre Lefebvre was appointed CEO, replacing Pascal Houle as head of the group. Lefebvre came over from Lefebvre & Benoît, a large commercial dealer that is owned by BMR. In addition, changes to the group’s mid-level team to improve organizational structure, including the addition of Simon Gouin as senior director, business development for eastern Canada, occurred exactly one year ago.

The latest shuffle is aimed at helping BMR continue growing its dealer base in eastern Canada. Along with its strong presence in Quebec, where it has more than 230 stores, BMR has long been present in the Maritimes and particularly New Brunswick, where it has 11 stores. Its biggest growth target is Canada’s largest province, Ontario. There, it has 20 stores, including the recent additions of an important building supply dealer in Cornwall and the conversion of a contractor-oriented dealer in Elmvale.

TORBSA merges with U.S.-based buying group

TORBSA Ltd., the Bolton, Ont.-based buying group, announced last week that it had merged with another buying group, AD, a North American contractor and wholesale buying group. The merger is expected to close July 1.

“The decision to align our business with AD was one that was scrutinized thoroughly,” said TORBSA president Paul Williams. “TORBSA and its shareholders are truly excited at the road ahead, as we lay the foundation for what will be many years of success as a business.”

Founded in 1966, TORBSA represents 30 members in 40 locations across Canada. But with the merger, a new division of AD has been created: AD Canada Building Supplies. Williams will head this new division, which effectively replaces TORBSA, and TORBSA members will become shareholders of AD Canada. Williams will now report to Rob Dewar, president of AD Canada, while three additional TORBSA employees will join the AD team.

But what is AD?

AD is a wholesale buying group that provides contractor-related and industrial products to some 845-plus independent member owners in the U.S., Mexico, and Canada, and represents annual sales of some $58.5 billion. AD operates 13 divisions that cover industries including electrical, industrial, safety, bearings and power transmission, plumbing, PVF, HVAC, decorative brands, and building supplies.

TORBSA had previously been part of another hardlines buying group, OCTO, which specializes in plumbing and heating, electrical, and tools. Another member of OCTO that TORBSA had a relationship with is Indica. Indica represents some 440 industrial supply distributors in the U.S. and Canada that represent more than 1,600 locations. It has partnerships with 230-plus suppliers.

“AD brings decades of experience, strong leadership throughout the organization, with strong business ethics and core values that align with our own. Their scale and expertise across North America give us the strength to compete and succeed in an ever-changing marketplace,” Williams said.

AD’s Rob Dewar added that TORBSA’s strong leadership and financial success made the buying group an ideal match for AD. “TORBSA has been a leader in this space for a long time, and our new relationship will help us provide more benefits for members, including an increased supplier portfolio.” The deal also fits with a key priority of AD in recent years to grow its presence in Canada.

Canadian roofing giant IKO opens new Brampton facility

Canadian roofing products maker IKO held a grand opening recently to officially launch a new factory and warehouse in Brampton, Ont. The facility sits on the site of the original building that was constructed in 1959 and de-commissioned in 2017.

The new operation covers 150,000 square feet and is one of three finished product facilities on the west side of the Greater Toronto Area.

A tour of the plant by Hardlines revealed that it has capacity to store one million bundles of shingles and can produce 2,100 bundles in an hour. The brands made here are Dynasty, Cambridge, and Baltimore. Laminate shingles were on the production line during the grand opening, in response to the high level of demand for this type of product. IKO prides itself on its vertical integration: the wrapper and the granules used to produce the shingles had all come from sister facilities.

On hand for the ribbon cutting were brothers Saul and Henry Koschitzky, who built the original Brampton plant and remain active in the business. Their father, Israel Koschitzky, established the company’s first plant in Calgary in 1951. The fourth generation of the family is now involved in the business. (Pictured l-r: IKO’s Yekutiel Koschitzky and Jack Gottesman.)

CertainTeed parent Saint-Gobain has reached a deal to acquire Kaycan Ltd., the Montreal-based manufacturer and distributor of siding products. The $928-million transaction is slated to close—pending regulatory approvals—by the end of 2022.

The deal represents a net acquisition price of about US$820 million and includes the planned divestiture of Kaycan’s small U.S. distribution arm, which accounts for about US$70 million in sales. Saint-Gobain says it intends to hold onto Kaycan’s “locally well-established Canadian distribution.”

With the acquisition, Saint-Gobain says it is reinforcing its position in sustainable construction and its position as a siding player in Canada. The company also looks forward to enlarging its vinyl offering across the U.S. The company says this acquisition meets its strategic and financial aims to strengthen its leadership in North America, while enriching its offering in light and sustainable construction, particularly in aluminum and engineered wood siding.

Carol Crystal has been promoted to VP, merchandise LBM, at Home Hardware Stores Ltd. She joined the company as director, merchandise hardlines in August 2020 and moved to the comparable role in LBM in June 2021. Previously, she held executive positions at Lowe’s Canada, Walmart Canada, and Hudson’s Bay Co. In her new role, Crystal reports to chief merchandising officer Marianne Thompson.

DID YOU KNOW…?

… that Hardlines is the only national breaking news service for Canada’s retail home improvement industry? Our mission is to connect the industry through information. If you have news to share, whether it’s a new hire, banner change, acquisition, or a new line, let Hardlines know. We are working for you!

Lowe’s Canada has reimagined its fall RONA market for 2022. This year’s Buying Show, which is held for its affiliated RONA dealers, is being re-launched under a new concept with a new name: RONA Connexia. The annual event will now be divided into three interconnected activities spread throughout the fall, kicking off in person Sept. 7-9 in Quebec City and from Sept. 14-16 in Vancouver. Conferences, training, and networking sessions with vendors and dealer support teams will be part of the shows.

Castle Building Centres Group held its Castle Expo at Deerhurst Inn in Huntsville, Ont., last week. The “speed-dating” format of the event gave all participating vendors face time with Castle dealers in attendance.

Lowe’s Canada received an award for the In-Store Experience & Design category (tied) at the Retail Council of Canada’s Excellence in Retailing Awards Gala last week. The award recognizes Lowe’s Canada’s implementation of myredvest, a self-serve and assisted checkout system implemented at 51 Lowe’s, RONA, and Réno-Dépôt stores in Canada in under two years. It’s Lowe’s Canada’s fourth RCC award in the last five years.

BuildDirect.com Technologies reported Q1 revenues of $24.4-million, up 16.8 percent from a year ago. Sales to pro customers came to $18.7-million, an increase of 14.7 percent from Q4 of 2021. Gross profits rose 18.1 percent year-over-year to $8.7-million.

SUPPLIER NEWS

Taiga Building Products has been honoured with a Telly Award for one of its promotions. The 40-second ad entitled “You don’t need luck” took Bronze in the category Non-Broadcast: General Sales. The Telly Awards began in 1979 to recognize the best TV commercials, and have since grown to cover non-broadcast and digital content.

A class action suit against Visa and MasterCard has been settled to the tune of $131-million, The Globe and Mail reports. Retailers who have accepted credit card payments can join the class until Sept. 30. Small businesses (with under $5-million per annum in sales) can receive $30 for every year they accepted card payments, up to a maximum of $600. They do not need to document their claim. The suit was launched in 2010 over the fees charged to merchants for processing credit card payments. As a result of the settlement, retailers will be allowed to charge customers extra to cover their card fees beginning in October.

IN MEMORIAM

Yvonne Patton (Castle Building Centres)

After a brief battle with cancer, Yvonne Patton died on March 18. Yvonne was well known throughout the industry as one of the faces of Castle Building Centres Group Ltd. She was the executive assistant to president and CEO Ken Jenkins, sharing the role with her colleague and close friend Peggy Cuff. Together, Yvonne and Peggy were the key contacts for the company and worked in unison to coordinate the group’s annual general meetings. Yvonne is survived by her husband, Gary, children Joshua (Sabrina) and Cameron (Diana) and Yvonne’s granddaughter Olivia. She was predeceased by her father, Samuel Joseph Freel.

ECONOMIC INDICATORS

Total construction spending in the U.S. for April was estimated at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of $1.74-trillion. That’s up 0.2 percent over the previous month. Spending on private construction was up 0.5 percent, while public construction spending was down 0.7 percent from March. (U.S. Commerce Dept.)

NOTED

Government inaction on promises to reduce credit card fees is putting pressure on small businesses, The Globe and Mail reports. The increase in card payments during the pandemic has heightened the urgency of the situation. The Liberals campaigned on a pledge to reduce the cost for retailers in the 2019 and 2021 elections.

OVERHEARD

“We both share a passion for serving independents and helping them thrive in competitive markets, and we’re honoured to have them join the AD community.”
—Rob Dewar, president of AD Canada, on the wholesale buying group’s merger with TORBSA, a buying group representing 40 dealer locations in Canada.

If lockdowns, supply chain disruptions, and galloping inflation weren’t enough to deal with, Home Hardware’s 1,000-plus stores across Canada have also had their own local, individual challenges. These are just some of the topics we cover in our new Hardlines Podcast with Marianne Thompson, chief merchandising officer at Home Hardware Stores Ltd.

Thompson joined Home Hardware in January 2019 as VP, merchandise, after serving as VP at JELD-WEN and, before that, Alexandria Moulding. She has quickly risen to assume the role of the company’s top merchant, overseeing both the LBM and hardware buying teams. She spoke with Michael McLarney for the forthcoming episode of our podcast series, “What’s In Store.”

Thompson said that the challenges of getting a consistent and reliable supply of product has made it difficult for everyone in our industry. “It’s not immune to the global supply chain challenges, including labour and product shortages, the raw material price increases, and also port congestion.” She added that restrictions and lockdown in parts of China due to a resurgence of COVID “further compounded this situation.”

Dealers have faced—and continue to face—additional challenges, many of them regional in nature, Thompson said. “Here in Canada, we’ve had environmental and economic challenges that have played a role, including the floods in B.C. last summer, with additional floods a few months later… impacting Nova Scotia, Newfoundland, New Brunswick, and Cape Breton, along with eastern areas of Quebec.

“And then on top of that we also saw forest fires in B.C. Hundreds of rail cars were halted by these wildfires and damaged tracks, creating an additional backlog of exports from the western provinces.”

Managing supply meant moving seasonal ordering times up to accommodate the longer lead times from the Asia, Thompson said. Plus, Home Hardware decided to secure more product than in the past to keep its dealers’ shelves stocked. It also required spending a lot of time working behind the scenes to move product around from region to region and from one DC to another. “That was really so critical so that we didn’t get caught up in that bottleneck to ensure that we could fulfill our dealers’ orders when they came in.”

The full conversation with Marianne Thompson covers more details about how Home Hardware invested directly in its supply chain, how the company is using new technology to track selling cycles, manage product orders, and get closer to its customers. You can hear it in its entirely on the next episode in our Hardlines Podcast Series, “What’s in Store,” being released later this week. To make sure you get access to this podcast as soon as it’s released, sign up here. Hardlines Podcasts are free!

Canadian first-quarter performance of Home Depot and Lowe’s

Both Home Depot and Lowe’s Cos. released their first-quarter earnings results earlier this month. And both showed tremendous gains through the late winter and spring seasons. (They both have fiscal year-ends of Jan. 31, so Q1 results cover the February to April period.)

However, results were a little more complicated for the Canadian side of the business at both Home Depot and Lowe’s.

In an earnings call to analysts, Lowe’s CEO Marvin Ellison commented on his company’s performance north of the border during Q1. “Last year, Canada’s results benefited from record-high lumber prices due to the higher lumber mix in our Canadian business.” This year, the Lowe’s Canada business continues to operate in a different fashion than its U.S. parent, as a wholesale distributor to a network of 200-plus independents operating under the RONA banner.

That business got a boost at the beginning of 2022 with the naming of Jean-Sébastien Lamoureux to the position of senior VP for RONA affiliates for the company’s wholesale business, in addition to his role as senior lead for public affairs at Lowe’s Canada.

At Home Depot, executive vice president and CFO Richard McPhail gave analysts some insight about the Home Depot Canada business. Same-store sales for the entire company were up 2.2 percent over the first quarter of 2021, with the U.S. stores showing positive comps of 1.7 percent. McPhail said Canada “posted comps above the company average.”

McPhail also noted the massive size of the contractor market that Home Depot is reaching out to—noteworthy in light of rising interest rates. “I think it’s important to remember that our addressable market is the 130 million housing units occupied in the U.S., plus probably… 40 million to 50 million more in Canada and Mexico.”

Regardless of the housing market, the Canadian business remains strong. Ted Decker, Home Depot’s COO, noted that “our Canadian business is in terrific shape,” as year-over-year performance grew following the “significant lockdowns last year,” which restricted store openings, especially in early 2021. “[In] Ontario, in particular, our stores were closed in the first quarter, and we had curbside pickup only. So the business is very, very strong.”

Canadian Tire builds online loyalty with Triangle Rewards program

Canadian Tire Corp. is managing its range of banners and brands by encouraging customers to use its Triangle Rewards program as the focus for all its online shopping possibilities. And based on the company’s first-quarter results, the strategy is working.

“Triangle Rewards members drove our results in the quarter, with loyalty sales up 13 percent compared to last year,” said Canadian Tire president and CEO Greg Hicks in a recent call to analysts.

The company remains focused on both new Triangle Rewards member acquisitions and engaging existing members even more substantially. Canadian Tire added 400,000 new members in the first quarter. “More than 25 percent of these new members now have a credit card and over 40 percent of them have registered for our one-on-one personalization program,” Hicks said. Canadian Tire is seeing more and more Triangle members shopping at the company’s various banners, including Sport Chek, Mark’s, and Party City.

“We remain focused on driving member cross-shop across our ecosystem,” Hicks added. “And in Q1, over one-third of our members shopped at more than one banner, which is significantly higher than last year.”

An innovation for the online shopping experience is the “widget.” It’s a pop-up function that appears for online shoppers to guide them to related offers and encourage add-on sales. Hicks explained: “For example, imagine you’re viewing the product details of a trampoline on the CTR website. Just below the add-to-cart button is an ‘activate offer’ widget, showing that if you spend $100, you’ll earn 20 times the e-Canadian Tire money, which equates to saving an additional $30 on the trampoline.”

Testing of the offer widgets ended up driving up the average order by 17 percent compared to a control group of CTR shoppers, while a similar test on the Marks website drove a 34 percent increase in average spend per visitor.

“We’re very focused on integrating our existing banners into one enterprise-wide platform,” said Hicks.

When we talk about growth of the green sector we are not only talking about plants and outdoor living. So, what is the green sector in broader terms? According to a new report from the Global Home Improvement Network, the concept is far-reaching, with many arms reaching into the retail home improvement industry.

First, it’s important to take a broader view of what green means. The green sector also relates to products that are future-oriented and sustainable, as well as working in a manner that is committed to the future of the planet and the well-being of the public. Protecting biodiversity and promoting this, as well as improving air quality, are all themes that fall under the green sector.

The retail home improvement sector is in a unique position to be able to influence and promote sustainability in its own operations, in addition to in the lives of its customers. Through the sale of sustainable, energy-saving, and waste-reducing products, the home improvement industry can have a dramatic impact on green living.

One of the key factors to promoting the green sector is to make customers aware of the types of benefits they will personally see when living in a more sustainability-oriented way. Initiatives and changes such as insulation of homes and installing solar panels require an up-front investment, but the savings will be seen in the long term.

Overseas, a number of retailers are promoting the move to sustainable living through personalized and holistic offers. For example, the home improvement retailer Merkur in Slovenia has established the Merkur TEO programme, which offers “complete solutions for your entire home in one place.” These types of complete packages are likely to become more commonplace in the future and are one way of ensuring customers will be able to access green ways to live more sustainably.

The green sector is becoming an essential sector to consider, especially as we move toward a green economy. Governments and international bodies are building expectations in this area, through programs and frameworks that should make the transition more fluid.

In its unique position, the home improvement and garden sector is perfectly positioned to act as a global example for sustainable initiatives and practices. Promoting these both within one’s company and to the customer base will ensure the sector remains relevant.

Stephanie Chan is the new channel marketing manager at DAP Canada, reporting to DAP’s senior marketing manager Renato Oliveira. Chan was most recently with Northern Response.

DID YOU KNOW…?

… that Hardlines is the only national breaking news service for Canada’s retail home improvement industry? Our mission is to connect the industry through information. If you have news to share, whether it’s a new hire, banner change, acquisition, or a new line, let Hardlines know. We are working for you!

First-quarter earnings for Lowe’s Cos. rose to $2.33-billion, or $3.51 per share. The increase came despite a decline in sales as homeowners returned to their offices. Net sales fell three percent to $23.66-billion, with overall comp sales down by four percent.

Groupe A-1 is the newest member of the Sexton Group. The company is a brand-new dealer in the Abitibi area of northern Quebec, a start-up by owner Hervé Leblanc, who has operated a construction company in the region for the past 19 years. The new store is focused on sales to contractors, specifically residential and commercial trades.

The Home Depot earned $4.23-billion in the first quarter. That was up from $4.1-billion a year ago. Total revenues rose by about four percent to $38.9-billion. Same-store sales were up 2.2 percent worldwide and 1.7 percent in the U.S.

IKEA Canada has opened its first location in a downtown core in this country. IKEA Toronto Downtown – Aura occupies the first two floors of the Aura Shopping Centre at the corner of Yonge and Gerrard. The 66,000-square-foot cashless store offers more than 2,000 products available for purchase. It also serves as a showroom for bulkier items like furniture that can be ordered for home delivery.

Dollarama has doubled CEO Neil Rossy’s compensation compared to prior to the pandemic, The Globe and Mail reports. In 2021, Rossy earned $7.83-million, an increase from $6.83-million in 2020 and $3.8-million in 2019. Larger bonuses were a significant contributor to the increase, as Dollarama benefited from a boost in sales during the pandemic.

SUPPLIER NEWS

Michigan-based Shepherd Hardware Products, a division of the Colson Group, has announced the completion of its acquisition of Waxman Consumer Products’ floor care line. With this transaction Waxman’s floor care brands, including SoftTouch, will join Shepherd’s existing lines, which include FeltGard and SlideGlide.

Iowa-based construction tech startup MSuite has been acquired by Stanley Black & Decker. Founded in 2015, MSuite offers a cloud-based suite of tools that connect building teams and allow them to share and manage data. In 2020, the company raised seed money from Stanley Black & Decker’s venture arm. MSuite founder Britton Langdon will continue to oversee the business as VP of construction technology for Stanley Black & Decker.

ECONOMIC INDICATORS

Retail sales were flat in March as lower automotive sales cancelled out gains in the other 10 subsectors. Core retail sales grew by 1.5 percent, led by a 3.7 percent gain in LBM and garden categories. (StatCan)

Sales of newly built homes in the U.S. sank in April to a COVID-era low. They were at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 591,000 units, down 16.6 percent below the previous month’s estimate of 709,000. However, new housing activity remains 14.6 percent above April of 2021. (U.S. Commerce Dept.)

Sales of existing U.S. homes fell in April to their lowest rate since the pandemic outbreak. Sales fell by 2.4 percent from March to an annualized pace of 5.61 million units. Compared to last April, they were down 5.9 percent. (National Association of Realtors)

NOTED

The Retail Council of Canada will hold its Store 22 conference on May 31 and June 1 at the Toronto Congress Centre, North Building. Speakers will include Susan O’Brien, chief brand and customer officer at Canadian Tire Corp.; Rosie Ponzar, COO of Sephora Canada; and Eric Morris, managing director of retail, Google Canada. Click here for more information and for tickets.

OVERHEARD

“Looking back over that time, we’ve had the good fortune to work with successful retailers and their suppliers across Canada, the U.S., and the Caribbean. We’ve added many new retailer and vendor clients along the way and grown the business with the addition of our U.S. office in 2000, continuous investments in technology, web offerings, and mobile recruiting tools.”
—Wolf Gugler, president of Wolf Gugler Executive Search and well-known industry recruiter, celebrating a quarter-century recruiting talent for the retail home improvement industry in both Canada and the U.S.

“The future belongs to retailers who can provide the most seamless experience across digital and physical channels.” Greg Hicks, president and CEO of Canadian Tire Corp. shared this view on his latest call to analysts, following the release of the company’s first-quarter results.

“We are investing to provide a seamless end-to-end connection along the supply chain and to our customers across whichever channel they choose,” he added, noting that a new platform is being rolled out to facilitate that connection.

One way Canadian Tire has been working throughout the first quarter to enhance its omnichannel experience is through the deployment of in-store technology across the store network. These enhancements included the installation of electronic shelf labels, which, through a designated app, guide customers directly to products in the store.

Canadian Tire also added pickup lockers at 86 more CTR stores, while at its Sport Chek stores, DoorDash delivery is being used to get products to customers’ doors. The company expects 90 percent of Sport Chek’s e-commerce customers will be serviced by DoorDash by the end of Q2.

Another platform to expand Canadian Tire’s omnichannel experience is the development of “One Digital,” which is “a future-safe digital ecosystem that will serve as the new, single digital platform used across all CTC banners,” Hicks said. The platform was tested in New Brunswick in Q1 and has been introduced nationally at CTC stores. The company plans to bring its banners Mark’s, Sport Chek, Triangle, and Party City onto One Digital by the end of the year.

“It’s a critical part of our evolution from a company made up of disconnected banners, brands, and services to an enterprise-wide platform where all banners and channels collectively amplify and render each other more valuable, creating a truly differentiated customer experience,” Hicks said.

B.C. BSIA confronts challenges of hiring in home improvement

A project to figure out how to make the home improvement industry more attractive to potential workers has become the focus of the Building Supply Industry Association (BSIA) of British Columbia. To do it, the group has plugged into provincial government funds from the Ministry of Advanced Education and Skills Training, and has turned to R.A. Malatest and Associates to execute the study.

“It’s an 18-month deep dive into our industry,” says Thomas Foreman, president of the BSIA. Frustrated by the shortcomings of the industry in terms of recruitment and succession planning, Foreman wanted to build a blueprint for helping member companies, which include dealers and suppliers, to tap into the province’s workforce.

Like everywhere in North America, staffing in B.C. has become a huge issue. Yet, at the same time, the industry is busier than it has been in two decades, preventing many companies from having the luxury to look ahead and plan their new talent strategies. “All of us see what the challenges are,” Foreman adds. “We just don’t have the solutions.”

Take training, for example. Most of the focus in this area is on entry-level skills, important enough for any new employee. But, with some exceptions, there’s a lack of meaningful training for managers and other senior people that might be groomed for more long-term roles.

The answer, Foreman says, is to get more data on who the future workforce represents, and what their values are. Malatest has been constructing and conducting surveys and focus groups to gather that data. The study is now in phase two, and Foreman expects the final report to be ready next spring. “It’s exciting to find out where the gaps are and come up with the solutions.”

Foreman admits he finds some companies resistant to change, but it’s necessary to look at the market with fresh eyes post-COVID. “Eighteen dollars an hour doesn’t cut it anymore.”

BMR continues to solidify its presence in Central Canada

BMR held two grand openings this month, one for its new member retailer in Cornwall, Ont., and one for a Quebec store that joined its banner during the pandemic.

Earlier this month, Quincaillerie et Matériaux P.A. in Les Cèdres, Que., had an official grand opening after taking the BMR Express banner in June 2020. The store has a long history. It started out in the 1880s as a general store and funeral home.

The same week, Perkins Home Centre Ltd. (shown here) in Cornwall, Ont., had its own grand opening event. That store, under owners Roy and Muriel Perkins, is celebrating its 50th anniversary this year.

A month earlier, BMR realized further expansion in Ontario with the addition of a new store in Elmvale, Ont. Dealer George Begley operates a contractor-oriented store, so he adopted the BMR Pro banner, which has been designed for stores with a heavy pro customer base. The store boasts 8,000 square feet of floor space and an 11-acre lumber yard. Redevelopment is slated for completion by June, including an updated façade with BMR’s colours.

At the same time, BMR’s Winchester, Ont., store is under new ownership. Previous owner Ken Boje made the decision to sell after more than a decade with the banner. The Drevniok family, under president Darcy Drevniok, assumed ownership on April 1. The store is being renamed Winchester Building Supplies Inc.

Meanwhile, BMR continues to invest in its Potvin & Bouchard business in Quebec. The banner has four building centres there, in Jonquière, Chicoutimi, La Baie, and Alma, plus a distribution centre. Acquired by BMR in 2008, the business is now celebrating 90 years since its start as a carpenter’s workshop and lumberyard in 1932. BMR has made investments of over $5-million in the last few years to renovate and standardize the stores.

An estimated 50,000 Ontario construction workers are on strike, including carpenters, labourers, plumbers, and pipefitters. Although the strike affects mostly the ICI sector (institutional, commercial, industrial), the job action is growing quickly and threatens project delays in a construction market already backed up by the pandemic delays of the past two years.

The strike is about money, with the carpenters’ union saying that the current inflation rate of 7 per cent forces their hand. The Labourers’ International Union of North America (LiUNA), traditionally fierce rivals of the carpenters’ union, tells the same story.

This is the largest construction strike in Ontario in more than 20 years. Although many Ontario LBM dealers do comparatively little business on the ICI side, construction strikes have a cascading effect, with inspectors, suppliers, and trucking all impacted. “Even though it’s mostly on the ICI (institutional, commercial, industrial) side, it’s beginning to affect us,” said Dennis Fernandes, contractor and commercial sales for Downtown Lumber, a Home Hardware dealer in Toronto.

Martin Gamache was recently promoted to general manager of Canac, the giant family-owned home improvement chain based in Quebec City. Gamache will head the day-to-day operations of Canac, taking over from the former boss at head office, Pierre Laberge, who has retired from daily operations of the 31-store chain. Gamache was formerly operations director at Canac, a role he will keep. Pierre Laberge, Jean Laberge and other Laberge family members remain the shareholders and directors of Canac.

At Castle Building Centres Group, Bruce Holman will retire as director of business development this summer after nearly two decades building the dealer base for the Mississauga, Ont.-based buying group. Doug Keeling, who has been business development manager for Ontario since he joined Castle in 2016, will replace Holman in the national role, effective Sept. 1.

Pierre Nolet has been promoted at Lowe’s Canada to the role of regional director, operations, for dealer sales and service in Eastern Canada. He was most recently director of business development for the RONA business at Lowe’s Canada. Nolet was formerly at BMR Group and joined Lowe’s Canada exactly one year ago.

Marc Leblanc has been promoted at Acceo Solutions. Leblanc had been VP of hardware store and building supply industry solutions since the beginning of 2018. He is now senior VP and has gardening centres added to his portfolio. A veteran of the company, he’s been with Acceo for more than two decades.

DID YOU KNOW…?

… that Hardlines is the only national breaking news service for Canada’s retail home improvement industry? Our mission is to connect the industry through information. If you have news to share, whether it’s a new hire, banner change, acquisition, or a new line, let Hardlines know. We are working for you!

Canadian Tire Corp. released its first quarter results for the period ended April 2. The company reported consolidated retail sales At Castle Building Centres, Distribution Rioux based in Saint-Louis-du-Ha! Ha!, Que., has joined the group as its newest member. Founded in 2015, Distribution Rioux also has a location in nearby Degelis. Founder Guy Rioux operates two other businesses including a sawmill in the area.

TORBSA has kicked off its second Annual Virtual Vendor Expo last week. The event continues until May 27. The platform allows dozens of TORBSA’s preferred suppliers to showcase their newest products while offering show specials to the group’s shareholder network. The online offering will complement in-person events planned for later this year.

eBay has partnered with FedEx to give Canadian sellers access to FedEx shipping services directly through eBay Labels, a proprietary label printing solution. The integration of FedEx technology gives eBay sellers a seamless, on-platform experience to access FedEx domestic and international shipping tools and services—all at preferential rates. This Canadian technology enhancement is designed to help eBay’s online sellers be more efficient with their e-commerce sales.

Facing continued supply chain challenges along with the rest of the industry, Canadian Tire Corp. is looking ahead to ensure that it can maintain inventory levels. The company continues to adjust its lead times and is already ordering for its fall and winter inventory to ensure delivery for those seasons.

SUPPLIER NEWS

Hardwoods Distribution Inc. saw its Q1 sales rose 121.5 percent to $644.9-million, a year-over-year increase of $353.7-million. Profits for the quarter grew 234.7 percent to $43.5-million, from $13-million a year earlier. In Canada, sales increased by $18.8-million, or 38 percent, compared to the comparable period of 2021. During the quarter, HDI closed its acquisition of Missouri-based Mid-Am Building Supply Inc.

ECONOMIC INDICATORS

Sales of existing Canadian homes fell by 12.6 percent in April compared to the previous month. The decline placed monthly activity at the lowest level since the summer of 2020. Sales were down in 80 percent of local markets, with exceptions in Victoria, Montreal, and Halifax-Dartmouth, where sales edged up slightly. The actual (not seasonally adjusted) number of transactions in April came in 25.7 percent below the record for that month set last year (Canadian Real Estate Association).

The annualized rate of housing starts in April was 267,330 units, an increase of eight percent from March. The rate of total urban starts increased by 10 percent to 245,324 units in April. Multi-unit urban starts increased by 14 percent to 178,092 units while single-detached urban starts increased by one percent to 67,232 units. (CMHC)

NOTED

During its first quarter, Canadian Tire Corp. processed 55 million transactions on its Triangle credit cards. These purchases spanned not only all the CTC banners, but thousands of hosted merchants across Canada.

The Retail Council of Canada (RCC) will hold “retail’s biggest event of the year” in just over a week’s time. The RCC Store 22 conference will take place May 31 and June 1 at the Toronto Congress Centre, North Building (Front Street). Speakers will include Susan O’Brien, chief brand and customer officer at Canadian Tire Corp., Rosie Ponzar, COO of Sephora Canada, and Eric Morris, managing director retail, Google Canada… and many more. For tickets, click here.

OVERHEARD

“Don’t provide product. Deliver experiences. The old model of retail, considered to be ‘warehousing,’ doesn’t work anymore because the same product can be provided for less through e-commerce.” — Patrick Ward, VP of the Los Angeles-based e-commerce consultancy Rootstrap, giving advice to retailers in a recent blog post