We kick off each new year with our Year in Review feature, looking back at some of our most-read stories of the previous year. Here’s what captured your attention—and imagination—in 2024

Personnel stories are perennial reader favourites, and RONA had a banner year in 2024 for executive staff changes. The retailer began the year with the announcement that Jean-Sébastien Lamoureux was departing after seven years with the company. As senior vice-president of affiliate dealers, wholesale, and public affairs, Lamoureux had championed the place of the independent dealer in RONA’s business strategy. At the Hardlines Conference in Whistler, B.C., in 2023, he said, “Our new ownership understands the value and potential of our RONA affiliated dealer network.”

RONA’s personnel changes didn’t end there. In June, Jean-Philippe (J.P.) Towner was named CEO and president. He took over from Andrew Iacobucci, who had joined the company a year earlier, just a few months before Towner came aboard as CFO.

Towner’s promotion created a vacancy in the CFO position, which was filled in October by Sylvain Girard. He came to RONA from Resolute Forest Products, where he had been serving as senior vice-president and CFO.

RONA wasn’t the only major player to announce a CEO turnover in 2024. At the May annual general meeting of Home Hardware Stores Ltd., CEO Kevin Macnab announced his intention to retire. At the time, neither a timeline for the transition nor a successor was announced, but in November the company made it known that Ian White would take the helm later that month.

Like Macnab, whose CV spanned tenures at Marks & Spencer and Toys ‘R’ Us, White is an outside recruit. He was most recently president of Parkland Canada. The Calgary-based firm operates gas stations under banners including Esso, Ultramar, and Chevron. It also holds the rights to the On the Run network of convenience store franchises across Canada and most of the U.S.

Meanwhile, in a coda to one of the previous year’s top personnel stories, Jeff Kinnaird was appointed in September to lead Peak Group. Kinnaird made waves in 2023 when The Home Depot announced he had “decided to leave” the business. The former president of Home Depot Canada had moved to Home Depot’s Atlanta head office in October 2020 as executive vice-president of merchandising.

Peak began as a Vancouver-based start-up selling fasteners for four-by-four posts. In 1998, as a newly-minted store manager, Kinnaird played a major role in its early growth. Looking for a product that could withstand West Coast weather, Kinnaird reached out to Peak, placing a $50 order. From there, Peak evolved into a major vendor-partner of Home Depot, which is the exclusive North American retailer of its home reno and outdoor living products.

In addition to personnel changes, 2024 also saw the emergence of one new retail group in Canada and the withdrawal of another from the country.

In October, Sexton Group and Évolution Distribution announced they were teaming up to form a new buying group in Quebec. EvoX, named after the two founding companies, commenced operations on Jan. 1, 2025. It takes advantage of Évolution head Geneviève Gagnon’s expertise and gives a fresh footing in the province to Sexton, whose national profile in turn will boost Évolution’s business.

On the other side of the coin, Peavey Industries announced in June that it would end its relationship with Ace Hardware International by the end of the calendar year. It had acquired the licence for the banner in Canada in 2019. It was previously held by Lowe’s Canada.

Peavey CEO Doug Anderson told Hardlines at the time that the move would allow the company to focus on its core business, namely its network of corporate stores.

The announcement left dealers anticipating that they would be serviced by Ace International, but the latter was slow to comment on the development. Only in late October did it break its silence, and the news was not good: Ace would not be picking up the Canadian dealers when their relationship with Peavey ended on Dec. 31.

“Despite significant efforts, we have not been able to find a suitable replacement for Peavey to provide support and products to your stores,” Ace wrote to dealers. Nor was it prepared to service them directly.

Pouring salt in the wound, it offered Ace Canada dealers a choice: pay a licensing fee to retain the name, rebrand and convert all store signage by the new year, or face serious daily fines for using the Ace name.

Meanwhile, RONA undertook a less tempestuous rebranding venture of its own, consolidating more stores under the RONA+ banner. The Quebec-based retailer, which was marking its 85th anniversary in 2024, announced in March the “sunset” of the Lowe’s brand in Canada, at the same time it said it would convert two more Réno-Dépôt stores to RONA+.

By the end of the year, Réno-Dépôt’s demise had also been announced: in October, RONA stated that the last of those stores would become RONA+ locations. Likewise, in December RONA said it would convert its 15 RONA L’Entrepôt stores to the new banner. Stores operating in English Canada under the RONA Home & Garden brand similarly made the move.

South of the border, True Value announced in the fall that it was seeking a buyer. In an Oct. 1 letter to vendors, CEO Chris Kempa wrote: “We have active, competitive offers for our business, and we are working tirelessly to finalize a purchase agreement.”

Two weeks later, the company issued a press release stating that it had initiated voluntary proceedings in a U.S. bankruptcy court while entering an agreement for acquisition by Indiana-based Do it Best Corp. At the end of the month, True Value reached a deal with lenders to allow the transaction to proceed. It closed in November.

Finally, on the manufacturing side, Saint-Gobain announced in April that, through building materials subsidiary CertainTeed Canada, it would acquire The Bailey Group of Companies.The family-owned Bailey consisted of Bailey-Hunt Ltd. and its subsidiaries, including Bailey Metal Products.

(Hardlines will continue to keep you on top of the industry’s news in 2025, here in the pages of Hardlines Weekly Report as well as our companion newsletters, podcasts, and magazines. Watch this space!)

Canac has unveiled plans for its 36th and largest-ever store, and its first in Laval, Quebec’s third-largest city, on the north shore of Montreal. The family-owned business held an event at Laval’s Grand Times Hotel last month to announce the project. The store is scheduled to open in January 2026.

The store will occupy a 45,000-square-foot property—a 30,000-square-foot sales area, a 12-000-square-foot garden centre, a 41,500-square-foot covered warehouse, an outdoor lumber yard of more than 83,000 square feet, and 250 parking spaces.

Marketing director Patrick Delisle said that Canac has poured “a lot of love and energy” into creating a store environment that appeals to customers. Its focus is on high-quality, Quebec-made products, rather than on providing an exhaustive selection.

The Laval store will fill a gap in the local retail landscape: Mayor Stéphane Boyer, who was in attendance, mentioned that when remodeling his home recently, he had to drive up to half an hour to buy supplies.

With the new opening, Canac, which already has locations on Montreal’s south shore, will begin to encircle the Island of Montreal itself. CEO Martin Gamache explained to Hardlines that an entry into the island itself, with its higher density, would require the company to adapt its traditional large-surface format.

“The Island of Montreal is more complex for us because we have to develop an urban store concept. Our current urban store concept is not ready for Montreal. Maybe, eventually—perhaps something on two levels—but we’re not there yet.”

The retailer also eschews sales and promotions in favour of an everyday-low-price model. While other retailers go all in on events like Vendredi fou (Black Friday, literally “Crazy Friday”), Delisle boasted that “our prices are ridiculous every day, on everything!”

Charles Laberge, senior development and construction manager, confirmed that the company is continuing its strategy of erecting two new stores per year. The site of the 37th Canac store has not yet been announced.

The year 2024 is one many retailers will be glad to have behind them. The year was slow for the industry overall, continuing a trend that emerged in 2023, when consolidated sales at retail fell almost 4.0 percent (source: the Hardlines Retail Report), weighing in at $58.6 billion.

Efforts to rebound post-Covid dragged for two years in a row, with the industry remaining sluggish throughout 2024. The publicly traded majors (The Home Depot and Lowe’s in the U.S., Canadian Tire in Canada) all announced their results throughout the year as being consistently flat or once again down by as much as 4.0 percent.

Their numbers reflected the continued economic downturn as consumers slogged through the post-pandemic malaise of higher interest rates, consequently slowed housing markets, and inflation. Those trends persisted through 2024, sharply curtailing consumer spending—all factors that had a direct impact on sales for independents.

Regionally, there are several strong areas in Canada showing growth, including Western Canada, especially Alberta, and in Atlantic Canada. But Ontario, which contains almost 40 percent of Canada’s GDP, is a major exception to that trend. That province, which accounts for fully one-third of retail home improvement sales in Canada, is slower, and it’s suppressing statistical growth for the entire country. Quebec, as well, remains soft.

As a result, the forecast remains sluggish for the sales performance of the Canadian retail home improvement industry in 2024. There will be a slight increase expected in 2025, as housing starts gradually pick up and interest rates keep dropping, though at a slower rate than previously anticipated.

(We will begin surveying and researching for the next Hardlines Retail Report early in 2025, for release in the summer. Meanwhile, access industry data that ranks the retail banners and groups by sales, store counts, and more when you order the 2024 Hardlines Retail Report!)

PEOPLE ON THE MOVE

Orgill has announced the appointment of Clay Jackson as EVP and COO, effective Jan. 20. He joins Orgill after over two decades at Tractor Supply Co., reporting to CEO and president Boyden Moore.

At Ace Hardware Corp., Dale Fennel has been appointed president of Ace International (AIH). Fennel will report to John Surane, Ace Hardware’s EVP and chief growth officer. He previously served as corporate VP of merchandising operations. According to Ace, Fennel will “oversee the development and execution of international strategies to help existing Ace International retailers reach their full potential, expand into new and emerging markets, and provide ongoing retail support aimed at increasing sales and market share.”

DID YOU KNOW…?

…that the latest edition of Hardlines HR Advisor is now available? This issue looks at TIMBER MART’s commitment to hiring from within, IKEA’s investment in employee care, and how Home Hardware told its story to support recruitment. HR Advisor is monthly and it’s free: click here to sign up today!

RETAILER NEWS

RONA inc. and its owner, private equity firm Sycamore Partners, have announced their acquisition of All-Fab Group, a Manitoba-based manufacturer of building components. All-Fab provides the light construction industry with engineered structural building components, building material supply packages, and construction projects for custom buildings. It operates 18 business units from the Pacific Coast to the U.S. Midwest. Terms of the transaction were not disclosed.

Geneviève Gagnon, the head of the Gagnon Group and Évolution Structures, has acquired Matériaux de Construction Létourneau (MCL), a family business with two locations in Quebec, in Sherbrooke and Waterville. The stores, which have been in business for 50 years, operate under the MCL banner. They serve pros and builders in Quebec’s Estrie region, and represent some 750,000 square feet of retail and warehouse space, with a fleet of more than 20 trucks. The business had been owned by brothers Jocelyn and Gaétan Létourneau.

Home Hardware isn’t playing games with its new 60th anniversary edition of Monopoly. The bilingual board features place names that reflect the history of the company, including Hachborn Street, Sittler Way, and St. Jacobs Distribution Centre. Chance and Community Chest cards refer to familiar industry conundrums such as “A mild winter led to excess shovel inventory. Pay $100” and “You were caught shopping at a competitor’s store. Go to Jail.” The currency features founder Walter Hachborn’s image while the board pieces include Hachborn’s trademark bow tie.

Party City Holdco, a U.S.-based company entirely separate from the Canadian Tire Corp.-owned Party City Canada, has filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy south of the border. Its approximately 800 U.S. stores will remain open, but the company has said they will commence going-out-of-business sales. This is the second Chapter 11 filing for Party City Holdco. Its last one, in early 2023, wiped out US$1 billion of its US$1.7 billion debt. This time, it has a reported debt of US$800 million. A Canadian Tire spokesperson told CBC News that Canadian operations would continue.

A new Princess Auto store is set to open in the southern Ontario city of Burlington in summer 2025. It will be the chain’s 21st store in Ontario. Based in Winnipeg, Princess Auto has over 50 stores across the country.

RONA affiliate dealer Adam Barrett, owner of Terraine Capital, has opened a new store in Moncton. It’s the fifth location opened this year by Terraine, which continues to pursue growth in Atlantic Canada. The store spans 50,000 square feet with a drive-through lumberyard along the Trans-Canada Highway.

Canadian Tire Corp. has completed a strategic review of its Financial Services division. The giant retail company has decided not to sell off its banking business, choosing instead to use it to help drive Canadian Tire credit card purchases that tie in with the CTC’s Triangle Rewards loyalty program. That includes broadening Triangle to brands outside Canadian Tire.

SUPPLIER NEWS

Toronto-based Courage Inc., a boutique ad agency, has been named agency of record for RONA inc.’s English Canada marketing communications, according to Little Black Book online, an ad industry news service. Since its recent founding in 2022, Courage Inc. has worked with, among others, CIBC, KFC Canada, Taco Bell Canada, Nestlé, Skip the Dishes, and the North York General Hospital.

The annualized rate of housing starts rose by 8.0 percent to 262,443 units in November. Urban starts were 9.0 percent above October’s rate, at 245,083 units. Actual starts in urban areas came to 210,912 units year-to-date. (CMHC)

Sales of existing homes rose by 2.8 percent (seasonally adjusted) in November. On an unadjusted basis, monthly activity was 26.0 percent above November 2023. The number of new listings edged down by 0.5 percent month-over-month. (Canadian Real Estate Assoc.)

Investment in building construction fell by 1.1 percent, or $243.3 million, to $21.4 billion in October, after a 2.6 percent increase in September. Year over year, construction spending grew by 3.4 percent in October. Investment in the residential sector declined by 2.1 percent to $14.9 billion, but single-family spending was up 1.6 percent to $7.1 billion. (StatCan)

Housing starts in the U.S. declined by 1.8 percent to 1.289 million units in November. Building permits for the month rose by 6.1 percent. In the single-family residential sector, starts were up 6.4 percent to 1.01 million, while permits edged up 0.1 percent to 972,000. (U.S. Census Bureau)

Canadians are making paying down debt their top financial priority in 2025, according to CIBC’s annual Financial Priorities poll. Seventeen percent of Canadians said paying down or eliminating debt, is their top goal, while 16 percent said they want to keep up with bill payments. A further 66 percent said inflation and rising household costs are their top financial concern. Additionally, 28 percent said they are worried about high interest rates and 65 percent are concerned about a recession. Just 59 percent said they are prepared for an unexpected financial event or hardship.

President-elect Donald Trump’s threatened 25 percent tariff on Canadian and Mexican goods entering the U.S. is causing concern throughout the industry.

Economists warn that the measures could trigger a recession and drive up prices on both sides of the border.

“As an exporting nation, with over 75 percent of our exports destined for the U.S., new tariffs could hit the Canadian economy hard, impacting jobs, household incomes, and thereby reducing affordability for retail goods,” said Diane Brisebois, president and CEO of the Retail Council of Canada.

She added the tariffs could spark retaliatory measures, triggering a trade war between Canada and the U.S.—something that should be avoided “at almost any cost.”

This is a concern shared by Sam Moncada, CEO of the Canadian Home Products Trade Association (CHPTA). The threatened tariffs are triggering concern among manufacturers and brand owners. Moncada said the tariffs would be detrimental to both Canadian and American interests, leading to increased prices and potential retaliation.

“The organization is forming an advisory committee to communicate with Canadian ministers, particularly [federal finance] minister Freeland, to highlight the industry concerns,” he said. He added that the CHPTA is advising its members to avoid speculation at this time.

Moncada noted that 60 to 70 percent of the organization’s members would be impacted by the tariffs. “Trump could be using this as a negotiating strategy,” he said, adding that the impact of tariffs would require business adjustments from all his members.

For businesses, the fear of retaliatory Canadian tariffs in an industry that relies heavily on material imports from the U.S. is worrying.

“We’re concerned, though there’s no clarity on what it’s going to mean,” said Michelle Chouinard-Kenney, president and CEO of Aurora, Ont.-based Gibson Building Supplies, a dealer with eight outlets.

If this country responded by retaliating with tariffs on U.S. products entering Canada, she said, the fastener industry would take a hit, too. “A significant amount of our fasteners come from the U.S.”

With the year-end deadline looming for Ace dealers in Canada to exit their banner—or pay licence fees to keep it, without supply from Ace in the U.S—competing banners and wholesalers have been eager to try to sign the approximately 80 Ace dealers north of the border.

The year-end scramble comes following the announcement last summer by Peavey Industries that it would end its licence agreement with Ace Hardware Corp. in the U.S., effective Dec. 31.

Peavey had been managing the banner and supplying product to Ace-bannered stores in Canada since 2020. Those dealers had expected Ace International to continue supporting them in 2025 and beyond. But Ace stayed silent, waiting until the middle of October to send a letter to the dealers informing them that they would receive no supply after the end of this year.

The Ace dealers in Canada have obviously been looking for options. One of them is Orgill, the hardware wholesaler based in Collierville, Tenn., which has been making gains with some Ace dealers up here. (Read more on this in the latest edition of our sister publication, Hardlines Dealer News. Click here to subscribe at no charge!—Editor)

Hardlines has since learned that any Canadian dealers flying the Ace banner after the Dec. 31 deadline will be fined $5,000 each day the brand is used without licence. Ace Hardware Corp. in the U.S. would not confirm whether the fine would be charged in USD or Canadian dollars.

That latest indignity has further opened doors for other retail groups. RONA inc. recently announced it has welcomed a former Ace store in Lumby, B.C., to its network of affiliated dealers. Alex Day is co-owner of the business along with partner Wade Tearne. The store will be expanded to add 3,000 square feet to its interior and exterior retail space, allowing it to showcase RONA’s ECO line of green products and accommodate up to 750 new SKUS in key areas including building supplies, appliances, kitchen cabinets, flooring, and irrigation.

“Wade and Alex are familiar faces at RONA,” said Alain Ménard, SVP of RONA affiliated dealers, “as they used to operate their store–rather remarkably–under the Ace Canada banner, which used to be part of RONA’s banner portfolio.”

Last week, BMR Group revealed it has partnered with the Eidt family in Ontario, owners of three Ace Hardware locations in Mitchell, Exeter, and Arthur (shown here). The signing, effective Jan. 22, is expected to increase sales and logistics efforts for other BMR dealers in the region.

“As we leave Ace, we are thrilled to join the BMR family and see our family business grow with a major partner that shares the same human values and vision for growth in the Ontario market,” said store owners Doug Eidt and Barry Eidt. (Barry distinguished himself in 2023 as our Outstanding Retailer of the Year recipient of the Young Retailer of the Year Award. —your detail-oriented Editor).

“We are very proud to welcome the Eidt family and their business and expand our dealer network in Ontario,” added Simon Gouin, vice president of business development at BMR Group. “This will help us better meet the needs of our customers in this region and promote our growing brand.”

The effective implementation of AI to bolster sales and improve customer experience has been the biggest challenge for many retailers. Adam Powell, chief digital officer at RONA inc. (pictured) believes this relationship can be improved starting at the search function of the company’s website.

Recently the company implemented a new AI search feature which improves search functionality and provides more precise search results. RONA partnered with Constructor, a product search and discovery platform, which has worked with other larger retailers including Sephora, Petco, and Target Australia. By adopting this technology into its search functionality, RONA was able to integrate advanced AI capabilities and agility to adapt its product catalogue.

“Fifty percent of customers will abandon a site if they deem the search results unsatisfactory,” Powell said, adding that customers now expect AI will be used to provide them with the right product information. Results have to be more relevant and personalized to the customer’s needs. “As a result, the search functionality has to evolve to meet the demands of current customers,” he added.

The new RONA website moves away from traditional search and keyword functionality. The data collected helps make recommendations and learns from customer inputs to provide a more precise product result. Powell said the results are therefore more relevant and “not based on our opinion.” The technology learns from past results and puts the recommendations into the hands of the consumer, reflecting trends and changes in buying patterns.

Investment money is pouring into pro businesses. Just look at the industry’s biggest retailer, Home Depot, which has made two massive bets on pros recently.

Since January 2020, the giant retailer has opened 17 Flatbed Distribution Centres (FDC) across North America. And the first Canadian FDC was fully operational, near Toronto Pearson Airport, this past summer. These are massive facilities. The Toronto one (shown here) measures 600,000 square feet. The purpose of the Home Depot FDC is to ship contractors’ jobsites directly. The Atlanta-based retailer has said it will build 40 FDCs in North America.

That’s just for starters.

The other huge bet that Home Depot has placed on pros takes the form of its acquisition of SRS Distribution, of McKinney, Tex., in a deal announced earlier this year. The purchase price was US$18.25 billion—the largest acquisition, by far, in Home Depot’s history. SRS is the fastest-growing building products wholesaler in the U.S., with 2023 sales of US$9.6 billion from 750 locations across 45 U.S. states.

The contractor business is also attracting the attention of private equity (PE) investors. The lead story in The Wall Street Journal on Oct. 14 was titled “Private Equity Pours Millions Into HVAC, Plumbing Trades.”

“You don’t need to go to Silicon Valley to have a successful career and opportunities,” said Brian Rassel, a partner at Detroit-based Huron Capital. The WSJ article was filled with tales of contracting firms being bought out by PE firms throughout North America.

Then, on Oct. 17, PPG sold its architectural coatings business in Canada and the U.S. to a PE firm, American Industrial Partners, headquartered in New York City, for US$550 million. That division of PPG had revenues of US$2 billion in 2023, just over 10 percent of PPG’s total worldwide sales.

(Hardlines has responded to these significant marketplace changes with the launch of PRO Dealer magazine last fall. This new magazine has a circulation approaching 7,000. It’s free to pro yards and any dealer selling to contractors. It’s chock-full of information about the world of pro sales. To sign up today, simply click here!)

PEOPLE ON THE MOVE

Right here at Hardlines, we are very proud to announce a host of new appointments and promotions to support the company’s recent growth. Michelle Porter has been promoted to the role of Senior Manager of Marketing and Events. Porter started with Hardlines in 2017 as our office manager. She then moved to marketing and events manager in 2020, until her latest promotion to the senior role. She reports to Michael McLarney, President.

Jillian MacLeod has been promoted from an administration role to the position of Client Services Manager. She is in charge of classified ads and subscriptions to our family of information products, as well as production of our Hardlines Podcasts. MacLeod reports to Michelle Porter.

Shannon MacLeod has joined Hardlines in a newly created role of Account Manager. She is providing counsel to clients on advertising sales and sponsorships. She reports directly to David Chestnut, Vice-President and Publisher at Hardlines Inc.

A number of changes have occurred within the Hardlines editorial team, as well. Steve Payne has been promoted to Editor-in-Chief. He will also edit Hardlines’ new Pro Dealer magazine. A seasoned business journalist and editor, he joined Hardlines Inc. as editor in 2022, after 25 years as editor and publisher of two trade magazines, Hardware Merchandising and Canadian Contractor. He reports to David Chestnut.

New to the Hardlines Team, Rebecca Dumais has joined as Editor. She comes to us from West of the City and Niagara Life magazines, lifestyle publications under the Metroland umbrella. She will oversee our print publication, Hardlines Home Improvement Quarterly, as well as our monthly online newsletters, Hardlines Dealer News and Hardlines HR Advisor. She reports to Steve Payne.

Sarah McGoldrick has joined in the newly created role of Digital Editor. She has a strong background as a journalist and editor, and will manage our digital presence and social media accounts. Sarah is also a retailer in her own right as proprietor of The Clifford Country Store, providing a bricks-and-mortar venue to showcase the wares of local artisans; and she is the founder of the Life Outdoors Show in Clifford, Ont. She reports to Steve Payne.

Finally, Geoff McLarney, our Quebec editor, has been named Features Editor in addition to his existing duties. McLarney literally grew up with the business, and formally joined the Hardlines team in 2011. His latest promotion reflects his expanded editorial role within our family of publications. Based in Montreal, he reports to Steve Payne.

DID YOU KNOW…?

…that the latest instalment of our podcast series What’s In Store has gone live? In this episode, you’ll hear a selection of conversations held at the 28th Hardlines Conference. We talk to Young Retailer of the Year Phylip Savard-Tremblay, alias Phyl Liquide; AQMAT president and Well Made Here founder Richard Darveau, who discusses the importance of buying Canadian; and Jason Tasse, the insightful president of Lee Valley Tools. Sign up now to get updates about the latest free podcasts in your inbox!

RETAILER NEWS

RONA inc. has announced it will convert 15 of its big box stores in the province of Quebec to the RONA+ banner by May 2025.

The Cape Breton community of Port Hawkesbury, N.S., is getting a Home Hardware Building Centre, SaltWire reports. The MacDonald family, dealer-owners of HHBC locations in Port Hood and Whycocomagh, is opening a third next spring. Port Hawkesbury has been without a Home Hardware since the closure of a previous store in 2014.

Gypsum Management & Supply has announced financial results for the second quarter of its fiscal 2025. Net sales rose by 3.5 percent to US$1.5 billion, buoyed by recent acquisitions. Earnings fell by 33.9 percent to $53.5 million, from $81.0 million in the comparable period of 2024.

Lee Valley Tools set up four pop-up stores across Ontario for the holiday shopping season. The locations in St. Laurent Shopping Centre in Ottawa, Devonshire Mall in Windsor, and Toronto’s Centerpoint Mall and Scarborough Town Centre are “designed to bring a curated selection of our products closer to local communities,” offering a hybrid shopping experience with the most popular and distinctive Lee Valley Tool items. The pop-ups will operate until Dec. 26.

Home Hardware Stores Ltd. has concluded its 2024 PRO Road Shows, held in Ontario (Chatham and Barrie), Quebec (Drummondville), Nova Scotia (Dartmouth), and Alberta (Edmonton). The four-hour events combined brought together over 3,000 contractors. They included networking opportunities and challenges for pros in attendance.

Dollarama says its Q3 earnings came to $275.8 million, up from $261.1 million a year earlier. Sales rose by 5.7 percent to $1.56 billion, with comp sales up 3.3 percent. At the same time, the discount retailer announced it will acquire a property in the Calgary area that will serve as a new logistics hub for western Canada.

The Home Depot has teamed up with FIFA ahead of the 2026 World Cup as the soccer association’s official home improvement retail supporter in North America (Canada, Mexico, and the U.S.). The partnership will include on-site “Built by The Home Depot” experiences at FIFA stadiums.

Loblaw Cos. has made its first foray into the U.S. with the opening of a T&T Supermarkets store in Bellevue, Wash. T&T is the grocery giant’s Asian grocery chain. The 76,000-square-foot location is in a former Walmart in the Seattle area. Loblaw has 36 T&T stores in Canada.

Castle Building Centres Group raised $5,250 for Ronald McDonald House Charities Alberta at its Western Buying Expo back in June.

Influencers and media were invited to a breakfast meeting at the Etobicoke IKEA store in Toronto’s west end last month. There, company representatives, led by IKEA Canada CEO and chief sustainability officer Selwyn Crittendon, presented its annual Sustainability Report, which promotes the retailer’s values of togetherness, cost consciousness, caring for people, and leading by example.

The Lawrie Group recently added Mary Lake Home Hardware Building Centre to its umbrella of companies. The store is expected to open again in early January. Rob and Joanne Lawrie, owners of The Lawrie Group of Cos., are based in Annapolis Royal, N.S., and own seven other Home Hardware stores, all located across southwestern Nova Scotia.

Canadian Tire Corp. has signed on as a founding partner of the Northern Super League ahead of its inaugural season of women’s pro soccer in April 2025. The partnership includes the Home Field Advantage program, which will support players as they put down roots in new homes and communities across Canada.

SUPPLIER NEWS

Orgill continues its development of its new Concept Centre. The state-of-the-art 50-acre campus is located adjacent to the company’s corporate offices in Collierville, Tenn. Sectioned into areas including retail services, offices, meeting spaces, Tech Team, and Cyber room (online security), meeting rooms, and line rooms to house vendor sets, the facility will be used to support businesses with forward-thinking ideas. (The latest update is posted on Orgill’s YouTube channel.)

B.C.-based Cloverdale Group, owner of Rodda Paint south of the border, has announced Rodda’s acquisition of Miller Paint. A deal was reached on Dec. 2 to integrate Miller and its employees into Rodda. The total price for the acquisition has not been made public. The merger will double Rodda’s and Miller’s combined footprint in the Pacific Northwest.

Decking and railing manufacturer Trex is teaming up with Alexandria Moulding to expand its Canadian distribution network. The companies say the partnership will bring Trex’s products to a wider audience of Canadian retailers, homeowners, and contractors.

Metrie, the Vancouver-based moulding and millwork producer, has acquired eden Inc., a pre-finished millwork producer based in Knox, Penn. Eden’s products include mouldings, pre-hung doors, and specialty items. Dan Hurrelbrink, eden’s vice-president and COO, will join Metrie’s manufacturing leadership team. This is Metrie’s seventh acquisition in five years, adding to the company’s integrated millwork portfolio and “offering a wider range of pre-finished moulding and door products that can meet the needs of current and future customers,” according to a release.

Investment in U.S. construction rose by 0.4 percent in October. Residential construction spending spiked by 1.5 percent, including a 0.8 percent increase in the single-family sector. On a year-over-year basis, total investment was up 5.0 percent in October. (U.S. Commerce Dept.)

More than half of all Canadians find buying gifts a stressful blow to the pocketbook. According to the 2024 Holiday Survey released by Spring Financial, an online lending company in Canada, spending anxiety runs high among 56 percent of Canadians. Hardest hit are Gen Z (66 percent) and millennials (64 percent). They find the financial strain of buying gifts as the most stressful part of the holiday season. Meanwhile, 38 percent of Canadians are feeling more financial stress about buying gifts this year than last year, up from just 13 percent in 2023!

The Canadian Home Products Trade Association and the Canadian Office Products Association held their 2024 joint conference last week at the Richmond Hill Country Club, just north of Toronto.

The event culminated in a celebratory lunch and the induction of two new members of the Canadian Hardware & Housewares Industry Hall of Fame. They are Hardlines’ own founder and president Michael McLarney and industry veteran Bill Morrison, past president of TruServ Canada and Ace Canada.

In accepting the honour, Morrison urged “everyone in this room” to reflect on the significance of the industry they represent. “We’re unique in that we impact the most important thing in Canadians’ lives: their homes.” He noted that the audience included people “who compete not only with each other but also with every choice Canadians have for spending, so we work hard.”

McLarney recalled the origin story of Hardlines, which began when he traded the high-rise digs of Hardware Merchandising magazine for a home office in his family’s midtown Toronto basement, which he soon dubbed the “World Headquarters” of Hardlines.

While he had arrived at Hardware Merchandising with a background in trade publications, he knew little about the home improvement industry specifically. But as he told the gathering in Richmond Hill, he learned early on that “all the business strategies and all the business plans don’t matter if you don’t get that it’s about telling the stories of the people in this industry.”

In a post-conference interview, McLarney named several mentors and supporters whom he identified as key to the growth of Hardlines. They include Walter J. Hachborn, Barrie Sali, Bernie Owens, Leon Lapidus, Steve Buckle, Bill Wilson and fellow inductee Bill Morrison.

The Hall of Fame celebration capped off a program of speakers invited by the CHPTA and COPA to share their insights on consumer behaviour. Throughout the morning, members and guests of the two organizations heard presentations from TD economist Rishi Sondhi, market researcher Brian Lamar of OpenBrand, and Michael Scida, VP of business development at Environics Canada.

Groupe Patrick Morin, the Quebec building centre chain, has acquired four building centres from P. Bonhomme Enterprises.

Bonhomme has three Ontario locations (in Rockland, Carleton Place, and Limoges) operating under the Bytown PRO banner, while the fourth store, in the Hull district of Gatineau, Que., is known as Bonhomme PRO. The move marks Patrick Morin’s entry into the National Capital Region, and its first stores outside of its home province of Quebec. The value of the purchase was not disclosed.

P. Bonhomme had been a legacy member of Independent Lumber Dealers Co-operative (I.L.D.C.). Founded in 1898, the business once consisted of 10 stores. In recent years, it reduced its store count, rebranded, and sharpened its focus on contractors.

“After months of discussions, we are extremely pleased that Mr. Paul Bonhomme has chosen Patrick Morin to take over this company that has been deeply rooted in the Ottawa-Gatineau landscape for over 125 years,” said Louis Turcotte, president of Groupe Patrick Morin. “We are well aware of the strength of the Bytown PRO and Bonhomme PRO brands, which are highly regarded by the region’s professional clientele, and that’s why we intend to maintain the presence of these well-known and appreciated banners in the local market.”

Turcotte, through his company Groupe Turcotte, which operates stores under the Home Hardware banner, bought up the Patrick Morin chain in 2021. At the time, Home Hardware Stores Ltd. was involved in the acquisition, representing an unknown investment in the Patrick Morin deal. The addition of the Bonhomme stores brings Patrick Morin to 26 locations.

Turcotte intends to retain all the Bonhomme and Bytown stores and make new investments at certain stores, with the aim of expanding the services. P. Bonhomme president Paul Bonhomme (pictured centre, flanked by Patrick Morin VP and operations manager Daniel Lampron, left, and president Louis Turcotte) will continue on with the business, along with his current leadership team, to ease the transition.

“To us, it was important to find an acquirer who shares the same values of proximity and excellence in customer service, and who is committed to offering our loyal customers top-quality materials and products at the best prices,” said Paul Bonhomme.

TIMBER MART has appointed Kurt Norlen to the national buying group’s top lumber procurement job. Norlen has been named director of forest products trading. He was formerly national procurement manager. In his new role, Norlen will be responsible for the management of the lumber trading arm of the group.

He’s also filling a void that will be left by the departure next year of the group’s vice-president of distribution and trading, John Morrissey. In the interim, Norlen will work closely with Morrissey to ensure a smooth transition and continue to work with the procurement team until the transition is complete. Norlen will work along with Jeff Campbell, who was appointed vice-president of distribution for TIMBER MART back in July, when Morrissey first announced his pending departure.

Norlen has over 30 years of experience in management and building material sales. He has worked on both the dealer and supplier sides of the business, including stints at Nelson Lumber, Moulding and Millwork (now Metrie), and Gunther’s Building Centre.

In 2013, he joined TIMBER MART and since then has held a variety of roles within the company, including building materials manager for Western Canada, hardware procurement manager, and building materials trader for Ontario and Western Canada.

In his new role, he will report directly to TIMBER MART’s president and CEO, Bernie Owens, and continue to be based out of TIMBER MART’s office in Calgary.

“In the 12 years Kurt has been with us, he has held various purchasing roles where he’s developed valuable vendor relationships and competitive buying programs for our members,” says Owens. “I’m confident that with Kurt’s knowledge of our members’ procurement needs, leadership ability, and progressive experience within the industry, he will lead our trading team to accomplish great feats in the name of our members’ business success.”

RONA inc. held a grand opening celebration last week, but not for a new store. It was for the launch of one department in an existing RONA+ location. The corporate store played host to company execs and local dignitaries to inaugurate a new line of workwear.

In a new partnership with RONA, Tilley Endurables Inc. has launched a new line of heavy-duty workwear, Tilley Tuff Workwear. The line is available on an exclusive basis at 100 RONA and RONA+ stores across Canada and includes technical work pants, work shirts, outerwear, and versions of the trademark Tilley hat. It’s the brainchild of retail guru Joe Mimran, whose legacy includes Club Monaco and Loblaw’s apparel banner, Joe Fresh. He’s also the chairman of Tilley Endurables.

The Tilley partnership “allows RONA to provide our pro clientele and DIY customers with great innovation, quality, and value in workwear from a trusted Canadian brand,” Doug Young, RONA’s chief merchandising officer, said in a release.

“We launched the RONA+ brand over a year ago with the objective of offering a differentiated experience for our pro and DIY customers. Our enhanced brand experiences and expanded ‘shop in shops’ are among the plusses available at this new banner,” he added.

The store-within-a-store concept has been appearing in other stores as they’ve rebranded with the RONA+ signage. They include the RONA+ Waterdown store in the Dundas district of Hamilton, Ont., which include stores-within-the-store for DeWalt that targets contractors and the Bouclair furniture brand. Eleven RONA+ stores in Ontario have adopted the store-within-a-store model, tying in with the banner’s one-year anniversary.

The conversion of this store is another step towards RONA’s goal of standardizing its big box stores under one cohesive banner.

“As for what the future holds,” Young continued, “we have more exciting experiences to come and are always looking for opportunities to better serve our pros and [DIY] Canadians and meet their needs.”

PEOPLE ON THE MOVE

TIMBER MART has appointed Carolanne Olivier to the position of national advertising manager, effective immediately. Formerly bilingual account manager at TIMBER MART’s advertising agency, Sims Advertising, she replaces existing account manager Geoff Fleming, who is retiring by the end of the year after two decades at the national buying group. Olivier has been on the TIMBER MART account at Sims Advertising for the last seven years and has formed solid relationships with many TIMBER MART members and vendors, while helping to enhance a number of the group’s marketing programs. In her new role, Olivier will be responsible for TIMBER MART’s corporate advertising and marketing programs at the dealer level. She reports directly to Jon Irwin, the company’s vice-president of member services.

DID YOU KNOW…?

… that the latest edition of Hardlines HR Advisor is now out? This issue looks at IKEA’s success in reducing staff turnover both in Canada and worldwide, insights shared at the latest Hardlines Conference by leadership expert Pierre Battah, and tips from Lee Valley Tools president and COO Jason Tasse. HR Advisor is monthly and it’s free: click here to sign up today!

RETAILER NEWS

Castle Building Centres Group has signed a new member, Competitive Building Supply Inc., in Brockville, Ont. The founder of this “venture into retail home improvement” is Cody Watkins, who for over a decade has run a contracting firm called Competitive Renovations Inc.

Canadian Tire Corp. has announced it will sell a 90-acre industrial property in Brampton, Ont., for $258 million. The transaction follows a North America-wide competitive bid process initiated in the first quarter of 2024. The company says it no longer needs the site, which includes 1.5 million square feet of industrial real estate, as a distribution centre.

The Maada’oozhgamig Castle Building Centre located in Nipigon, Ont., recently celebrated one year of operation. General manager Marlo Beaucage and yard supervisor Ian Brennen recognized their commitment to the Red Rock Indian Band community by presenting the chief and council of the First Nation with a cheque in the amount of $58,443.

Lowe’s Cos. reported its third-quarter sales of US$20.2 billion, compared with US$20.5 billion in the 2023 quarter. Comp store sales were off 1.1 percent, “driven by continued softness in DIY bigger-ticket discretionary demand, which was partly offset by storm-related sales and positive comp sales in pro and online,” the company said in a release. The company got a boost from “a $54 million pre-tax gain associated with the 2022 sale of the Canadian retail business” (RONA, Réno-Dépôt, and Dick’s Lumber).

SUPPLIER NEWS

Registration is open for the Western Retail Lumber Association’s 2025 Building and Hardware Showcase. Experience new product launches, the latest tech, trends and topics hitting the LBM industry, and connect with some of the best pros in the field. Join the WRLA at the Edmonton Expo Centre on Jan. 23 and 24 for hundreds of networking and business opportunities. Click here to register!

The annualized rate of housing starts rose by 8.0 percent in October to 240,761 units, from 223,391 units in September. In urban areas, there have been 188,567 actual housing starts year-to-date in 2024. This compares to 187,722 for the same period in 2023, meaning actual year-to-date housing starts are statistically unchanged so far this year. (CMHC)

Sales of existing homes surged by 7.7 percent, month over month, in October. Actual monthly activity (not seasonally adjusted) stood 30.0 percent above the previous October. New listings posted a 3.5 percent month-over-month decline in October, although that followed on the heels of a 4.8 percent jump in September, so new supply remains at some of the highest levels since mid-2022. (Canadian Real Estate Assoc.)

At the recent Hardlines Conference, held in the Charlevoix region of Quebec, Hardlines president Michael McLarney spoke with AQMAT president and Well Made Here founder Richard Darveau about the importance of buying Canadian. Darveau highlighted the contributions buying Canadian makes to the overall success of the economy. Check out the interview here!

BMR Group is continuing its focus on expansion in Central and Eastern Canada, while also pushing an emphasis on private label products, its CEO told Hardlines at the group’s annual buying show this month.

“From Ontario east, we want to be everywhere,” Alexandre Lefebvre said at the event, held just days after BMR signed a dealer in the Halifax area. “There will be more to come in the next few weeks.”

Moreover, he boasted, “once again we have not lost a single dealer” during the year.

Lefebvre explained that BMR had just concluded its four-year strategic planning meeting.

“We’ve identified our three different business areas: retail, pro, commercial,” he added.

“In the pro market, we’re a definite number-one and we want to consolidate that position.”

To that end, the company joined the European-based A.R.E.N.A. Alliance last year, combining strengths with international partners. (Here in Canada, Kent Building Supplies also signed on to the alliance this year.) Similarly, private-label offerings are a big part of BMR’s strategy.

“We’re launching 600 new private-label products this year and 800 more next year,” said Lefebvre.

He points to the co-operative ownership model as another aspect that sets it apart. “That’s huge–our owners are BMR dealers.”

Another distinctive asset is BMR’s Agrizone business. This banner caters to farm, rural, and pet markets with a related line of products.

“That’s something that makes us a bit unique–once you get out of those big urban areas, you need that offering. It’s part of our DNA.” Dealers typically offer Agrizone as a store-within-a-store, he explained, but a handful of standalone Agrizone retailers also exist.

For Lefebvre, the affiliation with A.R.E.N.A., the push for growth outside BMR’s home province, and its outreach to pro customers all serve to grow the company’s overall footprint in the years to come.

“We want to bring our business by 2028 from $1.5 billion to $2 billion.”

Did you know that:

• the retail home improvement industry suffered a net loss in sales for only the second time in 10 years in 2023?
• four retail groups account for almost two-thirds of all retail hardware and home improvement sales in Canada?
• one province represents one-fifth of the market in this country? (And that’s not even the largest one!)
• just two retail banners represent more than half the market in New Brunswick?
• Home Depot has twice as much market share in British Columbia as it does in Saskatchewan?

This is the kind of information you’ll find in Hardlines’ annual Retail Report and Market Share Report. Both these studies provide data on the size of the industry, how much it’s grown year over year, and which regions are gaining and which are losing ground.

Based on research and surveys conducted in the spring of 2024, it’s all exclusive to Hardlines. This information is proprietary to Hardlines and not available anywhere else.

You’ll also find detailed market share info on each of the retail home improvement banners in Canada. The Retail Report breaks out how the various banners are inter-connected (it’s crazy complicated, actually!—your deep-thinking Editor).

Get the competitive information you need to plan for 2025. Learn the strategies of the key retail players so you can sell smarter to them—or against them. Plus: a closer look at the top trends affecting dealers—and driving the industry—now and in years to come.

(The 2024 Hardlines Retail Report  and the Hardlines Market Share Report are both available. Click here for more info and order details. As a Premium Member you will save big with a bundled discount when you buy both Reports together!)

The charitable arm of The Home Depot Canada has released an update on its achievements raising money and awareness to support at-risk youth and those facing homelessness in Canada.

The Home Depot Canada Foundation announced it’s on track to raise over $11 million by the end of 2024 in support of the organization’s mandate to support youth experiencing homelessness. Doug Graham is vice-president of e-commerce and marketing at Home Depot Canada. He’s also the board chair for the foundation. “Our efforts are focused on supporting this growing yet still under funded issue that affects 35,000 to 40,000 youth in Canada annually,” he said. “We remain committed to this cause and will continue to raise awareness and educate Canadians on the issue, aiming to slow down the cycle and provide the necessary support to youth and families.”

This year, the foundation has seen momentum in fundraising results through the support of partners, internal associates, and communities. Programs like the annual spring Orange Door Project campaign, supported by store staff and customers, as well as events such as the Spring Gala and Charity Golf Classic, backed by the retailer’s vendor partners, managed to bring the organization closer to its goal of raising $125 million by 2030.

The Home Depot Canada Foundation has aligned its Team Depot volunteer program to support organizations dedicated to preventing and addressing this critical problem. Through an internal group called Team Depot, store staff participate in community projects to refresh and repair shelters, housing units, and centres for vulnerable youth. In collaboration with customers and associates, The Home Depot Canada Foundation invests over $10 million annually in 186 youth-serving charities across Canada.

Through to Dec. 22, Home Depot customers can donate to The Orange Door Project Campaign, which supports local youth-serving charities across the country. And for the first time, The Home Depot Canada Foundation will match total donations made on Giving Tuesday, Dec. 3.

As part of the campaign, the foundation has partnered for the fourth year with another national organization, Raising the Roof, to combat youth homelessness through sales of its signature toques. Funds raised will provide community grants to renovate affordable housing units for at-risk youth. Donations can be made at any Home Depot Canada store or online at OrangeDoorProject.ca.

Consumers were slow to dig into their pocketbooks in the last quarter, a trend which has affected Canadian Tire Corp.’s latest results. Consumer confidence was at “the lowest we’ve seen in a long while, said CEO Greg Hicks. “Although we’ve experienced multiple interest rate cuts this year, consumers remain understandably cautious.”

On an earnings call to analysts, Hicks noted, however, that the company was ready for the slowdown. “Our supply chain and in-stock positions are strong,” with capital investments made in automation at its Calgary and Montreal distribution centres. In addition, Canadian Tire continues to make investments in low prices and product innovation.

The company reported net income of $200.6 million in its latest quarter, reversing a loss of $27.8 million a year earlier. Revenues declined by 1.4 percent to $4.19 billion, while comp sales were 1.5 percent below the comparable period of last year.

Canadian Tire Retail’s sales were down 2.0 percent while comps were down 2.2 percent. Revenue for the namesake banner was down 1.0 percent. Essential lines and discretionary products all fell, even as CTR’s automotive business was up. That business was driven by auto maintenance, which jumped a healthy 7.0 percent, as cash-strapped Canadians spend more on servicing aging vehicles.

DID YOU KNOW…?

The Canadian Home Products Trade Association (CHPTA) will honour two new inductees to the Canadian Hardware & Housewares Industry Hall of Fame this week? Hardlines president Michael McLarney will be recognized alongside industry veteran Bill Morrison, former president of Ace Canada and TruServ Canada. Click here for more information and to register for the Gala Luncheon!

RETAILER NEWS

Home Depot reported Q3 earnings of US$3.65 billion, down from $3.81 billion a year earlier. Sales rose by 6.6 percent to $40.22 billion. Same-store sales fell by 1.3 percent, including a 1.2 percent drop in the U.S.

BMR Group held its annual buying show at Quebec City’s Centre des congrès earlier this month, attracting dealer-members from across Quebec, the Maritimes, and Ontario. This year’s product offerings included 600 new private-label products. The event concluded Nov. 8 with a gala dinner featuring veteran strongman and company spokesman Hugo Girard, who was fresh off presenting at the 28th Hardlines Conference in the Charlevoix region of Quebec.

Canac has begun its largest construction project ever, a 625,000-square-foot building at its Drummondville, Que., distribution facility. The company, which is celebrating its 150th anniversary next year, will invest more than $100 million in the project, expanding the campus’s footprint to about 1.2 million square feet.

Crown Building Supplies, which opened its third location in Burnaby, B.C., in September, has won an award from the local Surrey Board of Trade. At the association’s recent Business Excellence Awards Gala, Crown won in the category of Employer Over 41 People.

Drivers for Walmart’s Surrey, B.C., store have won interim certification from the Canada Industrial Relations Board. The move allows them to form a bargaining committee and work with representatives of Unifor, Canada’s largest private-sector union, to negotiate their first collective agreement with Walmart. The Surrey drivers follow on the success of workers at Walmart’s Mississauga, Ont., warehouse, which in September became the first of the company’s Canadian DCs to unionize.

Matériaux SMB, a member of BMR Group, has acquired Matériaux R. Mclaughlin of Huberdeau, Que. Owned by Alexandre Lapointe, Matériaux SMB operates two stores in the municipalities of La Minerve and Nominingue.

Third-quarter sales at Taiga Building Products amounted to $423.9 million, down from $456.6 million in the comparable period of last year. Sales fell by $32.7 million or 7.0 percent, a decline attributed to a reduction in commodity products sold. Net earnings decreased to $14.3 million from $21.4 million.

Doman Building Materials Group Ltd. reported Q3 revenues of $663.1 million, an increase of 3.0 percent from $643.9 million a year earlier. The gain was attributed to the company’s acquisition of two lumber pressure treating plants from Southeast Forest Products during the quarter. Net earnings for the quarter amounted to $14.6 million.

The Montreal Port Authority (MPA) is sounding the alarm on the severe economic consequences of a prolonged labour disruption at the port. The Port of Montreal has locked out 1,200 longshoremen, amplifying already strained relations between the Maritime Employers Association (MEA) and the Port of Montreal longshore workers’ union CUPE Local 375. Shipping lines are already diverting their vessels to other East Coast ports.

The total value of building permits in Canada increased by $1.3 billion or 11.5 percent to $13.0 billion in September. Gains were led by Ontario, where construction intentions grew by $1.2 billion or 25.0 percent to $5.9 billion. Construction intentions for the residential sector rose by $540.7 million (7.5 percent) to $7.7 billion, with the single-family component up by $35.1 million. (StatCan)

Top buyers representing the breadth of the industry sat down at the recent Hardlines Conference for a panel discussion exploring the trends, challenges, and opportunities home improvement retail is facing over the coming year.

Sherri Amos, Home Hardware Stores Ltd.’s dealer support director, moderated the panel. It consisted of Natacha Laurin, category director for home décor at RONA; Shawn Ettinger, TIMBER MART’s national hardware procurement manager; Alex Burcham, senior category manager at Orgill; Kelvin Johnston, Castle Building Centres Group’s senior buyer for commodity lumber and panels; and Rabia Dhanani, merchandise manager for millwork at Home Hardware.

Among the panel’s observations were the growing importance of loyalty programs and the potential for harnessing the data those programs generate. “Everybody likes getting something back,” Ettinger noted.

But the benefits go both ways: the programs, said Dhanani, allow retailers to “curate a more personalized experience and program” for customers. “With [our] program [Scene+], we’ve actually seen an increase in traffic,” she added. “It gives us a lot of insight into who [customers] are, how they shop, and it gives us the ability to get them back in there.”

The group also discussed the potential–and limitations–of owned brands. “Private-label products give us the ability to grow our profitability and reach in a market,” said Dhanani. “It also lessens the load on some of the national and regional brands we offer. It’s how we differentiate ourselves,” in terms of building materials, she added.

RONA’s Laurin agreed that customers are becoming “more trusting” of private-label brands, but maintained that “national brands are really key to our success,” as well as being key sources of innovation.

Burcham, from Orgill, agreed: “Private label is not going to be the place to take a risk on something. There are people who have done that before and been burned.”

Chicago-based True Value Co. reached an agreement with its lenders on Oct. 31 that will allow it to avert liquidation and hasten bankruptcy proceedings. True Value had declared bankruptcy on Oct. 14 and also announced that it planned a sale to its dealer-owned rival, Do it Best Corp., of Fort Wayne, Ind.

True Value’s legal representative told the courts on Oct. 31 that the company would deliver to the lenders, led by PNC Financial Services, a net pay-down of US$163 million in cash.

“Failure to achieve that net pay-down will give the lenders a right to terminate the DIB sale and commence a liquidation, subject to a liquidation budget that is acceptable to the lenders, the debtors, and the committee,” said attorney Robert D. Drain, of the New York City-based law firm that represents True Value.

He added that True Value would also pay up to US$45 million in administrative expense liabilities.

The “stalking horse bid” from Do it Best Corp., for US$153 million in cash, required approval of the courts to proceed to closing. Do it Best says that the deal, if completed, will create a combined independent dealer network of about 8,000 locations—some 4,500 independent stores from True Value and 3,350 dealer-owned stores from Do it Best.

Reports indicate that the current schedule for the sale is Nov. 22. True Value Corp. is 70 percent owned by Acon Investments, a private equity firm that took it over in 2018.

Bernie Marcus, who with Arthur Blank founded The Home Depot, has died at the age of 95. Marcus and Blank made the most of their dual firing from Handy Dan Home Improvement Centres in California in 1978 when they started the upstart big box retail concept. With others such as Ron Brill, Pat Farrah, and Ken Langone, they grew The Home Depot into the largest home improvement retailer in the world. It currently has some 2,300 stores.

Marcus was born in 1929, the son of Russian Jewish immigrants. He grew up in a tenement in Newark, N.J. He dreamed of becoming a doctor. When his family couldn’t afford medical school, he enrolled in pharmacy school and received a degree from Rutgers University. He would cut classes to sell freezers door to door.

Jim Inglis, who was executive vice-president of strategic development at The Home Depot in its formative years, wrote about Marcus in his bestselling book, Breakthrough Retailing: How a Bleeding Orange Culture Can Change Everything!

“Bernie’s management style was MBWA (Management by Wandering Around), which gave him keen insight into what was going on in the business,” Inglis wrote. “Listening was one of Bernie’s greatest talents… People felt comfortable sharing their true thoughts and feelings because he was never defensive and always appreciative.”

When it came time for a new leader at Home Depot Canada in 1996, after a slow start, Marcus took a chance on a young woman from Cape Breton who had brought Michael’s, the arts and crafts chain, to Canada. He remained a strong supporter of Annette Verschuren during her 15 years as president of the Canadian division. Verschuren, with Marcus’s steadfast support, grew The Home Depot Canada from 19 stores to 179 as annual revenues went from $600 million to $6 billion.

Marcus was a major philanthropist. With his wife Billi, he funded the Georgia Aquarium and established The Marcus Institute, which today is the Marcus Autism Center, a not-for-profit subsidiary of Children’s Healthcare of Atlanta that treats more than 5,500 children with autism and related disorders each year.

Marcus’s net worth was about US$11 billion, according to estimates by Forbes.

View The Home Depot’s tribute video to Bernie Marcus here.

Explaining the factors affecting the economy—and your business—is something Peter Norman does with great ease. As vice-president and chief economist at the economic consulting firm Altus Group, Norman is a regular fixture at the annual Hardlines Conference. His presentation at the latest conference, held Oct. 22 and 23 in Quebec’s scenic Charlevoix region, once again provided insight and clarity for Hardlines delegates.

Norman presented a half dozen factors that are affecting Canada’s economy. Demographics was at the top of the list. Immigration over the past five years has netted 1.2 million new Canadians. They impact the economy by adding to the temporary work force, filling the ranks of foreign students, and driving demand for housing. Expect all three to be severely reduced by new government regulations. Norman warned to expect “dramatically lower immigration, more like in the 400,000 to 500,000 range in the next four to five years.”

In terms of housing demand, he expects the next 10 years to see a rise in demand from young and aging millennials who move from rentals to become first-time home buyers, with single family homes having the greatest demand.

Another factor to watch, Norman pointed out, is the direction of interest rates. While the Bank of Canada has been lowering its prime rate since the second half of last year, mortgages have been much slower to follow suit. Nevertheless, they are coming down, though not yet to pre-Covid levels.

As rates stay stubbornly high, housing affordability remains strained, making the purchase of a house a hardship for young people. Housing starts across the country are generally healthy (with the exception of Saskatchewan, Manitoba, and British Columbia), but the national average has been brought down almost single-handedly by the condo market in the Greater Toronto Area, which has stalled. In fact, GTA condo starts had, in the past, clocked in as high as 40,000 units but have fallen to half that, and are forecast to fall as low as 10,000 in 2024.

While this metric has skewed the national average, Norman said, “Housing starts are holding up pretty well, actually.” They remain on track for about 240,000 starts for 2024, “pretty much on track with last year.”

PEOPLE ON THE MOVE

At Rockwool, Mike Goyette has been promoted to the role of vice-president, sales, at its ceiling tile division, Rockfon North America. He’s been with Rockwool for 15 years, and as national sales director since 2019. Scott Debenham, currently Rockfon business unit manager in Canada, is being promoted to replace Goyette as director of sales, building insulation, Rockwool Canada. He joined Rockfon in 2013. Both appointments take effect Jan. 1, 2025.

Brandi Switzer has joined Liteline Corp. as regional sales manager, Pacific and Rockies. Switzer brings nearly a decade of experience in the electrical industry working with contractors, distributors, electrical engineers, interior designers, and architects. She will oversee growth across the British Columbia and Alberta markets.

DID YOU KNOW…?

… that the 2024 Hardlines Retail Report is now available? This massive research breaks out the size and growth annually of the industry, identifying which retail sectors and which banners are winning and losing from year to year. Click here for more info and order details—and remember, as a Premium Member (if you are subscribing to this newsletter, you are one!) you will get a big discount on the price—including a bundled discount when you buy its companion research, the Hardlines Market Share Report!

RETAILER NEWS

Dartmouth, N.S.-based LumberMart is the latest dealer to join BMR Group. Effective Nov. 26, the store will be rebranded as LumberMart BMR Pro. In business for over 40 years and now under its third generation of owners, LumberMart is dedicated to garage, shed, deck, kitchen, and fence packages, and commercial and residential building packages. It serves communities ranging from Metro Halifax to Cape Breton, Annapolis Valley, and Nova Scotia’s South Shore.

Canadian Tire Corp. has reported Q3 net income of $200.6 million, reversing a loss of $27.8 million a year earlier. Revenues declined by 1.4 percent to $4.19 billion. Comp sales were 1.5 percent below the comparable period of last year but higher than in Q2. Canadian Tire Retail’s comp sales were down 2.2 percent.

Got Wood Building Supplies, a Castle dealer in Geraldton, Ont., has been acquired by Ne-Daa-Kii-Me-Naan Inc. The First Nation-owned enterprise was established in 2012 by seven member nations to promote sustainable forest management. Got Wood general manager Deanna Hoffman and her team will hold a grand opening event later this month.

RONA has released the timing for its affiliated dealer gathering in the fall of next year. In 2025, RONA Connexia will be held the week of Oct. 14 at the Centre des congrès de Québec (Quebec Convention Centre) in Quebec City. Independent RONA dealers will come together for a few days of presentations and workshops. There will also be another vendor trade show. The event will close with an awards gala.

AD reports that member sales in the first nine months of 2024 increased by 6.0 percent to a record US$61.0 billion across its 14 divisions and three countries. Same-store sales increased by 3.0 percent in total, including 2.0 percent each in the U.S. and Canada in their respective local currencies.

Jeld-Wen Holdings posted third-quarter revenues of US$934.7 million, a 13.2 percent decline from a year earlier. The company’s net loss of $73.0 million, follows earnings of $16.9 million in the previous Q3. “Market conditions continue to deteriorate, which has significantly impacted volume/mix in the near-term,” CEO William J. Christensen said in a release.

Koelnmesse has formed a joint venture with dmg events that will see the German-based trade show organizer expand into Saudi Arabia. The International Hardware Fair Saudi Arabia will take place annually at the Riyadh International Convention & Exhibition Center, with the first edition scheduled for June 16 to 18, 2025.

Western Forest Products reported a net loss of $19.6 million in Q3 of 2024. That was compared with a net loss of $17.4 million a year earlier and a net loss of $5.7 million in the previous quarter. Revenues of $241.7 million were up from $231.1 million in Q3 of 2023 but down from $309.5 million in Q2.

Richard F. Royce died suddenly on Oct. 31 from a heart attack. Royce was a well-known figure in the Canadian building materials industry, in which he spent his entire career. He started out with Canfor before moving to MacMillan Bloedel. His CV also included tenures with Great West Timber, CanWel, Weyerhaeuser, and Jager Industries. He was most recently president of industry consulting firm RFR Resolutions. Royce is survived by his daughter Andrea and son Adam. A celebration of life for Rick will be held at a later date.

ECONOMIC INDICATORS

Residential building construction costs increased 0.9 percent in the third quarter, following a 1.0 percent increase in the previous quarter. This marks the slowest quarterly growth since the second quarter of 2020 for residential building construction costs. The biggest growth in residential construction costs was in Calgary, followed by Winnipeg. Non-residential building construction costs rose 0.5 percent. Year over year, construction costs for residential buildings rose 4.0 percent, while non-residential building construction costs increased 3.9 percent. (StatCan)

Ian White has been appointed president and CEO of Home Hardware Stores Ltd. He steps into his new role in St. Jacobs, Ont., on Nov. 18. White replaces Kevin Macnab, who is retiring after helming Home Hardware for the past six years.

White joins the largest dealer-owned home improvement retailer in Canada from Parkland Corp., which is headquartered in Calgary. For the past 10 years, White has held a variety of senior executive roles for the global fuel, convenience store, and food retailer. Most recently, he was president of Parkland Canada, the company’s largest operating division.

Earlier in his career, White spent 18 years at Canadian Tire Corporation, where he filled progressively senior roles.

“Ian White is a career retailer with over 30 years of experience and a proven history of leading high-performing teams to achieve exceptional results,” Home Hardware Stores Ltd. said in a release.

Parkland operates gas stations under the Esso, Ultramar, Chevron, Pioneer, and Fast Gas Plus brands. In 2022, Parkland acquired M&M Food Market, a frozen food retailer, for $332 million. It also holds the rights to the convenience store brand On The Run in Canada and much of the U.S.

“It’s an honour to join Home Hardware, one of Canada’s truly iconic brands,” said White. “Home Hardware is a trusted leader in the home improvement industry and has a strong history of Dealers from coast to coast maintaining deep connections to their local communities. I look forward to working alongside the Home Hardware team and our Dealers to create even greater value for our customers and position the company for the next phase of growth.”

Hardlines’ 28th Annual Conference concluded recently, providing an essential forum for retailers of all banners to meet and share with each other and their suppliers. A range of speakers, including retail experts and industry leaders, took to the podium at the Fairmont Le Manoir Richelieu in La Malbaie, Que., Oct. 22 and 23.

Day two began strong with Hugo Girard, World Champion Strongman and Wellness Leader (shown here). Girard described his lifelong dream to be the world’s strongest man and what he did—and continues to do—to achieve his goals. He offered examples of how perseverance revolves around focus, training, initiative, dedication, and determination. Talent alone can only take you so far, he advised.

Having been raised in a building supplier family, Michelle Chouinard-Kenney offered a unique take on business continuity. She described her journey, working for her father’s company before taking the helm as CEO of Gibson Building Supplies. She shared how her company has met the challenges of a dwindling workforce by creating an environment of trust that focuses on building future leaders.

Workplace expert Pierre Battah, who kicked off the conference a day earlier, returned to the Hardlines stage on the second day. This time, he gave a full one-hour workshop on workplace and hiring challenges, expanding on his previous day’s discussions of engagement and retention strategies. Battah went on to explore the role of frontline managers in employee engagement, building psychological safety in the workplace, positive work environments, checking in with employees, and the role of a leader.

Speaking about how the industry can be a positive change-maker, Heléne Loberg, country sustainability manager at IKEA Canada, shared how her company is helping to reduce its environmental impact and increase its social impact. IKEA and its more than 500 stores worldwide have taken this philosophy to heart in both the design and long-term life of products. The company’s goal is to reduce its post-consumer waste through recycling and resell programs.

The final speaking engagement of the day and the conference was a panel discussion led by Sherri Amos, dealer support director at Home Hardware Stores Ltd. Some of the industry’s top buyers joined her on the stage. They looked at today’s buying trends, the impact of the pandemic on consumer behaviour, lumber pricing, loyalty programs, private label products, and market differentiation.

Once again, the insights shared, combined with the opportunity for delegates to network and connect with dealers from across Canada and the U.S., made the Hardlines Conference an excellent learning platform for industry professionals.

The next Hardlines Conference will be held at the Fairmont Banff Springs, Oct. 21 to 22, 2025.

Home Hardware Stores Ltd. has officially introduced a new lineup of small home designs. Named the Secondary Suite Collection, it’s available through Home’s Beaver Homes & Cottages home packages.

With about 30 customizable standard models, some as small as 320 square feet, the new designs have been developed to let homeowners create affordable secondary living spaces, responding to the ongoing housing shortages and affordability challenges facing Canadians. Homes built from the Secondary Suite Collection are designed to provide homeowners with a cost-effective way to expand their living space. That additional space can be used to generate additional rental income, accommodate multi-generational families, or create a backyard office or studio.

The launch was first announced in Hardlines back in March, in an exclusive interview with Laura Baker, chief marketing officer at Home Hardware Stores Ltd. The company’s entry into the tiny homes market reflects a phenomenon that has been drawing attention in both small-town America and in laneways of major centres like Toronto and Vancouver.

“We’re launching access dwelling units in our Beaver Homes and Cottages and the Backyard Package Projects program,” Baker said in the earlier interview. “That’s another big thing that consumers are thinking about with real estate—whether it’s children living at home longer, the need for more secondary spaces in their homes, the idea of creating an Airbnb, or severing real estate to have several real properties on one place.”

This launch aligns with new government measures encouraging the construction of secondary suites, making it easier for Canadians to contribute to the country’s housing stock.

Home Hardware has more than 130 Beaver Homes & Cottages locations across the country offering the new Secondary Suite Collection. “Home Hardware Stores Ltd. is excited to be part of the solution, providing Canadians with material packages that include custom blueprints, simplifying the building process and making it more accessible,” said Keri McMillan, the company’s director of pro and sales marketing.

“These small spaces offer endless opportunities, and our expert team is there to offer expertise every step of the way.”

Seaboard Industrial Supply Company Ltd. in Sydney, N.S.,   is the latest dealer to join TIMBER MART. It’s been serving communities on Cape Breton Island since 1958. Today, the business offers the contractors and commercial builders in the region a wide variety of products including power and hand tools, fasteners, mechanical and power equipment, construction products, work clothing and footwear, maintenance and cleaning supplies, and safety and fire protection.

The company employs about 18 staff year-round who work out of Seaboard TIMBER MART’s 20,000-square-foot building, which encompasses a showroom and warehouse that stocks over 16,000 SKUs.

“We look forward to leveraging the group’s national buying power and vendor relationships to expand our product offerings and growing our business our way,” said Parker Rudderham, owner of Seaboard TIMBER MART, in a release.

According to Kevin Guest, TIMBER MART’s regional director of member services for Atlantic Canada, the company has been adept at adapting to its local market. “Seaboard Industrial, which once catered to the mining and coal industries in Nova Scotia, has evolved to serve the forestry, fishing and building material industry today.”

By joining TIMBER MART, the company has access to tools and services, including vendor programs, to help it keep growing.

PEOPLE ON THE MOVE

Castle Building Centres Group has announced the upcoming retirement of Sarina Kaluzny, vice-president of finance, at the end of 2024. Kaluzny has had a long career in finance and accounting, including her 17 years at Castle, since she joined Deloitte in 1979. Last month, Castle appointed Scott Kaluzny as VP of finance.

DID YOU KNOW…?

… that the latest edition of our sister publication, Hardlines HR Advisor, went out last week! This issue has some good news (one major retailer is increasing its sales staff’s wages) and tackles some tough issues (women face a total of $3.3 billion in lost income due to work hours lost to menopause). Hardlines HR Advisor is monthly—and it’s free! Click here to subscribe now!

RETAILER NEWS

Kent Building Supplies has added appliance showrooms in seven more of its stores throughout Atlantic Canada. The company first brought fridges and stoves into select stores in November 2023. The latest locations are in Antigonish and New Minas, N.S.; Sussex, Bathurst, and Woodstock, N.B.; and Clarenville and Grand Falls-Windsor, N.L. Kent now sells heavy appliances in 21 of its 48 stores.

RONA has announced new owners for its bannered store in Portage la Prairie, Man. They are Joel and Josh McPhail, whose experience spans a wide range of industries, including new housing construction, development, and property management. The McPhails plan to open a new garden centre at the 49,000-square-foot store in spring 2025.

BMR Express Esquimau, located in the Montreal neighbourhood of Mercier-Hochelaga-Maisonneuve, is under new management, operating under the name BMR Express de Marseille. The store, which has been in business for more than 35 years, was acquired by Marc Brouillette and Mario Tremblay, two veterans of the Canadian Armed Forces, following the decision of the former owner, Gilles Lambert, to retire. Lambert will assist with the transition of ownership.

SUPPLIER NEWS

Fogo Island, N.L., may have a population of less than 3,000, but that hasn’t stopped Castle dealer Ryan Holmes from running a successful home improvement business there. The store had been awarded Fogo Island’s Small Business of the Week Award.

RONA Lachine, an affiliate dealer store, has completed a major expansion and renovations. The project, on the west island of Montreal, required an investment of $2 million and consisted of a second warehouse for building materials. In addition, the store, which is owned by the Chartier family, was expanded by 6,500 square feet and 75 items were added to the store’s product assortment. The new warehouse is accessible by vehicle and includes a service counter equipped with a racking system, electronic shelf labels, and lockers for online order pick up.

A recent Wall Street Journal article revealed that The Home Depot is looking to sub-lease four buildings, totalling one million square feet, from its U.S. warehouse network. “The changes come as Home Depot is targeting about $US500 million in cost savings this fiscal year,” the WSJ reported. The newspaper reported that Home Depot was looking to “get rid of space leased during the Covid-19 pandemic…”

Canfor Corp. reported a Q3 operating loss of $559.7 million, compared with an operating loss of $250.8 million in the second quarter of 2024. “This was another extremely challenging quarter for our lumber business,” said Canfor president and chief executive officer, Don Kayne, adding that North American operations continued to face a persistently weak pricing environment. He said these conditions have resulted in unsustainable financial losses from the company’s British Columbia operations.

Retail sales increased 0.4 percent to $66.6 billion in August. Sales were up in four of nine subsectors, led by increases at motor vehicle and parts dealers. Sales in LBM and garden categories fell by 0.5 percent. Seven provinces saw sales rise in the month, with Ontario’s 0.9 percent gain clocking in as the largest. The largest decrease was in Alberta, largely due to lower food and beverage sales. (StatCan)

Hardlines’ 28th Annual Conference concluded last week, held at the Fairmont Le Manor Richelieu in the Charlevoix region of Quebec.

As per Hardlines tradition, the night before the conference, delegates enjoyed an evening of camaraderie and networking at the RONA Pub Night inside the hotel.

On day one, Pierre Battah of Pierre Battah Leadership Inc., stepped up to the podium for part one of his speaking engagement. Battah, an award-winning author and workplace leadership specialist, quickly created a lighthearted atmosphere with his sharp wit and insight. He discussed the role of having purpose in leadership, balancing caring for employees and achieving results, the science-based evidence on positivity and feedback, and the importance of daily positivity and respect.

Charles Grégoire-Beliveau, vice-president of merchandising at BMR Group, reviewed the industry’s challenges. “There’s a shortage of skilled labour. People with boom-truck operator licences are rare. Consumers are more demanding. They have their phones, they’ve done their research; sometimes they have more knowledge of the product than the employer.” Nevertheless, he said, BMR is “very optimistic about growth opportunities in the market.”

That afternoon, Peter Norman, VP and chief economist at Altus Group—and a regular at the Hardlines Conference—gave delegates a look ahead at housing forecasts and interest rates. While rates are falling (the prime rate dropped another half a percentage point the day after Norman’s presentation), mortgage rates are following at a slower pace. However, he expects them to keep coming down, though perhaps not to pre-Covid levels.

Richard Darveau, president and founder of Well Made Here, spoke to attendees about how we, as businesses, need to buy Canadian in a fiercely competitive and imported market. He emphasized that we need to show our pride in Canadian products. It’s essential for Canadian society, and “you cannot have any political gain from buying” foreign-made products, he stressed.

Next, Jason Tasse, president of Lee Valley Tools, shared his career journey with Lee Valley Tools, touching on the brand’s commitment to environmental sustainability and community engagement. He covered a variety of Lee Valley’s innovative practices and achievements, including employee engagement and philanthropic projects, the challenges of an aging core customer base and the need to attract younger generations, and the importance of leadership training and cultural innovation.

Alain Ménard, senior vice-president of affiliates at RONA, capped off day two with insight into how to develop and deliver exceptional customer service. He noted this can only be achieved through strong leadership, adding that everyone can be an influencer.

The afternoon gathering at the end of day one was an industry reception sponsored by Home Hardware Stores Ltd., where delegates could gather for a bite and beverage at a reception preceding the 32nd Outstanding Retailer Awards gala dinner.

(We’ll have more coverage of the 28th Annual Hardlines Conference in next week’s blazing issue of Hardlines Weekly Report!—Editor)

Suppliers and retailers from across Canada gathered last week to honour the retail home improvement industry’s best retailers. The occasion was the 32nd Annual Outstanding Retailer Awards, presented during a Gala Dinner at the annual Hardlines Conference. The combined event was held at the Fairmont Le Manoir Richelieu in La Malbaie, Que.

Retailers were honoured in eight categories covering the range of retail hardware and home improvement formats. This year’s winners are:

• Best Hardware or Paint Store – Cloverdale Paint Store #71, Saskatoon, Sask. Tim Vogel, Owner; Richard White, Manager. Award sponsored by the National Hardware Show.
• Best Building Supply or Home Centre under 15,000 square feet – BMR Pro Brae-Con Building Supplies, Elmvale, Ont. George Begley and Julie Begley, Owners. Award sponsored by Saint-Gobain.
• Best Building Supply or Home Centre over 15,000 square feet – Brideco BMR, St-Honoré, Que. François Dionne, Caroline Dionne, David Dionne, and Jérome Dionne, Owners. Award sponsored by Jeld-Wen.
• Best Contractor Specialist – Mission Building Supplies (Castle Building Centres Group) Edmonton, Alta. Tom and Karen Clement, Owners; Don Clement, President. Award sponsored by Johns Manville.
• Best Large Surface Retailer – E.G. Penner Building Centre (Sexton Group), Steinbach, Man. Linda Penner, Judy Penner, Owners; Markus Lange, Gerry Thiessen, Vice-Presidents. Award sponsored by Trex.
• Retail Spirit Award – RONA Forget, Mont-Tremblant, Que. Benoit Forget, Caroline Forget, Francis Forget, Julie Forget, Valérie Forget, and Gabrielle Bouchard, Owners. Award sponsored by ACCEO Solutions.
• Young Retailer of the Year – Phylip Savard-Tremblay, Quincaillerie Tremblay Laroche Inc. (Castle Building Centres Group), Métabetchouan-Lac-à-la-Croix, Que. Award sponsored by BMF.
• Marc Robichaud Community Leader – Buck’s Home Building Centre, Bridgewater, N.S. Julie and Ryan Buck, Owners. Award sponsored by JRTech Solutions.

The winners were carefully chosen from a field of high-quality nominees submitted from every part of Canada. They stood out within this elite group thanks to their ability to exceed in the areas of good business practices, customer relations, innovation, and niche marketing.

“These winning dealers represent the innovation and passion for their businesses, and commitment to customers, that make them truly outstanding,” said David Chestnut, vice-president and publisher of Hardlines Inc.

Sexton Group has found a new partner to help it grow inside the Quebec market. The Winnipeg-based buying group has allied with Évolution Distribution, a regional distributor and buying group headed by Geneviève Gagnon —and the scion of a leading buying group family in Canada.

Combining the Sexton and Évolution Distribution names, the new entity is called EvoX, and marries the strengths of both companies to provide a new option for Quebec dealers. It also gives Sexton a fresh footing in the province, while giving Gagnon’s business a boost with a major player. EvoX will go live Jan. 1.

Gagnon, along with Sexton Group president Eric Palmer (pictured together here), met with Hardlines at last week’s Hardlines Conference in La Malbaie, Que., to explain the deal further.

Évolution Distribution is backed by the expertise of Gagnon, who also heads Groupe Gagnon, a chain of five building centres in Quebec. She literally grew up in the business, and learned at the elbow of her father, Yves Gagnon, who grew that retail chain while heading Groupe BMR, before BMR was sold to La Coop fédérée (now Sollio) a decade ago.

Geneviève Gagnon’s wholesale enterprise, Évolution Distribution, added services and established a buying group program to tie new customers in more meaningfully with the wholesale business. “Our distribution also provides marketing, web, social media, and a loyalty program, tailored to every dealer’s needs and reality—and that’s important,” said Gagnon.

Gagnon and her company combine knowledge of the markets in Quebec with a full marketing program designed to help its independent members increase their market share. Évolution Distribution currently has 17 members throughout Quebec, including the five Groupe Gagnon stores.

Sexton has strong expertise across Canada, Palmer notes, but Gagnon rounds out that expertise within Quebec. “Quebec is an opportunity, and we needed someone who is experienced in the market and knows this market to go forward,” he added.

In addition, the new partnership was facilitated by the realization that both sides “shared pretty key core values,” he said. “The main value is respect to our dealers and also toward out vendors.”

Ace Canada dealers got some bad news recently from Ace Hardware’s head office in the U.S. That news came in the form of a letter sent to Ace dealers in Canada, and signed by Ed Dentzman, vice-president, international finance, for Ace Hardware Corp. The note informed the dealers that they would not be supplied or otherwise supported by Ace in 2025.

The Ace licence in Canada is currently held by Peavey Industries, based in Red Deer, Alta., but that licensing agreement ends on Dec. 31. Dealers had been anticipating that Ace International, which services the Ace licence here, would take it over in the new year. However, those hopes have been dashed by this latest news.

There are about 80 dealers still in Canada that have the Ace banner or are supplied by Ace International. They had been serviced by Peavey Industries since 2020, when Peavey bought the licence from RONA. However, barely week after the deal was announced, the world was shut down by Covid. That, and the disruptions that followed, severely hampered Peavey’s efforts to onboard its new wholesale business for the Ace dealers.

CEO Doug Anderson announced last spring that Peavey would end its relationship with Ace by the end of this year. From the day that was announced, neither Ace Hardware Corp. nor its Ace International division would provide any details or confirmation of their position regarding the Ace business in Canada. Instead, they waited several months before passing along the bad news.

The letter says Ace International sought another partner in Canada, but without success. The letter suggests that the U.S. entity was not prepared to support the stores directly, but rather went looking for a replacement for Peavey. “Despite significant efforts, we have not been able to find a suitable replacement for Peavey to provide support and products to your stores,” the letter states.

To add insult to injury, Ace dealers have been offered the opportunity to continue to license the Ace name, for a fee. “We value your longstanding association with Ace and can offer a trademark licence agreement so that you can continue using the Ace brand at your retail hardware stores.”

PEOPLE ON THE MOVE

Dave Kellam has joined AD as director, business development for the Building Supplies–Canada division. With over 16 years of industry experience, Kellam will contribute to member and supplier recruitment efforts, strategic partnerships, working to drive divisional results across the nation. Before joining AD, he held various sales and marketing roles at Elemex Architectural Facade Systems, Rockwool, Continental Gypsum, and Firestone Building Products.

DID YOU KNOW…?

… that the 2024 Hardlines Retail Report is now available? This massive research breaks out the size and growth annually of the industry, identifying which retail sectors and which banners are winning and losing from year to year. It features more than 150 slides in a handy PowerPoint format. Click here for more info and order details—and remember, as a Premium Member (if you are subscribing to this newsletter, you are one!) you will get a big discount on the price!

RETAILER NEWS

The RONA Foundation has announced the results of its Home Sweet Home campaign, which ran from Sept. 1 to Oct. 7. The company raised over $515,000, which will be used towards revitalizing living environments or improving access to housing for victims of domestic violence and their children, low-income families, and people with disabilities or mental health issues. The 150 organizations were selected by each participating local team.

SUPPLIER NEWS

Montreal-based JRTech Solutions, a supplier of electronic shelf labels (ESL), has announced a partnership with San Diego-based technology firm Brain Corp to bring robotic inventory management to Canadian retailers. Under the agreement, JRTech “will become the exclusive provider to retailers in Canada of Brain Corp’s Brain OS Sense Suite, an end-to-end inventory management platform that helps retailers autonomously manage their in-store inventory with robots and artificial intelligence,” a joint release from the companies said.

Faucet manufacturer Bélanger has announced a rebranding, along with the launch of new product collections under its Bélanger Pro and Bélanger Essential lines. The new visual identity highlights the company’s “commitment to craftsmanship, simplicity, and enduring design,” according to a release. “We are embracing a fresh vision for the future,” said general manager Lidia Pedicelli.

PPG has agreed to sell 100 percent of its architectural coatings business in the U.S. and Canada for US$550 million to American Industrial Partners, a New York City-based private equity firm. PPG said that division in the U.S. and Canada represented approximately US$2 billion of its 2023 total net sales. The company’s annual sales in 2023 were US$18.2 billion. The transaction is expected to close in late 2024 or early 2025.

Benjamin Moore has announced its Colour of the Year 2025. Cinnamon Slate 2113-40 is described as “a delicate mix of heathered plum and velvety brown.”

Third-quarter sales for West Fraser Timber were $1.44 billion, compared with $1.71 billion in the second quarter. The company had a loss of $83 million, dropping from earnings of $105 million in the previous quarter.

Investment in building construction edged up 0.2 percent to $21.0 billion in August, following a 1.6 percent decrease in July. The residential sector edged down by 0.1 percent to $14.6 billion, while the non-residential sector was up 1.0 percent to $6.4 billion. Single-family home investment rose by 0.1 percent, or $9.0 million, to $6.7 billion, following a decline of 2.2 percent in July. (StatCan)

Housing starts in the U.S. fell by 0.5 percent in September to 1.35 million. Year over year, starts were down 0.7 percent. The number of building permits declined by 2.9 percent from August and 5.7 percent from a year earlier, reaching 1.43 million. Single-family permits however stood 0.3 percent above the previous month. (U.S. Census Bureau)

True Value Co. dropped a bomb on the industry last week when it issued a press release from its Chicago HQ saying it had “entered into an agreement to sell substantially all of the company’s business operations to home improvement industry peer Do it Best Corp.”

Do it Best, of Fort Wayne, Ind., will reportedly pay US$153 million in cash for substantially all of True Value’s assets and business operations and assume up to US$45 million in additional liabilities. “To complete the sale in the most efficient manner, True Value and certain of its affiliates initiated voluntary Chapter 11 proceedings in the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the District of Delaware,” the release said. “True Value will continue its day-to-day operations serving 4,500 independently owned retailers that rely on True Value for the right products, trusted expertise, and its 75-year-old iconic brand.”

True Value tipped its hand a few days earlier in a letter to vendors from CEO Chris Kempa. In it, he said the company has “active, competitive offers for our business, and we are working tirelessly to finalize a purchase agreement.”

Do it Best is one of True Value’s chief competitors. If the deal goes through, it would create a store network of more than 8,000 locations in the U.S. and 50-plus countries around the world. There are no active True Value-member stores in Canada.

This is the second time in six years that True Value has been on the block. In 2018, Acon Investments, a private equity firm, purchased 70 percent of the company, moving it away from a co-op model that it had operated under since its inception in 1948. It has sales of just over US$6 billion, while Fort Wayne, Ind.-based Do it Best boasts sales of almost US$5 billion.

“A successful acquisition of True Value assets would represent a strategic milestone for Do it Best and home improvement retailers around the world,” said Dan Starr, Do it Best president and CEO (shown here).

The agreement with Do it Best provides significant cash consideration and meaningful assumption of liabilities related to the ongoing business. Do it Best is requesting to be designated as the “stalking horse,” or lead bidder, and to initiate a competitive bidding process under Section 363 of the U.S. Bankruptcy Code. That process is designed to achieve the highest value for the company.

To support the day-to-day business through the sale, True Value is seeking to use its cash collateral to fund operations. In case it needs additional financing during the process, it has received a commitment from Do it Best to provide incremental capital, in an effort to help ensure that independent True Value retailers can continue serving their customers throughout the process.

If Do it Best is the winning bidder, the transaction is expected to close by the end of the year, pending regulatory and court approval. True Value will continue to operate under Chapter 11 protection with Do it Best providing the stalking horse bid.

A statement from Do it Best stresses that the deal would not come at the expense of its existing member-owners. Instead, Do it Best intends to preserve and build on the True Value brand, allowing current stores to maintain their independence while gaining access to Do it Best’s programs, buying power, and support network.

Home Hardware Stores Ltd., the closely-held corporation owned by its dealers, is going through a plethora of changes as it evolves its business strategy. At the heart of these changes is the company’s president and CEO, Kevin Macnab. The process of evolution gains poignancy given that this is the 60th anniversary for Home Hardware. The collision of history, culture, and change has been Macnab’s to manage.

The company’s annual dealer market and information conference, called Homecoming, was the backdrop for Hardlines’ one-on-one conversation with Macnab. The event was held at the Enercare Centre at Exhibition Place in Toronto in September. There, he talked about what was news for dealers at the show, and how the company has ramped up promotions to celebrate its 60th birthday.

The market was Macnab’s sixth; he got his official introduction to the Home Hardware dealers at their fall market in 2018, before he’d even been officially hired. That came a few weeks later on Oct. 10, when he was named only the fourth CEO at the company—and the first to be hired from outside of the St. Jacobs, Ont., HQ. His background included Marks & Spencer in the UK, followed by senior roles with Toys “R” Us and the top job at Toys “R” Us Canada, before becoming that retail chain’s president of its international business.

In the six years since Macnab arrived, Home Hardware has made a lot of changes, including looking outside its own ranks to fill senior positions. Having more than one family member working at Home Hardware’s head office was once an integral part of its culture. More recently, however, the management roles have drawn individuals who have come from other major retailers such as Canadian Tire, RONA, and Loblaw.

In addition, the company has been shifting its focus to the Home Hardware customer and standardizing the experience within the stores. Home has also been updating its IT at its distribution centres and making new efforts to consolidate its dealers’ back-end operations.

Back in Toronto, the Homecoming market was being set up in anticipation of the arrival of hundreds of dealers, along with their families and managers, from all over Canada. Pricing remains a universal priority. “We’ve added promotions and discounts for our dealers,” said Macnab. The market was also the showcase for the introduction of two new electric trucks to the Home Hardware fleet.

But “new” also meant new ideas. “We’ve added a lot of dealer events—a lot more educational events.” These, he said, included a networking event that highlighted the role of women. “It’s fabulous to see us recognizing diversity in the workplace.”

As for changes in the management teams, Macnab says bringing in new thinking, combined with the experience and corporate know-how of the existing staff members, has been really important in moving the company forward. And he personally will represent yet another change when he retires in the indeterminate future. He says he would like to step down by his next birthday. While that timeline has reportedly been shared with the dealers, neither Macnab nor Home Hardware’s communications team would disclose the precise date of his leaving the organization with Hardlines (Grrrr!—your frustrated Editor).

“Even though I have announced my intention to retire, my role is to set the company and my successor up for success.”

In the meantime, Macnab points to the attitude on the Homecoming show floor. There, he said, the dealers and vendors had come together against a backdrop of economic transition that limns the changes at Home Hardware. In the end, he noted, “There’s a really good vibe out there. The dealers are in a good position.”

Independent retailers doing business with True Value have another option as they navigate the uncertainty of its retreat into Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection. Orgill, the independent hardware wholesaler based in Memphis, has sent a message to the industry saying it’s ready to step in.

“At Orgill, we have always championed the independent dealer,” says Boyden Moore, Orgill’s president and CEO (shown here). “One thing that Orgill can offer to the thousands of True Value customers during these uncertain times is a pathway to stability in their future business relationships that would enable them to continue serving their communities without fear of any interruption.”

The company says it’s confident it can support True Value dealers, helping them maintain uninterrupted access to products and services. True Value stores are independently owned and are not a part of the Chapter 11 proceedings, with the exception of one company-owned store in Palatine, Ill.

Moore says Orgill, which does not represent a banner and will sell to any dealer regardless of affiliation, already has experience working with True Value retailers. His company is equipped it to step in and assist retailers who are impacted by the recent developments.

“Because we have done more and more business with current and former True Value customers in the recent months, we aren’t starting at ground zero when it comes to conversions or switching systems. We have the ability and the insights to make this process as efficient as possible,” he says.

Randy Williams, Orgill’s EVP of distribution, points to the recent upgrades and investments that Orgill has made in its distribution network, which have put the company in a strong position to handle the additional capacity that may come from onboarding so many retail customers in a short period of time. That includes the addition of more than US$50 million in inventory to help improve existing service levels and better prepare the company for growth.

RONA has announced the conversion of 18 stores to the RONA+ banner. The stores include four in Montreal, three in Quebec City, and two in Laval. The conversions will see the country’s last 16 Réno-Dépôt stores switch to RONA+, along with a RONA L’entrepôt in Quebec City and a RONA Home & Garden in Winnipeg.

The move marks the end of the Réno-Dépôt banner.

“It’s an important milestone in our history that we’re celebrating as we make RONA our only coast-to-coast retail banner,” CEO and president J.P. Towner said in a release.

“I’m extremely proud of the work of our teams, who brilliantly carried out this major milestone for our company. It’s particularly exciting to be part of the expansion of this homegrown brand.”

The Réno-Dépôt stores, all in Quebec, that have been converted to RONA+ are located at the following locations:

•  Anjou – 10200, rue Renaude-Lapointe, Anjou
•  Beauport – 225, av. Joseph Casavant, Québec City
•  Boucherville – 1235, rue Nobel, Boucherville
•  Brossard – 7410, boul. Taschereau Ouest, Brossard
•  Candiac – 100, rue de Strasbourg, Candiac
•  Drummondville – 875, rue Hains, Drummondville
•  Sainte-Foy – 3131, av. Blaise-Pascal, Québec City
•  Saint-Hubert – 5035, boul. Cousineau, Saint-Hubert
•  LaSalle – 2199, rue Lapierre, LaSalle
•  Laval – 1505, boul. Le Corbusier, Laval
•  Marché Central – 1011, rue du Marché Central, Montréal
•  Notre-Dame-de-Grâce – 7277, rue Saint-Jacques, Montréal
•  Pointe-Claire – 400, boul. Brunswick, Pointe-Claire
•  Rosemère – 1, boul. Bouthillier, Rosemère
•  Sainte-Dorothée – 800, aut. Chomedey, rue Desserte Ouest, Laval
•  Vaudreuil – 3010, boul. de la Gare, Vaudreuil-Dorion

These conversions come just over one year after the introduction of the RONA+ banner. Eleven Ontario stores, in Windsor, Windsor East, Sarnia, Waterloo, Kitchener, Cambridge, Niagara Falls, Brantford, Hamilton, Ancaster, and Burlington, celebrated the banner’s first anniversary by welcoming new store-within-a-store concepts for the DeWalt power tool and Bouclair furniture and home décor brands.

DID YOU KNOW…?

… that the 2024 Hardlines Retail Report is now available? This massive research breaks out the size and growth annually of the industry, identifying which retail sectors and which banners are winning and losing from year to year. It features more than 150 slides in a handy PowerPoint format. Click here for more info and order details—and remember, as a Premium Member (if you are subscribing to this newsletter, you are one!) you will get a big discount on the price!

RETAILER NEWS

Canac has acquired a site in Laval, Que., Montreal’s immediate northern neighbour, La Presse reports. The 673,000-square-foot lot is zoned for light industrial and heavy commercial use, but Canac marketing director Patrick Delisle would not comment on the company’s plans for it. The privately owned banner maintains two stores on the south shore of Montreal but currently has no presence on the island of Montreal itself. According to public records, Canac paid $24.3 million to the previous owners.

Kent Building Supplies and Bragg Communications, which does business as Eastlink, are partnering to offer a store-within-a-store at Kent’s Dartmouth Crossing, N.S., store. The telecom provider will offer mobile phones and internet services through a point-of-sale within the store. The store-within-a-store concept is a first for Eastlink.

Castle Building Centres Group has announced the recipients of its 12th Annual Scholarship Program. The company will award $2,500 scholarships to each scholar, two for academic programs and two in trades. The winners are Maria Shea (Shea’s Building Supplies, Stephenville Crossing, N.L.), Olivia Sparkes (Notre Dame Castle, Springdale, N.L.), Maria Redmond (Mermaid, P.E.I.), and Anastasia Fendley (Mono, Ont.).

RONA held its annual Connexia event for affiliated dealers on Oct. 8 and 9 in Montreal. Some 300 of those dealers joined nearly 175 vendors and RONA leaders. During the closing awards gala, the company recognized five outstanding dealers. Andrew Doidge, president and CEO of Doidge Building Centres Ltd., received RONA’s Up and Comer award. Maurice Goupil inc., RONA Moffatt & Powell, and RONA Weyburn, took accolades for their community involvement. Quincaillerie C. Bélanger Ltée in Montreal was honoured for its 85 years of association with RONA.

Seven & i holdings, which operates the 7-Eleven banner, is spinning off 31 non-core business segments from its convenience store interests. The move, which follows an unsolicited takeover bid from Quebec’s Alimentation Couche-Tard, also includes the closure of 450 underperforming stores in North America. A new holding company, to be called York Holdings, will unite the brands, which include the Denny’s chain of diners, with a majority of shares to be sold to outside investors.

Richelieu Hardware has reported Q3 sales of $467.7 million, an increase of 1.9 percent, including $264.6 million in Canada and US$148.4 million in the United States. Net earnings fell by 21.8 percent to $24.0 million.

September’s inflation rate fell to 1.6 percent, year over year, led by lower gasoline prices, which fell 10.7 percent. But rental prices rose by 8.2 percent, while food prices continued to grow at a rate faster than inflation. Excluding the gasoline price drop, the Consumer Price Index came in at 2.2 percent, the same as August. (StatCan)

Sales of existing Canadian homes rose by 1.9 percent in September from the previous month. On an annual basis, they were up by 6.9 percent. The increase was led by the Greater Toronto Area, Hamilton-Burlington, Montreal, Quebec City, Greater Vancouver, and Victoria. (Canadian Real Estate Association)

The annualized pace of housing starts in Canada rose by 5.0 percent in September to 223,808 units, up from 213,012 units in August. Urban starts number 168,897 year-to-date, up 2.0 percent from 165,559 for the same period in 2023. The rate of rural starts was estimated at 13,806 units. (CMHC)

The 2024 Hardlines Conference takes place next week, Oct. 22 and 23, at Fairmont Le Manoir Richelieu in the Charlevoix region of Quebec. This is the only national event bringing together industry players across all banners, and the speaker lineup is second to none.

It’s also a valuable—and important—opportunity to network with industry leaders from both the retail and supply sides of the industry. The room will be filled with some of the brightest hardware and home improvement dealers from across Canada. Here are some of the companies that are sending senior executives and managers to this year’s conference:

• BMR Group
• Castle Building Centres
• Cloverdale Paints
• Home Depot Canada
• Home Hardware Stores Ltd.
• IKEA Canada
• Lee Valley Tools
• Orgill
• RONA inc.
• Sexton Group
• TIMBER MART

At the end of day one, Oct. 22, we’ll host the Outstanding Retailer Awards Gala Dinner, where dealers and managers from across Canada will be honoured for their extraordinary efforts as retailers, merchants, community leaders, and personal leaders.

The Hardlines Conference is the key annual gathering point for top retail executives, leading dealers, and major vendors, and it will provide tremendous networking and career opportunities. (Online registration is officially closed, but you can still get in! Please contact Michelle Porter, our senior marketing and events manager, directly to sign up.)

Kent Building Supplies is getting a new home in Summerside, P.E.I., next year. The business has been in operation for decades at the corner of Water and Eustane streets in the province’s second-largest city. It was originally under the Schurman’s Building Supplies banner, which was bought out by Kent in 2004.

Since the 2001 closure of the Summerside air force base, the city’s economy has been dominated by the Canada Revenue Agency office that processes HST for businesses outside Quebec. Cavendish Farms, the province’s largest private-sector employer, maintains two plants in the nearby village of New Annan. Kent represents an important retail presence for the community.

Next spring, the store will move to a new site farther uptown flanked by Granville and Central streets. At 50,000 square feet, the new location will be almost triple the footprint of the current property’s 17,000 square feet.

“We’ll be adding a drive-through lumber yard, appliances, and room for many more products,” Anne McInerney, VP of communications for Kent parent J.D. Irving, told Hardlines. She added that the new location will better serve both DIY and pro customers.

The privately-owned Kent banner, based in Saint John, operates in all four Atlantic provinces and accounts for the largest share of Prince Edward Island’s home improvement market. (Source: the 2024 Hardlines Market Share Report—your astute editor).

At the beginning of this year, Kent joined the A.R.E.N.A. Alliance, a consortium of DIY chains concentrated in Europe that also includes BMR Group in Canada. Like BMR and Federated Co-operatives Ltd., Kent is a member of the Independent Lumber Dealers Co-operative.

Kent first added appliances to its offerings in select stores late last year.

Home Depot has responded to not one, but two, severe weather incidents in Florida in recent days. First, Hurricane Helene made landfall in Florida before moving inland, where it swept through parts of Georgia, South Carolina, North Carolina, Virginia, and Tennessee. Only days later, Hurricane Milton headed through the Gulf of Mexico, threatening even more devastation as it tore through the middle of Florida. More than 60 Home Depot stores were closed at any given time in areas being hit by the storms.

Home Depot’s disaster response command centre, based at the company’s store support centre in Atlanta, manages logistics to ship product to stores and resupply them after the storms have passed. The disaster relief teams consist of more than 100 associates across different parts of the company, including merchandising, operations, supply chain, and technology. These teams work around the clock to ensure the delivery of essential supplies to various stores.

The command centre team monitors inventory in real time so communities have the supplies they need to prepare for a storm and rebuild afterward. That includes pre-filling DCs throughout the South that are not in the path of the hurricanes, so products can be shipped to stores to replenish them to serve customers. Generators, water, tarps, flashlights, plywood, and batteries are among the products in greatest demand.

In addition, store workers will move in from other regions to support and spell staff at stores in the afflicted regions. After a storm, pre-staged trucks are placed right outside of the storm strike zone to respond with recovery supplies such as gas cans, generators, trash bags, cleaning supplies, and chain saws.

Following each storm, Home Depot refines its data on how the storms move and change. That data helps the company make informed decisions to respond more appropriately to future events.

Chicago-based True Value Co. is looking for a buyer, according to a letter from CEO Chris Kempa sent to vendors on Oct. 1.

“We have active, competitive offers for our business, and we are working tirelessly to finalize a purchase agreement,” Kempa stated, adding that the company would provide further details in the coming days.

This is the second time in six years that True Value has pursued a sale. In 2018, Acon Investments, a private equity firm, purchased 70 percent of the company, moving it away from its dealer-owned co-op model.

According to Acon Investments, the purchase was a strategic partnership to accelerate True Value’s transformation and create the only branded national hardware wholesaler without a membership requirement.

In that move, retailers received 70 percent of their invested capital and 10 percent of their promissory notes on top of their 2017 patronage dividend. Additionally, retailers retained a 30 percent holding in the new True Value Company, led by the existing management team at the time.

PEOPLE ON THE MOVE

At RONA inc., Sylvain Girard has been named CFO, a post vacated when former CFO J.P. Towner was promoted to CEO and president of the company. Girard has spent more than three decades in corporate financial services management. He was most recently SVP and CFO of Resolute Forest Products.

DID YOU KNOW…?

… that the latest edition of Hardlines Dealer News has hit inboxes? In this issue, we explore our economic expert’s forecast for the coming year, RONA’s new signage for independents, and electric vehicle fulfilment at Home Hardware. Hardlines Dealer News is monthly and it’s free: click here to subscribe now!

RETAILER NEWS

RONA welcomed its independent affiliates to the Fairmont Queen Elizabeth Hotel in Montreal last week for its Connexia event. The dealer-only buying show format debuted in 2022. It includes a trade show kicked off by a networking day featuring meetings and workshops.

IKEA Canada has announced financial results for the fiscal year ending Aug. 31. Retail sales dipped 1.4 percent to $2.87 billion, compared with the previous fiscal year. The company says it remained focused on lowering prices as Canadians continue to navigate economic challenges. One of the programs during the year that impacted topline sales was the introduction of the SHT (Second-Hand Tax). Drawing attention to the taxation of second-hand goods, Ontario customers could, for a limited time, save the tax on purchases of used IKEA products.

The Home Depot says it will require each of its corporate staff to work an eight-hour retail shift each quarter. Employees, including senior management and remote workers, will have to clock in for the required time beginning in the company’s fourth quarter, which starts in November.

SUPPLIER NEWS

Doman Building Materials has acquired South Carolina-based CM Tucker Lumber Cos, a lumber treater. The cash transaction was valued at US$255 million. Founded in 1920, Tucker Lumber is headquartered in Pageland, S.C., and employs 425 workers across three locations.

An Oct. 1 fire consumed Valley Truss and Metal in Kensington, P.E.I. Mayor Rowan Caseley told CBC News that he believed the building to be a total loss after the blaze. “We’re certainly concerned about the loss of the business in town and we do hope they’ll continue to stay here and continue to rebuild,” he said.

Economically vulnerable households—those with lower incomes, those with less wealth, and those in younger age groups—continue to struggle to maintain their financial well-being relative to other households, amid persistently high interest rates and housing cost pressures. Income inequality increased in the second quarter of 2024 as the gap in the share of disposable income between households in the top 40 percent and the bottom 40 percent of the income distribution reached 47.0 percentage points, the largest gap ever recorded since this data began being collected in 1999. (StatCan)

Small business owners are finishing the calendar year off on an optimistic note, according to a survey by American Express Canada. More than 80 percent believe they’re in good shape to be where they want to be financially at year’s end; almost two-thirds expect the holiday season to be the busiest of the year.

It’s already October. Another year’s coming into the home stretch. Another year of challenges and frustrations, joys and triumphs.

Why not make this the year you come to the Hardlines Conference? It’s being held at one of Canada’s outstanding locations, Fairmont Le Manoir Richelieu, in the Charlevoix region of Quebec, on Oct. 22 and 23. This year we are collaborating with the incredible team at Quebec’s industry association, AQMAT, led by CEO Richard Darveau. The entire event will be presented with simultaneous translation.

Through the years, we’ve seen people who attend the conference find new jobs, start new careers, and make new alliances. It’s a place where people make new friendships, strike up new business connections, explore new opportunities, and line up new customers. And that’s in addition to the incredible lineup of speakers who will take to the Hardlines Conference podium.

Our speakers this year include:

• Jason Tasse, president and CEO of Lee Valley Tools, the innovative head of a very innovative niche hardware and tools company.
• Heléne Loberg, sustainability manager for IKEA Canada. We are thrilled to have IKEA join us this year: the company’s dedication to sustainability goes way beyond lip service.
• Alain Ménard, vice-president at RONA inc., who heads up the affiliate dealer division and will explain how RONA is investing in independents.
• Charles Grégoire-Béliveau, vice-president merchandising at BMR Group, will discuss how the Quebec-based wholesaler and buying group is rolling out services and support for dealers in new markets.
• Richard Darveau, president of AQMAT and head of “Well Made Here.” His message about the importance of buying Canadian will resonate with dealers and vendors alike.
• Michelle Chouinard-Kenney, CEO of Gibson Building Supplies, a chain of yards throughout southern and central Ontario that sells roofing and related materials.
• Pierre Battah, nationally recognized HR advisor and workplace expert. This guy rocks. Want to hear about how best to take care of your people? Pierre will keep you riveted.
• Sherri Amos, director of dealer support, Home Hardware Stores Ltd., will moderate a panel of retail merchants from RONA, TIMBER MART, Castle, Home Depot, and Orgill.
• Peter Norman, vice-president and chief economist at Altus Group, our favourite housing and numbers expert—and truly one of the country’s top housing economists.

Along with some special guests and the usual surprises, this year’s conference promises to provide another important element: just plain fun. (See? That makes 10.—your calculating Editor!)

Please join us on October 22 and 23 in Charlevoix!

(Registration for the 2024 Hardlines Conference is officially closed. If you haven’t secured your place, contact Michelle Porter or Jillian MacLeod directly right away!)

So how is the economy doing? We had the opportunity to pose that question to one of the country’s leading economists last week. Peter Norman is the vice-president and chief economist at Altus Group in Toronto. He’s also one of the keynote speakers at the 29th Hardlines Conference, being held Oct. 22 to 23 in Charlevoix, Que.

Norman recently spoke with Hardlines editor-in-chief Steve Payne and associate editor Geoff McLarney for an episode of Hardlines’ podcast What’s in Store. They talked about everything from housing starts and office vacancies to the pace of Canada’s recovery and how it compares with conditions in the U.S.

The economy, he says, is “a real mixed bag, with lots of opinions swirling around. When you’ve got a mixed bag like this, I think you tend to get more negative feelings from consumers.” But, he believes, the picture is more positive than many might think. “Our economy right now is in a kind of sweet spot, a kind of sweet soft landing.

“But we’re not in a recession, at least not technically.”

Norman assures us Canada is doing slightly better than our neighbour to the south, “especially going into 2025. Canada started cutting its rates earlier than what we saw the [U.S.] Fed doing. The Fed is in an interest-rate softening cycle now,” which should help the U.S. economy down the road.

Regionally, there are several strong areas showing growth, including markets such as Calgary and Edmonton and in Atlantic Canada—but there’s one major exception to that trend. “Ontario is in worse shape right now.” That province, which accounts for fully one-third of retail home improvement sales in Canada (source: the 2024 Hardlines Retail Report.—your statistically astute Editor), is slower, and it’s suppressing statistical growth for the entire country. Quebec, as well, remains soft, Norman says.

As a result, despite regional bright spots and falling interest rates, Canada’s overall housing numbers will remain flat in 2025 and 2026, he expects.

(Peter Norman is our guest on the latest instalment of the Hardlines Podcast Series, What’s in Store. Click here to enjoy the full interview and to sign up for our entire library of Hardlines podcasts!)

The second annual Products Issue of our magazine, Hardlines Home Improvement Quarterly, will mail in a few days. In this quarter, we introduce the industry to eight home improvement retail buyers and ask them an essential question: “What are you looking for from vendors?”
The answer to that question is similar to the maxim about real estate: What you care about is location, location, and location. Home improvement retail buyers are looking for innovation, innovation, and innovation.

One of the buyers we interviewed for HHIQ, Jack Cammarata, program manager at the Sexton Group in Winnipeg, put it this way: “Asking the right questions [of vendors] is essential. Such as: What makes you different from others in this category? Why should our members choose you? What are you offering that’s new and exciting that aligns with our members’ individual business goals?”

Ten years ago, Hardlines quoted Bill Wilson, former Sodisco-Howden and TSC Stores executive, about the importance of innovation in a dealer’s SKU offering. He told us that 20 percent of a good retailer’s stock should consist of new products—meaning SKUs introduced within the past 12 months.

That’s a high ratio. But if dealers aren’t offering anything that’s different—you’re boring. And boring retailers in an era of unlimited choice via e-commerce don’t excite customers. Think of it as another version of the 80-20 rule, where 80 percent of your successes come from 20 percent of your efforts.

Home Depot Canada gave a group of influencers and media a sneak preview of its Christmas products and trends—and Hardlines was there.

This year, the big box giant is showcasing three major lines or themes for the holiday season. The first is called “Gold Rush” and is characterized by a “very elegant and modern” look that uses black and gold as its feature colours. On one hand, it represents a modern sophisticated aesthetic while also offering vintage-style pieces that bring a nostalgic element to one’s decorating. And yes, that even includes an all-black Christmas tree!

“Quiet Beauty” is another theme, characterized by a more natural look with warm minimalism. Items in this line include metals featured in bows—both as tree toppers and as ornaments on their own—along with shatter-proof glass ornaments, and ornaments and accessories in a simple white.

Finally, the team at Home Depot Canada introduced “Crafted Cabin,” highlighted by a classic, nostalgic, red-and-green Christmas vibe. And picking up from the trend to big, bold decorations like the 12-foot skeletons it sells at Halloween, the retailer is featuring some oversized Christmas ornaments. These include an eight-foot nutcracker, a giant realistic Santa, and life-sized licensed characters including Minnie and Mickey Mouse and Minions—all in appropriate Christmas costumes.

PEOPLE ON THE MOVE

At Canfor Pulp Products, Kevin Edgson will be leaving the role of president and CEO on Oct. 31. The company says its board of directors is currently selecting Edgson’s successor.

DID YOU KNOW…?

… that the 2024 Hardlines Retail Report has now been released? This massive research breaks out the size and growth annually of the industry, identifying which retail sectors and which banners are winning and losing from year to year. It features more than 150 slides in a handy PowerPoint format. Click here for more info and order details—and remember, as a Premium Member (if you are subscribing to this newsletter, you are one!) you will get a big discount on the price!

RETAILER NEWS

Castle Building Centres Group has added Outillage Rioux GDB in Bedford, Que., to its ranks. Owner Eric Rioux operates the business, which is more than 50 years old, with his wife Lisa. Renovations to the location have begun, including a redesign of the store layout and an increase in square footage. The business is also eyeing the prospect of building a warehouse “in the near future” to support its LBM expansion.

Walmart Canada is investing an additional $92 million in pay increases for eligible supply chain hourly and frontline management and retail hourly associates. The compensation will include annual incentive bonuses and benefits coverage. Employees will receive free and confidential 24/7 virtual care, employee assistance programs, wellbeing programs through TELUS Health, and a 10 percent discount card for groceries and general merchandise.

BeautiTone has unveiled its 2025 Colour of the Year. The proprietary paint brand of Home Hardware Stores Ltd. has chosen “Midnight Flora,” a “vivid shade of red-purple” it describes as “moody and mysterious.”

Costco Wholesale Corp. reported Q4 sales of US$79.7 billion, edging up by 1.0 percent. Comp sales rose by 5.5 percent in Canada and 5.3 percent in the U.S.

W. W. Grainger broke ground last week on its 1.2 million-square-foot distribution centre in the Houston metropolitan area. The Hockley, Tex., facility is slated to open in 2026, employing a team of about 400 workers.

M-D Canada, a division of M-D Building Products, has announced a partnership with contractor and TV personality Bryan Baeumler. Together, Baeumler and the company will take to social media to educate industry professionals and installers on how to use Prova Tile Installation products. The campaign will focus on cost savings, increased efficiency, and building a reliable reputation.

Investment in U.S. construction edged down in August by 0.1 percent. On a year-over-year basis, construction spending for the month was down 0.2 percent. Investment in private construction projects fell by 0.2 percent, including a 1.5 percent drop in the single-family sector. (U.S. Commerce Department)