Following an unprecedented pandemic run that resulted in three years of solid gains for Canadian hardware and home improvement dealers, the industry slowed right down in 2023, according to the latest data from Hardlines.

As we crunch the numbers on the overall size of the industry year over year, brand new data reveals that overall top-line sales from all hardware, building supply, big box retailers in the country dropped by almost four percent last year.

Throughout the pandemic, the retail home improvement industry enjoyed record growth, as consumers had little else to spend their money on during lockdowns. They endured Covid stuck at home, so their investments were in that home. The industry grew by more than 30 percent from 2019 to 2022. But the brakes came on last year, with a slowdown—call it a correction—that responded to the world’s attempts to return to “normal” following the worst of the pandemic.

Those numbers refer to like-for-like dollars and do not take into account inflation, which hit a high in 2023 of almost four percent, making the year-over-year losses for retailers even more acute. In fact, the Top Four retail groups in Canada—Home Depot, Home Hardware Stores, RONA inc., and Canadian Tire Retail—saw their sales slip slightly more than the industry overall last year, reflecting the resilience of smaller independents in local markets.

And how do we get those statistics? It’s a huge task that our editorial team takes months to complete. We collect surveys, from both independent dealers and the head offices of retailers and buying groups, on their sales, store counts, and business conditions. We examine store openings, closings, and banner changes. We look at retail square footage. We compare our industry with StatCan data on the retail trade. We look for the fine print in annual reports from publicly traded companies like Canadian Tire and Home Depot.

The results are presented in our annual Hardlines Retail Report, which 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.

(Reserve your copy of the 2024 Hardlines Retail Report, which will be released later in July. Click on the link for info and order details—and remember, as a Premium Member with your subscription to this newsletter, you will take advantage of a big discount on the price!)

Red Deer, Alta.-based Peavey Industries LP will end its relationship with Ace Hardware International at the end of this year. Peavey has been the licensee of the Ace banner in Canada since 2020.

In a release, Peavey said that the decision “underscores the growth trajectory that Ace Canada has experienced, evolving from Peavey Industries LP’s acquisition of the Ace Canada master licence from Lowe’s in 2020. This period has been filled with shared aspirations for growth and a steadfast commitment to supporting local Canadian-owned retail.”

The original deal had some knocks against it from the very start. Peavey signed the deal to take over the Ace licence in Canada at the end of 2019, just weeks before the world was shut down by Covid. The licence had previously been held by Lowe’s Canada, which inherited the Ace business as part of Lowe’s acquisition of RONA inc.

The irony of that deal did not escape the management at Ace Hardware Corp. in the U.S. (its headquarters are in Oak Brook, Ill., a suburb of Chicago). Lowe’s happens to be one of Ace’s biggest competitors in the U.S. (Neither Ace Hardware nor Ace International responded to multiple queries about the future of the banner in Canada.)

With the move of Ace to Peavey Industries, the future of the venerable brand, which is carried by some 5,800 stores in 60 countries, appeared more secure than ever.

With Peavey, the Ace business was back in the hands of a Canadian company—and a western-based one at that. Under the leadership of CEO Doug Anderson, Ace was another part of Peavey’s trajectory as a truly national retail hardware company.

But it had to develop a wholesale business to supply the more than 100 Ace dealers that came along with the deal. Many of these are smaller hardware stores serving rural or remote communities. But even these were a fit with Peavey’s vision to support, in its words, “small retailers and local communities that are the backbone of our economy.” Peavey’s own banner, Peavey Mart, consists entirely of corporately-owned farm and hardware stores, many serving secondary and rural markets.

As some Ace stores are building centres, Lowe’s Canada continued supplying them with building supplies until Peavey made a deal with Sexton Group in Winnipeg to manage that side of the business.

But the one-two punch of the pandemic and the slowing Canadian economy that followed took its toll. Over time, the number of Ace dealers was reduced, some through banner conversions and some through culling by Peavey as it sought a good fit with the Ace dealers themselves. Now, there are about 70 Ace dealers in Canada.

“Over the past few years, the retail landscape has faced numerous challenges, including the global pandemic, supply chain disruptions, inflation-induced consumer behaviour changes, and increased operational costs, particularly in smaller, remote markets,” Peavey explained in the release. “These factors have prompted a strategic re-evaluation by Peavey Industries LP, leading to the decision to end our relationship with Ace Hardware International.”

Peavey said its relationship with Ace dealers in Canada will be “business as usual” until the end of the year. During that time, Peavey says it remains committed to supporting the Ace dealers. “We pledge to maintain open communication and provide assistance and guidance to all affected parties.”

(This is the second part of a report on the state of department stores and other general merchandisers. Part one appeared in our previous issue.)

These are tough times for department stores and other large-surface retailers in Canada. The exit of Lowe’s from its Canadian business follows similar retreats by other retailers, from Nordstrom to Target, and the Hudson’s Bay Co. has been scaling back its retail footprint to make the most of some of the prime real estate it holds.

But there are bright spots in the landscape. Consumers continue to flock to affordable—and Canadian—retailers like Dollarama and Giant Tiger, while Quebec-based Simons is in growth mode with its apparel offerings at multiple price points.

Simons CEO Bernard Leblanc, the first appointed to the role from outside the Simons family, attributes the retailer’s success to its responsiveness to the market, a trait he says it shares with retailers who have succeeded in bucking the trend. “That’s very much what we’re about:  listening to our customer, being sure that we’re evolving, that we’re offering what they’re expecting.” That includes customizing SKUs to local markets, though the overall inventory remains the same Canada-wide.

On that score, HBC has failed, Liza Amlani, co-founder of Retail Strategy Group, told CBC News. “The customer is changing, but the department store is not evolving with them,” she said.

But there are bright spots in HBC’s outlook. Customers have responded warmly to its rollout of Zellers stores-within-stores at The Bay locations across Canada, including a partial revival of the classic Zellers diner in a food truck format. And while HBC has closed some bricks-and-mortar locations of Saks Off 5TH, it spun off the bargain brand’s e-retail platform into a separate business.

Rob Brooks, who took over as CEO of Saks Off 5TH last year, said in a podcast with the National Retail Federation in the U.S. that the e-retailer is “seeing great uplift” in average order value and average unit retail. Consistent with Amlani’s critical observation, Brooks said that “better understanding customer preferences” is “one of our main focuses.”

Saks Off 5TH isn’t the only retailer that’s surviving by appealing to budget-conscious shoppers. Montreal-based Dollarama has seen sales and earnings rise consistently since the pandemic, as shoppers seek relief from inflation. Last month, it reported an 8.6 percent hike in its first-quarter sales, while earnings rose by $0.14 per share.

A YouTube phenomenon dubbed the “Dollarama Budget Grocery Shopping Trend” has seen vloggers taking to the platform to show off their grocery hauls and low bill totals. CEO Neil Rossy told analysts the trend was a “flavour of the day” while modestly averring that food “remains a small part of our offering.”

Meanwhile, Giant Tiger, which boasts the tagline “Low Price is What We Do” garnered attention on social media earlier this year for its grocery prices, sometimes as little as two-thirds of what Loblaw’s own Superstore banner charges for the same items.

The privately held company doesn’t have to report financial results, but it is in growth mode: in 2021, Giant Tiger pledged to add about 40 stores. Just last fall, it opened new locations in its home province of Ontario, in Sault Ste. Marie and Vaughan.

ABC Supply Co., a wholesale distributor of roofing, siding, and other exterior building products in Canada, has announced the promotion of Michelle Dagenais to the role of western Canada district manager. Dagenais joined ABC Supply in 2023 as the exterior products business manager for Canada. Prior to joining ABC Supply, she was a sales leader for James Hardie, serving western Canada.

DID YOU KNOW…?

… that the latest instalment of our podcast series What’s In Store is now live? In this episode, we talk with Duane and Dave MacDonald, dealers-owners at Callbecks Home Hardware Building Centre in Summerside, P.E.I. The two brothers tell a great story of their father’s acquisition of the business and how they landed the Leon’s franchise for the province, combining the strength of the Home Hardware brand with the biggest name in furniture and appliances. Click here and scroll down to choose the podcast and have a listen!

RETAILER NEWS

More than 500 participants attended AD Canada’s second annual meeting in Vancouver earlier this month. Three-time Olympic champion and Canadian ice hockey icon Cassie Campbell-Pascall was among the guest speakers at the event. Next year’s annual meeting will be held May 26 to 29 at the Westin Harbour Castle in Toronto.

A storage rack that had visible damage or wear, according to a WorkSafeBC report, cost a Penticton, B.C., RONA store $330,507 in a fine earlier this month. WorkSafeBC is the province’s workplace safety agency. It conducted a random investigation and imposed a “stop use” on the rack in question. However, the store did not repair or replace the rack, the report said.

Ace Hardware has celebrated a century in business in the U.S. with a nationwide “100th Anniversary Block Party.” The promo ran on June 29, with participating Ace stores transformed into a block party venue. They featured specials on a range of products including barbecues, outdoor furniture and accessories, and power tools, along with live demonstrations and family-friendly activities.

Empire Co., whose grocery banners include Sobeys and Safeway, reported Q4 profits of $148.9 million, down from $182.9 million a year earlier. Sales were flat at $7.4 billion. Comp sales edged down by 0.3 percent but rose 0.2 percent when excluding fuel.

SUPPLIER NEWS

Canadian Thermos Products Inc. is celebrating 120 years this year for the Thermos brand. To commemorate the milestone, the company has launched a new product line called the Icon Series, while renewing its commitment to product designs that meet or exceed applicable government standards. Canadian Thermos is also hosting contests. Until Aug. 12, contestants will get a chance at a Canadian vacation as well as one of 20 Thermos prize packs.

Some 130 members of the Teamsters union are on strike at Richelieu Hardware’s Montreal warehouse, but the impact is limited, according to a report by the Quebec trade association AQMAT. The workers have been without a collective agreement since the end of 2023. The relation between wages and inflation is at the heart of the dispute.

Retail sales increased 0.7 percent to $66.8 billion in April compared to the previous month. Sales were up in seven of nine subsectors and were led by increases at gasoline stations and fuel vendors as well as food and beverage retailers. Sales in LBM and garden categories declined by 1.4 percent. (StatCan)

The annualized rate of housing starts in the U.S. fell 5.5 percent between April and May to 1.28 million units. Single-family starts were down by 5.2 percent to a rate of 982,000. Building permits were at a rate of 1.39 million units, down 3.8 percent from April. Single-family permits declined by 2.9 percent to a rate of 949,000. (U.S. Census Bureau)

The Canadian Home Products Trade Association has renamed its scholarship program in memory of former CHPTA president Vaughn Crofford, who died in June 2023 at the age of 73. The program provides money to children of employees of its member companies to attend university or college. Successful candidates receive $1,000 for their first year of study leading to a degree from an accredited community college or university. (Click here for more info.)

RONA inc. has tapped its existing executive ranks to find its newest president and CEO. Jean-Philippe (J.P.) Towner joined RONA barely a year ago, in October 2023, as CFO.

Before joining RONA, Towner spent three years at Dollarama as CFO. Prior to that he served as EVP and CFO at Pomerleau Inc., a commercial construction company based in Saint-Georges, Que.

Towner replaces Andrew Iacobucci, who was hired last June—exactly a year ago—in what turned out to be an interim position as president and CEO. Iacobucci brought with him a 20-year background in the grocery industry, a field from which many other RONA execs have been drawn in the past. His CV on LinkedIn indicates he’s filled an interim CEO role at least once before in the past, during his tenure at US Foods, a food service provider based in Rosemont, Ill.

In fact, since the departure of its founding CEO, Robert Dutton, RONA and Lowe’s Canada have had a variety of people leading the charge. Dutton was forced out after major shareholders, led by Caisse de dépôt et placement du Québec, insisted on his removal. He was at the helm for 20 years, until stepping down in November 2012.

Chief Executive Dominique Boies had been CFO and was pulled in as interim CEO after Dutton. But within a few months Robert Sawyer, a veteran grocery executive who came over from Metro, was hired. Sawyer oversaw the sale of RONA to Lowe’s Canada in 2016.

By then, Lowe’s Canada had installed a Quebecer, Sylvain Prud’homme, to run the Canadian business. When Sawyer resigned after selling RONA, Prud’homme took over the combined business. Like Sawyer, he had a background in grocery, including Loblaw, Sobeys, and Walmart Canada. He had joined as CEO of Lowe’s Canada in December 2017 and moved the company’s offices from Toronto to RONA’s head offices in Boucherville, Que.

Barely two years later, Prud’homme left and Tony Cioffi, Lowe’s Canada’s EVP for finance, real estate, and dealers, became interim president in October 2019. But by January 2020, Lowe’s sent up a new CEO, Tony Hurst, from Mooresville, and Cioffi continued in his EVP role, reporting to Hurst. When the RONA business was sold by Lowe’s to Sycamore Partners, a New York-based private equity firm, at the beginning of 2023, Cioffi was soon replaced by Iacobucci.

With Towner in place, he will be overseeing, among other things, the conversion of Lowe’s and RONA big boxes to the RONA+ banner, and the investment in the affiliated dealer base with a fresh identity program.

“I am greatly honored to assume the leadership of this Canadian household name. It’s an exciting time for RONA as we are building the future of this iconic brand that has been serving Canadians for the past 85 years. We have an exceptional team in place which I’m proud to lead into the next phase of this company as we strive to help Canadians build their homes and dreams,” said Towner in a release.

On April 19, Coastal Drywall Supplies, a distributor with three branches in New Brunswick and Nova Scotia, coordinated with Pinaud Drywall + Acoustics, a local contractor, to deliver and place over 100 lifts of drywall (26 boards to a lift) at the jobsite of The Mills Residences, a mixed-use apartment community with 220 suites, whose construction in downtown Halifax, N.S., is scheduled for completion in late summer.

This delivery feat—which Coastal touted on its Facebook page the following day (see their photo of a crane lifting one of the lifts)—speaks to the competitive importance and centrality of customer service and logistics for Gypsum Specialty Dealers (GSDs). GSDs may be relatively few in number but they play outsized roles in helping Canadian contractors meet the demands of their commercial and residential clients.

“Service is the name of the game in drywall,” said Daniel Porter, Coastal’s general manager. “Early morning, late night, whenever.”

“Our vision is to be the best,” added Brian McCormick, president of Regina-based Kenroc Building Materials, a GSD with 15 locations. “That means more than just moving product from Point A, our distribution centre, to Point B, the customer’s jobsite. Performance is paramount, so when our customer has a problem, we have a problem.”

GSD sources agree that reliable and consistent customer service and delivery are what determine competitive advantage. Paul Green, president of Vaughn, Ont.-based GMS Canada, said that what sets his organization’s dealers apart is their ability to “load the building,” meaning that no matter a project’s scale, GMS Canada can deliver and place drywall to the building’s height and depth. Undergirding GMS Canada’s delivery services is a fleet that includes 350 heavy trucks, 73 trailers, and 120 light passenger trucks.

(This is part of a larger feature article on Canada’s GSD industry in the next issue (mailing in July) of Hardlines Home Improvement Quarterly, our trade magazine. HHIQ subscriptions are free to bona fide dealers. Go to hardlines.ca to sign up.)

Amid changes at head office (see lead story—Editor), RONA continues to invest in the growth of its independent, or affiliated, dealer network. Last week, the company officially launched its new visual identity for stores owned by RONA affiliated dealers. The goal of this initiative is to “turn the spotlight” on RONA independent dealers by showcasing their entrepreneurial side, while leveraging the strength of the RONA brand.

The new look was first unveiled to the dealers at last November’s RONA show for independents, called Connexia.

“Our network of affiliated dealer stores is a key priority for the organization and, as such, we are investing to help our dealers stand out even more in their respective markets. We are proud to have welcomed more than ten new affiliated dealer stores since the beginning of the year,” says J.P. Towner, the brand-new president and CEO of RONA inc. (see lead story, again—your ever-helpful Editor).

The first store to get the complete new visual package is RONA Iberville, in Saint-Jean-sur-Richelieu, Que. It will soon be followed by the RONA in Manotick, Ont., near Ottawa. The company says the signage has been modernized to highlight the entrepreneurship, unique history, and community spirit that characterize RONA affiliated dealers.

Elements of the new look include:

• a logo specific to dealer owners, which includes their company name, to help customers easily identify RONA stores owned by independent dealers
• outdoor pylon bearing the words “Dealer Owner” (Marchand Propriétaire)
• a sticker to be displayed in the main door of the stores, bearing the words “Dealer Owner” and the year each store was founded
• wall panels presenting the history and values of each store

“The unique history and strong local roots of each affiliated store are differentiating elements, and we wanted to clearly highlight them with this new visual identity,” said Catherine Laporte, SVP, marketing and customer experience, at RONA inc.

(Check out this video made at RONA Iberville during the installation of the new image program.)

The retail landscape in Canada, challenging at the best of times, has seen banners come and go over the past decade. American chains such as Target and Nordstrom have entered and then withdrawn from the Canadian market.

But the struggle isn’t limited to them: even Hudson’s Bay Co., a proverbial “part of our heritage,” is downsizing. Its downtown Montreal location is having its footprint cut in half, while the one in Calgary is slimming down to three storeys. In Toronto, the company in 2022 closed the Bay location at Yonge and Bloor, which served as its flagship in that city before the acquisition and conversion of the former Simpson’s store south of the Eaton Centre.

That complex is itself a case study in the life cycle of retailers. After the collapse of the namesake Eatons banner, it hosted Sears and Nordstrom as flagship tenants, both of which in turn have since made their exits from the country.

Now Quebec City-based La Maison Simons is to be the latest addition to the space, taking over a portion of the former Nordstrom site. It’s also adding a new store at the Yorkdale Shopping Centre in the north end of the city. These stores will be the 18th and 19th for the chain, which first ventured outside Quebec in 2012 with a location at the West Edmonton Mall.

Simons’ business model offers mid-to-higher-end fashions at a variety of price points. Some analysts think it has a chance of defying the odds that have seemed stacked against other retailers.

Toronto Metropolitan University retail management professor Joseph Aversa told CBC News that, since the family business appointed Bernard Leblanc as its first outside CEO in 2022, it has been “very calculated in terms of expansions. They’ve grown relatively organically across the country.”

The fact that it is a homegrown retailer (the first Simons began as a dry goods store in 1840) is also a factor. Liza Amlani, co-founder of Retail Strategy Group, told the CBC that American have tried at their peril to replicate their business models in Canada.

“We are different. We are not another state out of the U.S.; we are another country. And across Canada, we’re very different: The Vancouver customer is very different from the Toronto customer.”

(This story is the first instalment of a two-part series on the state of department stores and discount retailers in Canada. Catch the rest in next week’s Hardlines Weekly Report!)

PEOPLE ON THE MOVE

Home Hardware Stores Ltd. has announced the appointment of John Pierce as chief retail operations officer. Reporting to CEO and president Kevin Macnab, he will oversee field operations, dealer support functions, business development, real estate and construction, store design and space planning, Home’s Innovation Centre, communications, events, and public relations. His previous role was VP of retail business development.

DID YOU KNOW…?

… tthat the latest issue of Hardlines HR Advisor hit inboxes last week? In this edition, we explore how Pet Valu attracts top-calibre staff, IKEA Canada’s financial literacy efforts, and tips for creating an inclusive workplace both during and beyond Pride Month. HR Advisor is monthly and it’s free: click here to sign up today!

RETAILER NEWS

Canadian Tire Corp. is building a new store at the Stanley Park Mall in Kitchener. The new Canadian Tire store, which is forecast to open this fall, will replace the existing Canadian Tire store at Victoria and Frederick streets in Kitchener. The new store will occupy the location vacated by Walmart at the mall.

The Home Depot has completed its acquisition of SRS Distribution, Inc., a building products distributor with more than 760 locations across 47 U.S. states. The deal, first announced March 28, is worth about US$18.25 billion. SRS serves professional roofers, landscapers, and pool contractors, with a sales force of 2,500 and a fleet of some 4,000 trucks. Home Depot expects the acquisition to accelerate its growth with the residential contractor and builder with bulk orders.

Wilson’s Home Hardware Building Centre in Barrington Passage, N.S., is celebrating its centenary. The Wilson family has been in charge for four generations. “Our roots are as a general store. Then it morphed into a grocery store and then we took on the home hardware banner in 1967 and I’ve just kind of continued to grow from there,” dealer-owner Mike Wilson said.

Employee retention has been on every retailer’s mind since Covid, but now we’ve got some statistics showing costly that can be. According to Quartz, the business news service, IKEA lost 62,000 employees globally in 2022, at a cost of about $5,000 to replace each employee—or a massive $310 million. IKEA has since raised pay, benefits, and introduced more flexible work schedules. (Listen to our podcast with Michael McLarney interviewing Tanja Fratangeli, chief people officer at IKEA Canada, here).

Gypsum Management & Supply Inc. announced Q4 sales of US$1.41 billion, up 8.4 percent from a year earlier. Net income declined 25.4 percent to $56.4 million, compared to $75.6 million in the previous Q4. For its fiscal year 2024, which ended April 30, GMS saw sales grow by 3.2 percent to $5.5 billion. Annual net income came to $276.1 million, a 17.1 percent from $333.0 million in 2023.

Sales of existing homes edged down 0.6 percent between April and May, remaining a little below the average of the last 10 years. Actual (not seasonally adjusted) monthly activity came in 5.9 percent below May 2023. The number of newly listed homes was up in May, though only by 0.5 percent on a month-over-month basis. (Canadian Real Estate Assoc.)

Housing starts rose to an annualized rate of 264,506 units in May, compared to 241,111 in April. The actual number of urban housing starts was up 39 percent to 21,652 units in May compared to 15,606 units a year earlier. Total starts declined in Vancouver but increased in Toronto and Montreal. (CMHC)

Investment in building construction decreased 2.0 percent to $20.5 billion in April from March. The residential sector declined 2.7 percent to $14.2 billion, while the non-residential sector fell 0.5 percent to $6.3 billion. Nationally, single-family home investment fell 4.7 percent to $6.9 billion. Saskatchewan was the only province to report a spending increase (17.7 percent) in that subsector. (StatCan)

Business Wire informs us that there is a current call for entries for the China International Industrial Design Competition for Hardware Products, which has been held for 18 consecutive years, organizers say. If you have designed a sensational product for which you would like to share specifications, pictures, plans, etc. with the organizers (your cynical yet unbiased Editor), you can send them to Yongkang, China, for a chance to win an unknown part of the ¥3.63 million (C$689,700) prize money. Those still interested will find the link easily throughout the internet.

Community involvement and goodwill efforts are a key part of how many retailers brand themselves and go to market. They can be generated at head office through holistic—though sometimes suspect—initiatives like ESG (environmental, social, and corporate governance), or play out right at the staff level with fundraisers and awareness campaigns to support local charities or causes.

How much they really matter may be questioned, especially if a company is public and driven at least in part by the desires of shareholders. But on the front lines, the value of these programs is genuine.

Take Federated Co-operatives Ltd. Based in Saskatoon, FCL services more than 160 local Co-ops across western Canada. Based on its model of local investment, FCL is distinctly community-minded. That’s why it developed its Co-op Community Spaces Program, which raises money to help protect, beautify, and improve local spaces served by Co-op stores.

This year’s projects range from new greenhouses in Salt Spring Island, B.C., to an accessible playground in Rosetown, Sask., and a greenhouse for a community farm (shown here) in Red Deer, Alta. Since 2015, Co-ops have given $13.5 million to 189 capital projects across western Canada.

At the same time, RONA inc. has issued its latest Sustainability Report. During the past year, the retailer made available some 5,000 ECO-branded products in stores and online. It also touts the recovery of 1,980 tonnes of paint, aerosols, batteries, light bulbs, and fluorescent tubes.

The company also said two-thirds of the waste it generated was reused or recycled. It also installed more than 1,000 solar panels at its Milton, Ont., distribution centre and donated $3 million to non-profit organizations through the RONA Foundation. In addition, RONA has supported the FSC wood certification program for the past 15 years. It’s been ranked among Canada’s Greenest Employers and is one of Greater Montreal’s top employers since 2021.

Pam O’Rourke, the senior merchant who recently left Home Depot Canada (see story below), was also chair of The Home Depot Foundation, which is devoted to supporting homeless youth in Canada. Through Home Depot stores, the foundation’s Orange Door Project supports 120 local organizations that are committed to preventing and ending youth homelessness in Canada. This year’s fundraiser started June 4 and continues to July 7.

These types of fundraisers and community projects have hundreds, if not thousands, of iterations at the store level among independents, as well. They are not only positive brand builders, but they provide tangible support to the very communities upon which the dealers themselves rely.

Pamela O’Rourke is leaving The Home Depot Canada. She spent 15 years in hardlines retail, including six at the discount department store chain SAAN and nine as vice-president of merchandising at Home Depot Canada. There, O’Rourke (shown here in a meeting with the CHPTA in 2019) was instrumental in many areas of the business, and was focused on both the retailer’s customers and Canadian communities.

Before becoming the giant retailer’s top merchant, she held other duties along with her merchandising roles, including overseeing strategy, planning, and sourcing. She was also the chair of the Home Depot Canada Foundation, an organization devoted to reducing youth homelessness in Canada.

With O’Rourke’s departure, Jim Recore, a merchant from Home Depot’s head office in Atlanta, has been brought up to lead the Canadian merchandising team. He assumes the VP merchandising title for Canada. In his new role, Recore is responsible for global sourcing and product development, along with Home Depot Canada’s Merchandising Execution Team, in-store environment, assortment and space planning, and sustainability initiatives.

According to his LinkedIn profile, Recore got his start in retail growing up at his parents’ convenience store. His first job was working there at the age of eight. He joined The Home Depot in 2010 as the director of private brand development, working out of the Atlanta head office. Since then, he has taken on roles with increasing responsibility, including several division merchandise manager roles and vice-president of merchandising for building materials.

Most recently, he served as vice-president of merchandising for lawn and garden, overseeing categories such as outdoor power, outdoor living, and cleaning. Before joining Home Depot, Recore worked at Sears in the U.S. for 22 years in various roles, including divisional vice-president of Craftsman Product Development.

To solve the chronic housing shortage, Ottawa has suggested that our industry needs to build 1.3 million homes extra homes over and above the 1.8 million homes projected through 2030.

If those extra homes are going to materialize, our industry is going to experience a residential construction boom not seen since the post-WW2 era. Will there be enough building materials?

It’s an open question. Relatively new technologies—such as ICFs (insulated concrete forms)—will help. But clean gypsum is not in unlimited supply. Mitch Wile of The Cedar Shop in Calgary, knows the subject. He’s opened more than a few GSDs—for both Kenroc and Winroc— and he’s worried.

Wile estimates that an average 2,400-square-foot house requires about 11,000 square feet of drywall. Multiplied by an extra million homes, that’s problematic.

One major drywall manufacturer is seeing the opportunity. CGC Inc. recently announced that it has begun construction of its new manufacturing plant in Wheatland County, Alta., east of Calgary (artist’s rendition shown here). The 220,000-square-foot facility represents a $210 million investment. It will manufacture CGC’s Sheetrock brand of wallboard and create more than 100 permanent, full-time manufacturing jobs, the company says. The construction phase will conclude in 2026. Plant recruitment and hiring will start in mid-2025.

“This project underscores our commitment to being the best wallboard manufacturer to do business with, particularly as builders, governments, and communities across Alberta and the West work to expand housing starts, accessibility and affordability,” said Chris Griffin, CEO of USG Corp., CGC’s parent.

And a dealer group specializing in gypsum, GMS Inc. (Gypsum Management & Supply), has acquired seven-location Yvon Building Supply, a GSD in the Greater Toronto Area and southern Ontario. Yvon also sells ceilings, insulation, and other products. The price was $196.5 million and, for that, GMS will hope to see many years generating at least $190 million in revenue, as Yvon did in its most recent fiscal year.

For the year ended April 30, 2023, GMS Canada reported the equivalent of $887.7 million in retail sales, 12.2 percent of its parent’s total. GMS Inc. stated that drywall accounted for 42 percent of its net corporate revenue.

When a hardware distributor—even a huge one—launches its own loyalty program, you know they’re important.

Memphis-based Orgill Inc., which serves a growing number of independents in Canada, got into the loyalty program game in 2019. Its program, called FanBuilder, allows an independent dealer to build their own loyalty program the way they want it—though FanBuilder is also ready to go right out of the box.

At the other end of the spectrum, some of the very biggest retailer loyalty programs in Canada have had a changing of the guard. Air Miles, which once reigned supreme as the biggest loyalty program in the country, hit the skids in recent years. Retailers defected from it en masse. Approaching its 30th anniversary in Canada early in 2021, Lowes, RONA, and Réno-Dépôt left the program. They were soon followed by Staples, Rexall, and the Liquor Control Board of Ontario. Grocery giant Empire Co., which includes the Sobeys and Safeway brands, followed suit.

Most recently, Metro, a grocery chain in Ontario and Quebec, announced that its Ontario stores will no longer accept Air Miles cards later this year. Metro has already gone with another loyalty program for its Quebec stores called Moi Rewards, in partnership with RBC. Right now, the program is also available in Quebec at Super C, Jean Coutu, Brunet, and Première Moisson. In Ontario and New Brunswick, the Moi program is offered at Jean Coutu stores.

There was a reason for all the ship-jumping with Air Miles. Its parent companies in both Canada and the U.S. filed for bankruptcy on both sides of the border last spring. BMO, already one of the biggest partners that Air Miles had, took over ownership. BMO has pledged to give Air Miles new life in an effort to reverse its fortunes.

The program is certainly trying new things. A new concept called Air Miles receipts allows consumers to scan their receipts from other stores—even those with competing programs—with an app to earn bonus points and offers. This is a new concept in loyalty: “layering over” existing retailer programs—for those that participate, that is. Not all independent retailers choose to, including the members of TIMBER MART, which is continuing to partner with Air Miles as a group.

Then, on May 22 of this year, Air Miles announced it had signed an exclusivity deal with Pharmasave, its Canadian independent drugstore partner, that will simplify consumers’ ability to collect points at Pharmasave’s almost 900 stores.

PEOPLE ON THE MOVE

BMR Group has appointed Marlène Hins as vice-president, marketing and communications. With nearly 25 years of experience in marketing, including more than 12 years at RONA and Lowe’s, Hins joins BMR after four years at Lassonde, a food and beverage company. She reports to BMR’s COO Antonio Di Pasquale.

Ryan Medlock has joined  OLFA North America as national account manager, Pro Retail Canada. A 25-year industry veteran, Medlock was most recently at Southwire Canada in the national account manager role.

At Lowe’s Cos., Jennifer Wilson has been promoted to senior vice-president and chief marketing officer. She joined Lowe’s in 2006 and most recently served as senior vice-president, enterprise brand and marketing. In her new role, Wilson will oversee strategic brand and product marketing, loyalty and personalization, promotional planning, creative, and media. As CMO, she will also build out a new customer experience integration organization designed to deliver end-to-end customer journeys (wow!—your baffled Editor).

DID YOU KNOW…?

… that as a subscriber to this newsletter, you are also a valued Hardlines Premium Member? One of the many perks of your Premium Membership is one complimentary Classified Ad each year in this newsletter. Don’t pass up a free chance to grow your team, add new lines, or advertise a new opportunity at your company. Contact Jillian MacLeod at the Hardlines World Headquarters to book your free Hardlines Classified. (For a full list of all your Premium Membership benefits, click here!)

RETAILER NEWS

Castle Building Centres Group has announced the addition of Adam Tools Inc. in Mississauga, Ont., as its newest dealer-member. Owners Ron and Marwan Amer founded Adam Tools more than two decades ago.

Montreal-based Dollarama released results for its fiscal 2025 first quarter, which ended April 24. Those results included sales that increased 8.6 percent over last year’s first quarter to 1.41 billion. Comparable store sales grew 5.6 percent, following 17.1 percent growth a year earlier. The increase in comps was driven primarily by strong customer demand for consumables. Net earnings increased by 20.0 percent to $215.8 million.

Castle Building Centres Group held its annual vendor appreciation golf tournament in Georgetown, Ont., recently, attracting over 150 participants. As usual, the event raised funds for the SickKids Foundation, this time reaching a record donation of close to $70,000.

Quebec-based retailer Simons is in expansion mode outside its home province, with two new stores coming to Toronto. The chain has pending openings in the Toronto Eaton Centre and in Yorkdale Shopping Centre. The Eaton Centre location in particular has outlived such tenants as Eaton’s, Sears, and Nordstrom, but some analysts think Simons stands a better chance.

SUPPLIER NEWS

Luxo Marbre has entered into a strategic agreement with the sales agency, Bestrep Inc. Bestrep provides services for vendors to retail clients within the hardware and LBM markets across the province of Quebec and eastern Ontario.

The Canadian Home Products Trade Association has announced the renaming of its scholarship program in memory of former president Vaughn Crofford, who died last year at the age of 73. The program helps offset the cost of post-secondary education for children of employees of CHPTA member companies. Successful candidates receive $1,000 for their first year of study leading to a degree or diploma from an accredited community college or university.

The value of building permits increased 20.5 percent to $12.8 billion in April from the previous month. Construction intentions in the residential sector rose by 21 percent to $8.0 billion. The value of single-family permits edged up 2.4 percent to $2.6 billion. (StatCan)

The latest edition of Hardlines Dealer News hit subscribers’ inboxes last week. In this issue, we cover the “sunset” of the Réno-Dépôt brand, how one Home Hardware store opened a Leon’s franchise, and the latest acquisition of a Canadian independent by U.S.-based GMS. Hardlines Dealer News is monthly and it’s free: click here to subscribe now!

Here at Hardlines, we’ve been tracking the sluggish performance of the retail home improvement industry over the past several months. The publicly-traded majors (The Home Depot and Lowe’s in the U.S., Canadian Tire in Canada) have announced their results for both 2023 and the first quarter of 2024. Their numbers are all down as the economy, and consumers, slog through the post-pandemic malaise of higher interest rates and rising costs.

You have likely already surmised that the industry will show negative growth in 2023. But by how much? Did Home Depot Canada perform better than Canadian Tire? How did banners like RONA and Home Hardware perform, and how did their performance vary from province to province? Building centres saw their sales surge in 2022; did that persist into 2023 and will it continue through this year? Why is the Canadian big box market share smaller than in the U.S.?

All these questions will be answered—as they are annually—in our forthcoming 2024 Hardlines Retail Report. We are currently reviewing the sales performance of independent dealers, which is sent to us annually in our Retail Report survey. The data and economic trends for each region of the country are being inputted into our massive Industry Database to calculate the size of the industry. Only Hardlines has the data on how much our industry has grown or shrunk annually, which retailers are pulling ahead, and which groups are slowing down.

This information will also be used, in a greatly abbreviated form, in a special Top 20 Retailers feature for the third-quarter edition of our print magazine, Hardlines Home Improvement Quarterly. The Top 20 edition of HHIQ will be mailed out to 11,000 dealers and store managers across the country in mid-July.

But for the full data on our industry, you need the 2024 Hardlines Retail Report, also available in July. This essential piece of research features:

• The size of the industry year-over-year based on 2023 year-end results
• In-depth analysis of the top four players, including Home Depot Canada, RONA inc., Home Hardware, and Canadian Tire Retail
• The winning formats—how the independents are faring against the big boxes
• The hot provinces and how market shares have changed by region
• The newest trends and challenges facing retailers today
• Forecasts for the industry in 2024 and 2025

Again, this research is proprietary to Hardlines. It is simply not available anywhere else.

This year’s Hardlines Retail Report includes a closer look at online sales penetration and how dealers are coping—or not—with this trend. It will also present brand new data that identifies sales according to customer type—whether it’s DIY, contractor, or industrial. Plus, we provide careful evaluations of the latest retail and economic trends, and how they will affect your business. It’s a must-have for every sales and marketing executive in the retail home improvement industry.  And remember, we’ve done the work for you! If you have a presentation to make about the Canadian industry, you need the 2024 Hardlines Retail Report—with its 150-plus detailed PowerPoint slides.

(For more info, and to pre-order your copy of the 2024 Hardlines Retail Report, click here now! If you have questions about the report, email us directly!)

On the last day of May, Kent Building Supplies officially launched appliance showrooms in six additional locations across Atlantic Canada. The latest Kent stores to carry a selection of washers, dryers, and refrigerators are located in Truro, Stellarton, and Sydney, N.S.; Edmundston, N.B.; and Gander and Corner Brook, N.L.

The retailer started with a pilot program at nine of its big box stores, with the intention to roll out to additional stores over time. With the latest additions, Kent now boasts appliance showrooms in 14 of its 48 stores in Atlantic Canada. The other stores carrying them are in Charlottetown, P.E.I.; Halifax and Dartmouth Crossing, N.S.; Fredericton South, Moncton, and Saint John East, N.B.; and St. John’s and Mount Pearl, N.L.

The showrooms carry a selection of major brands, including Samsung, Whirlpool, and GE. Customers can get home delivery along with removal of the existing appliances at the same time. Appliance purchases are also eligible for Air Miles points. Each store staffs the department with dedicated appliance sales specialists.

With Kent’s continued expansion of its services to contractors, the appliance showrooms represent an important added service when it comes to rounding out assortments for residential home improvements. It also gives Kent a way to seriously increase basket size among its customers.

Quebec home improvement retailer Canac has a new store in Sorel-Tracy, Que., roughly midway between Montreal and Trois-Rivières. The location opened to the public ahead of the May long weekend, but an official ribbon-cutting ceremony was held at the end of the month with media guests and local dignitaries in attendance. Groundbreaking on the site was first announced a year ago.

Store manager Gilok Chang Kai was joined by members of the Laberge family who own Canac, Canac general director Martin Gamache, and merchandising director Daniel Châtelain. Elected officials on hand included Sorel-Tracy mayor Patrick Péloquin.

“The media define us as a big box, but we operate on proximity,” Châtelain said, describing the close cooperation across departments. The store clocks in at more than 40,000 square feet and boasts a building materials warehouse of over 31,000 square feet, along with an outdoor lumber yard.

Charles Laberge, Canac’s senior business development manager, noted that there is “strong potential in our market for entrepreneurs looking for specific guidance” on products.

All staff positions in the store have already been filled. Some employees were wooed from competitors, while others are locals who jumped at the chance to quit their commute to Montreal.

The privately owned chain is in the midst of a $200 million, five-year expansion effort. Its Walmart-style strategy of everyday low pricing over promotional specials appeals to Quebecers. Since the takeover of RONA by Sycamore Partners, a New York-based equity fund, Canac has touted itself as a homegrown alternative. The retailer’s next opening is slated for the fall in Rivière-du-Loup.

Retailers are taking increasingly creative steps to combat theft, but balancing security with customer service is a delicate act.

Retail Council of Canada CEO Diane Brisebois told CBC News that organized retail crime is a growing problem. “We’re talking here about gangs that are in the business of stealing, and retail is the new frontier.”

While it’s difficult to quantify trends, Toronto police launched an awareness campaign last fall, saying that such crimes were becoming more frequent—and more violent. “These crimes are in fact costing all of us because they drive up the prices on products that we purchase on a regular basis,” Toronto Police chief Myron Demkiw said at the time. He claimed that an estimated two out of five incidents were violent in nature.

In Winnipeg, police have increased their presence around storefronts since spring break, in part out of concern for the danger that armed shoplifters can present to retail staff.

That concern has some retailers turning to such measures as placing wheel locks on shopping carts, executing random receipt checks, and erecting metal or plexiglass barriers. But some analysts warn those are blunt instruments unless retailers can distinguish between suspicious activity and innocent customers.

“There’s a feeling that you’re a thief in the making until you prove otherwise,” Vancouver retail consultant—and Hardlines Conference presenter—David Ian Gray told the CBC. “The current status quo is just bad for shopper experience, and that’s not what you want when you’re in retail.”

One point of vulnerability in terms of loss prevention is self-checkout stations, where items may be missed or wrongly scanned, whether intentionally or not. Some retailers are starting to rethink them. As Globe and Mail columnist Rob Csernyik wrote, when it comes to self-checkout, “nobody’s happy.” Removing the stations can be a win-win, curbing both customer angst and opportunities for theft.

Scott Savage removed the self-checkout machines from the Stratford, Ont., Giant Tiger store last month. While it may improve security, that wasn’t his motivation: his customers, many of them seniors, simply resented having to do the work themselves. At least half a dozen Canadian Tire outlets in the province have done the same.

PEOPLE ON THE MOVE

Marc Gingras has been named chief strategy officer at Luxo Marbre. He brings more than 35 years of experience to the role, including serving as VP merchandising for building products at Lowe’s Canada/RONA, plus stints at Bélanger and Cobra Anchors.

DID YOU KNOW…?

… that the latest instalment of our podcast series What’s In Store is now live? This time, we talk with Nicole Gallucci, professor at Loyalist and George Brown Colleges and author of Life Blueprint: A Step-by-Step Guide for Creating an Extraordinary Life. She shares her insights on intergenerational collaboration in the workplace, including the arrival of Gen Z, and how AI is going to impact the way we work. All our podcasts feature great industry leaders with ideas and inspiration for you and your business. Sign up now to get updates about the latest free podcasts in your inbox!

RETAILER NEWS

eBay has dropped American Express as a credit card option for its customers. The online retailer is pushing back against the merchant fees charged by Amex. “After careful consideration, eBay has decided to no longer accept American Express globally effective Aug. 17 due to the unacceptably high fees American Express charges for processing credit card transactions,” the online retailer said in a statement. It added that it’s in the process of notifying its customers of the change. Costco dropped Amex in 2016.

Ace Hardware south of the border is experiencing an increase in traffic, according to Placer.ai, which uses cellular location data to determine where consumers are shopping. Reportage on CNN recently said that Ace’s big box rivals, Home Depot and Lowe’s, are experiencing a drop of monthly traffic—again according to Placer.ai.

Enhancing grocery offerings, especially in fresh departments, is key to Walmart Canada’s growth strategy, The Globe and Mail reports. The retailer is approaching the final year of its five-year plan to invest $3.5 billion in upgrading about two-thirds of its stores.

Toronto city councillor Jon Burnside made a citizen’s arrest last week when he visited the Leaside Home Depot and found two men leaving the store with unpaid merchandise. A 10-year Toronto Police Services veteran, Burnside acknowledged that the intervention was risky but said one of the men turned on him when he took out his phone to record the pair, who were pushing shopping carts filled with power tools. Two other men, a contractor and an off-duty firefighter, assisted him as he restrained one of the suspects until police arrived. The other suspect fled the scene.

SUPPLIER NEWS

AQMAT president Richard Darveau has issued an open letter to federal labour minister Seamus O’Regan. The missive comes weeks after O’Regan announced an inquiry into last summer’s port strike in British Columbia. Darveau calls for port workers to be designated an essential service, which would restrict their right to strike while in turn gaining them what he calls “salaries and conditions that defy all competition.”

MASTERGRAIN, the Woodbridge, Ont.-based door maker, has announced the acquisition of Fibercraft Door Co. in Hanover, Ont. Fibercraft specializes in large-format fibreglass pivot door systems in the Canadian luxury door market. The deal is seen as a way for MASTERGRAIN to enhance its manufacturing capabilities and broaden its product offerings.

Saint-Gobain, through its building products subsidiary CertainTeed Inc., and TimberHP, a manufacturer of insulating wood composites, have announced a distribution arrangement. CertainTeed will distribute TImberHP’s wood chip insulation in North America—and will be the exclusive distributor of the products in Canada. TimberHP is headquartered in Madison, Maine.

The Bank of Canada (BOC) has cut its policy rate, its key interest rate, to 4.75 percent. “We’ve come a long way in the fight against inflation,” said BOC governor Tiff Macklem. This is the first cut in interest rates by the central bank since March 2020. Macklem said he is confident that the inflation rate will continue to move closer to the BOC’s two percent target.

This year’s Hardlines Retail Report takes a closer look at online sales penetration and how dealers are coping—or not—with this trend. We will also present brand new data that identifies sales according to customer type—whether it’s DIY, contractor, or commercial/industrial. Plus, we provide careful evaluations of the latest retail and economic trends, and how they will affect your business. Available mid-July, it’s a must-have for every sales and marketing executive in the retail home improvement industry. (For more info, and to pre-order your copy of the 2024 Hardlines Retail Report, click here now!)

The latest round of announced store conversions by RONA inc. marks the continued rollout of the RONA+ banner to replace some of the big box banners used previously by the retailer. These include Lowe’s, which has exited Canada as a banner. Now, the Quebec-only Réno-Dépôt banner is slated for conversion. Three of the 20 Réno-Dépôt stores in the province have already been converted to RONA+, 16 of them will be converted this year, and one of them will be closed.

RONA says it’s making a significant investment in its store network to position RONA as a retail home improvement leader. RONA plans to convert 19 stores to the RONA+ banner by this fall. There are also three conversions of RONA big boxes to the RONA+ banner, as follows:

• RONA Home & Garden Waterdown – 52 Dundas St. East, Dundas, Ont.
• RONA Home & Garden Winnipeg – 1333 Sargent Ave., Winnipeg
• RONA L’entrepôt Québec – 1500 rue Bouvier, Quebec City

The conversion of the RONA Home & Garden Waterdown store has already begun and will be completed this summer, while RONA Home & Garden Winnipeg and RONA L’entrepôt Québec will celebrate their re-openings this fall. The remaining Réno-Dépôt stores will be converted by that time, as well.

The investment appears to be working, according to RONA. “The conversions to the RONA+ banner that took place outside of Quebec over the last 12 months had a tangible impact on store performance, which was also reflected in our three pilot conversions in Quebec so far,” Mélanie Lussier, spokesperson from RONA’s head office, told Hardlines.

Here’s the list of the 16 Réno-Dépôt stores that will be converted:

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

To test the repositioning strategy of the Réno-Dépôt banner, the three stores in Charlemagne, Sherbrooke, and Gatineau have already made the switch. With these conversions, the company hopes to create momentum for the RONA+ brand as a preferred home improvement destination.

One Réno-Dépôt store is not in the conversion list. The location in Quebec City on rue du Marais is scheduled to close permanently on Aug. 22. That closure will be the final stand for the Réno-Dépôt banner.

A corporate RONA store in Carignan, in the Montérégie region, was also recently closed.

“We are confident that the conversion of the Réno-Dépôt stores along with the other conversion pilots announced recently will also bring positive results that will pave the way for the expansion of RONA+ across the country,” Lussier added.

Home Hardware Stores Ltd. laid off an undisclosed number of its employees on May 28, the company told Hardlines. It’s just the latest retailer to tighten its belt in the midst of the current soft retail market.

Kevin Macnab, president and CEO, said: “It was a difficult day at Home Hardware Stores Ltd. as we implemented a necessary reduction in our workforce to ensure the long-term sustainability and growth of our business in response to the constraints of the current economic landscape.”

Macnab would not confirm how many people were affected. “As a privately held company, we are not disclosing the number of positions affected. However, Home Hardware Stores Ltd. conducted a careful, thoughtful, and comprehensive review to minimize the impact on our valued team members and dealers.”

Home Hardware, with some 1,050 stores, is headquartered in St. Jacobs, Ont., with distribution centres in Wetaskiwin, Alta., and Debert, N.S. It also has a paint and chemical plant in Burford, Ont. The company did not say how many employees were affected at each of those four locations.

Home is not the only major banner in our industry to cut staff as the economy slows. RONA inc. cut 500 jobs in June 2023, a further 25 jobs later in the year, and then 300 jobs in January 2024. Those 825 announced cuts amounted to 3.8 percent of 22,000 RONA employees, Hardlines calculates. Canadian Tire cut 3.0 percent of its corporate staff in November 2023, plus another 3.0 percent of its “open jobs.”

The country’s most famous, most storied, and probably most endangered department store chain has been making moves over the past year to exploit more affordable ways to sell merchandise. Now, Hudson’s Bay stores are taking on even more cost-conscious assortments as inflation and affordability concerns among consumers persist.

The re-introduction of the Zellers brand, after a decade’s absence, began in March 2023. This low-cost, mass merchant banner became a pop-up or store-within-a-store with an initial launch of 25 stores, with a full rollout to all 78 Hudson’s Bay locations across the country by October 2023. The Zellers sections measure between 8,000 and 10,000 square feet. Zellers gave the retailer a way to present a more affordable offering without compromising the upmarket positioning of the Hudson’s Bay stores and brand.

Besides Zellers, a store in Toronto was converted last fall into a location for remainder merchandise. The Hudson’s Bay Outlet store, at Eglinton Square in Scarborough, is selling home goods, accessories, clothing, and footwear at deep discounts. Like Zellers, the Outlet store aims to be less fashion-forward and more family-oriented, offering “extreme savings” through a dedicated retail location.

Hudson’s Bay stores are also trying out new assortments and brands aimed at a younger consumer. This spring, it took on Cat & Jack children’s apparel, a house brand of Target stores in the U.S. And earlier this month, that product line was expanded to include swim, outerwear, and shoes.

“Now more than ever parents are looking for stylish and durable clothing that is also affordable for their families,” said Liz Rodbell, president and CEO of Hudson’s Bay, in a press release at the time of the initial launch.

Walmart has increased its range of drone use for deliveries in the Dallas-Fort Worth market. The company started with drones in that area last August, but the addition of a couple more Walmart stores with the service at the end of April means up to 75 percent of the city’s residents can now access the service.

Walmart has been working with a number of partners over the past three years or so, most recently in Dallas with Wing, the drone technology subsidiary of Google parent Alphabet, plus another provider called Zipline. It initially launched drone-based deliveries from three stores in Northwest Arkansas as far back as late 2021.

The company began studying drone technology as a way to deliver online orders right to its customers’ doors as far back as 2015. The giant retailer had to seek a waiver from the U.S. Federal Aviation Administration to test drones outdoors to determine whether the drones would be viable for deliveries.

Since 2022, Amazon has been testing drone deliveries of its own, with mixed success.

To order Walmart products via Wing drone delivery, customers download the Wing app and enter their address to check if their home is within the Wing drone delivery range. The service gives customers a delivery option to receive items in 30 minutes or less and some deliveries can happen as fast as 10 minutes, according to Walmart.

The retailer says products that weigh no more than 4.5 kg and meet volume requirements can be used for drone delivery up to five kilometres, all for a fee of $3.99.

PEOPLE ON THE MOVE

Bona, the flooring maintenance and restoration company, has hired Erik Lundgren as territory manager in western Canada. Working out of the Greater Vancouver Area, Lundgren brings 15 years of hardwood flooring experience, including installing and refinishing floors, and a decade of owning and operating his own company. He joins Bona after many years as a flooring consultant and member of the Bona Certified Craftsman Program.

At The Home Depot in Atlanta, Jordan Broggi has been appointed executive vice-president of customer experience and president of online. An 11-year veteran of the company, most recently as SVP and president of online, he will retain leadership of the company’s online business, overseeing online operations, merchandising strategy, and customer experience for Home Depot’s digital properties.

DID YOU KNOW…?

… that the deadline is nearing for entries for the 2024 Outstanding Retailer Awards? ORA submissions are due June 14. Dealers may submit their entries directly to Hardlines. Alternatively, their chain or buying group head offices may select their best dealer(s) and prepare their entries for them in collaboration with the dealer. To enter, please visit www.oras.ca; or contact our Editor-in-Chief, Steve Payne, for further information. (Le formulaire est également disponible en français.)

RETAILER NEWS

Canac’s newest store is now operational in Sorel-Tracey, Que. The store is 40,500 square feet in size, with an additional 31,500-square-foot building materials warehouse and an outdoor lumber yard. After opening to the public earlier this month, it held a ribbon-cutting event last week. Store manager Gilok Chang Kai was joined by two members of the Laberge family, Canac general director Martin Gamache, and merchandising director Daniel Châtelain.

Elena and Daniel Lubimcev, Canadian Tire associate dealers, held the grand re-opening of their renovated store in Gananoque, Ont., earlier this month. The renovations, including planning, took 18 months, Daniel told the Brockville Recorder & Times. The Lubimcevs previously owned a Canadian Tire store in the southwestern Ontario community of St. Marys.

The RONA Foundation, which oversees the philanthropic activities of RONA inc., is inviting Canadian organizations wishing to benefit from its Build from the Heart program to submit their applications. Organizations with eligible projects wishing to benefit from the foundation’s support can submit their applications until June 14 by completing the form here.

Instacart, the online grocery delivery company, and The Home Depot have forged a partnership to offer same-day deliveries. The service will be available from Home Depot’s nearly 2,000 store locations in the U.S. Customers can now order a wide range of home improvement items on Instacart’s platform and have them delivered directly to their homes, with some deliveries in as little as one hour. The rollout follows a pilot with Instacart earlier this year that’s now expanding nationwide.

A Home Hardware dealer in southwestern Ontario was heartened by the support the local community has shown after a devastating fire. Watson’s Home Hardware in Goderich, Ont., burned for more than 12 hours late last month. Owner Richard Watson said his “phone has been going off constantly” as customers and neighbours reached out after the store was reduced to rubble.

Costco Wholesale Corp. reported that Q3 net sales rose by 9.1 percent to $58.52 billion. Canadian comp sales (excluding revenues on fuel) rose by 7.4 percent. Sales at e-retail soared by more than 20 percent.

Metro, Inc., one of the biggest grocery chains in the country with stores throughout Ontario and Quebec, says it will discontinue its association with the Air Miles loyalty program in Ontario. Metro will replace Air Miles with a new program, to be called Moi Rewards. The grocer has been an Air Miles Rewards Program partner since 1998. Two retail banners in our industry continue to use Air Miles: TIMBER MART and Kent Building Supplies.

Amazon has opened its newest robotics fulfilment centre, YYC4. The 2.8-million-square-foot facility in Calgary, which employs more than 1,500 people, features new Amazon Robotics technology to help fulfil customer orders more quickly. With this launch, Amazon now operates five fulfilment centres, one sortation centre, three delivery stations, and two AMXL delivery stations in Alberta.

Retail sales decreased 0.2 percent to $66.4 billion in March, with declines in seven out of nine subsectors. Core retail sales (which exclude fuel and automotive categories) fell by 0.6 percent. Among them, only LBM and garden categories, up 1.3 percent, logged a sales increase in March. (StatCan)

Canada’s Competition Bureau has launched an investigation into Loblaw Cos., owner of the Loblaws and Real Canadian Superstore banners, and Sobeys parent Empire Co. The inquiry concerns provisions in the grocers’ lease agreements, which the competition commissioner believes may be anti-competitive. Empire has slammed the proceedings as “invalid and unlawful,” contending that they were initiated for an “improper purpose.”

Recognizing the contributions—celebrating the greatness—of your colleagues and team is an important aspect of leadership. This is the mandate of Sarah McVanel, one of our resident experts at our sister publication, Hardlines HR Advisor.

McVanel is a recognition expert, professional speaker, coach, author, and the founder of Greatness Magnified, an organization that specializes in providing training programs and certifications for employees at large.

“Our world needs everyone at work—and I mean everyone—to make it better for peers, customers and beyond,” she tells us. “Think of how many hours people work on any given day. That is how many hours of impact people can have! Why wouldn’t we recognize that so that impact can exponentially increase?”

The power and importance of recognizing great retail was why we launched the Outstanding Retailer Awards more than three decades ago. The ORAs are Canada’s only national awards program dedicated to celebrating the achievements of hardware, home improvement, and building supply dealers and their staff.

The impact these awards have had on dealers—and their teams—is nothing short of inspiring. “Being recognized as a Hardlines winner, along with the networking and fellowship at the awards gala and other Hardlines events, has really helped me grow my business,” says Barry Eidt, who won our Young Retailer of the Year award in 2023. Eidt is co-owner of Arthur Ace Hardware in Arthur, Ont. (Click here to see all of last year’s winners!—your ever-informative Editor)

All Canadian home improvement retailers/dealers who have operated under their current ownership for at least two years are eligible to apply.

And here’s what you win: a trip for two to the 29th Hardlines Conference, in Quebec’s Charlevoix region, Oct. 22 and 23. Your trip includes two nights accommodation and admission to the conference and ORA Gala Dinner, where retail leaders from every part of Canada will come to celebrate the industry’s finest.

But the deadline for applications is coming up fast on Friday, June 14, so act now! Nominate one of your stores, or if you’re a supplier, enter a favourite customer. Download the English ORA entry form HERE. Download the French ORA entry form HERE.

Good luck—and we’ll see you in Charlevoix at the Hardlines Conference.

The world’s second-largest home improvement retailer faces the same economic headwinds that the rest of the industry is facing. And those challenges were reflected in Lowe’s Cos.’ first-quarter financials.

Lowe’s reported Q1 sales totalling $21.36 billion, down from $22.3 billion a year earlier. Same-store sales declined by less than expected, down by just 4.1 percent. Comparable transactions declined 3.1 percent as homeowners continued to delay larger discretionary projects. And comparable average ticket was down 1.0 percent, with strength in the pro business partly offsetting the impacts of lower DIY bigger-ticket sales and ongoing appliance pricing pressure.

The company reported that the U.S.-wide rollout during the quarter of its DIY loyalty program boosted its market share in certain key categories.

The company is also winnowing down inventory levels, which were skewed and over-inflated, like so many other retailers post-Covid. Inventory levels at the end of the quarter were valued at $18.2 billion, $1.3 billion lower than last year, as Lowe’s continued to optimize replenishment to align with sales patterns and improve the efficiency of the spring product flow.

The retailer is looking to drive large-ticket sales, including kitchen and bath, décor, and flooring. But customers have been reluctant to spend on those types of products. “We’re watching for an uptick, specifically on discretionary bigger-ticket projects … We’re not seeing that at the moment,” said Brandon Sink, Lowe’s executive vice-president and CEO, on a call to analysts.

Lowe’s maintained its outlook for the remainder of fiscal 2024. “We continue to expect sales ranging from $84 billion to $85 billion, and comparable sales in a range of down 2.0 percent to down 3.0 percent, with pro sales outpacing DIY,” Sink added.

Gypsum Management & Supply Inc. has reached a deal, through its Canadian business unit, GMS Canada Inc., to acquire Yvon Building Supply Inc., along with its related companies.

The transaction, which is expected to close in July pending regulatory approvals, is valued at up to $196.5 million, according to Yahoo Finance. This latest asset, which includes Yvon Insulation Corp., Yvon Insulation Windsor, Laminated Glass Technologies Inc., and Right Fit Foam Insulation Ltd., also bolsters GMS’s penetration of the dense southern Ontario market, where the Tucker, Ga.-based company has been buying up mid- and larger-sized commercial and pro dealers.

Formerly a member of the elite buying group Independent Lumber Dealers Co-operative, Yvon provides drywall, insulation—including manufacturing and contractor installation services—finishing compound, steel, ceilings, truss core, and construction tools and accessories. Following the close of the transaction, the newly-acquired businesses will continue to operate under their existing names and under the leadership of current Yvon president Tom Scott.

GMS operates a network of approximately 300 locations, with extensive product lines including wallboard, ceilings, steel framing, and complementary products. In addition, GMS operates approximately 100 tool sales, rental, and service centres for its residential and commercial contractor customers.

“We are excited to sign this agreement to have Yvon join GMS Canada and our group of strong, in-market branded companies,” said Paul Green, president of GMS Canada. “The Yvon team has served the Ontario building industry for more than a decade and offers a complete package of primary light construction materials.”

He expects the acquisition to increase his company’s in-market service capability and allow GMS Canada to better support customers in the southern Ontario market. Not only does the move bring more clout to Yvon’s offering, but GMS intends to learn from its new acquisition’s expertise, with the potential to broaden assortments at other locations.

That two-way strategy worked for the specialty building products company in previous deals, like GMS’s initial foray into Canada, when it completed its acquisition of WSB Titan in 2018. In 2019, GMS purchased Rigney Building Supplies, a family-owned operation with one location in Kingston, Ont. Four years later, it made a deal to buy Blair Building Materials, a single-store operation in Maple, Ont.

Another target for cluster expansion by GMS is the west coast. Exactly a year ago, GMS acquired Jawl Lumber Corp., which serves the Vancouver Island market under the Home Lumber and Building Supplies banner. Part of GMS’s acquisition of Titan included Slegg Building Materials, which already has 10 locations on Vancouver Island.

April’s national inflation rate, measured by the Consumer Price Index (CPI), dropped to 2.7 percent year over year, StatCan reported last week. The CPI was at an annual rate of 2.9 percent in March. That lowering of consumer prices spurs hopes of an interest rate cut by the central bank, the Bank of Canada, at its next rate decision on June 5.

That 2.7 percent inflation—after the pandemic boom drove interest rates up to 4.8 percent in 2022—is a three-year low for Canada, analysts say. The Bank of Canada had forecast that inflation would remain around 3.0 percent for the first half of 2024, before slowing to 2.2 percent by the end of the year. Retail analysts say that the drop in consumer spending is primarily because of mortgages coming due for renewal over the past year—at significantly higher interest rates than they were before.

For example, the Canadian average fixed 25-year mortgage rate on a five-year term is currently 6.84 percent. At this time in 2020, four years ago, that same mortgage was 4.84 percent. That two percent mortgage hike might not seem like much, but for Canadians with $500,000 mortgages, paying their mortgages monthly, that amounts to $7,284 in extra payments annually.

Different sectors of the economy experience different levels of inflation, of course. Grocery food price inflation dropped to 1.4 percent annually in April. But gas prices are still highly inflationary. Canadian consumers paid an average of 7.9 percent more for gasoline in April than they did a year prior. Rent went up nationally by 8.2 percent in April, versus the prior April, driven by the mortgage rate increases.

PEOPLE ON THE MOVE

Rob Wallace, chief retail operations officer at Home Hardware Stores Ltd., has left the company. Wallace spent a lifetime at Home Hardware, starting there over 35 years ago while a student and steadily working his way up through promotional and PR roles. In 2015, he was named director of marketing and four years later became VP of marketing. From there he was promoted into the retail operations role. Also at Home Hardware, Jennifer Bryl has moved over from books and lifestyle retailer Indigo to join as director, loyalty, credit, and CRM marketing. She takes over Home Hardware’s loyalty portfolio following the retirement of Michael Gawtrey at the end of 2023.

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RETAILER NEWS

Castle Building Centres Group has introduced funding for people who want to get into the trades. The group is offering the opportunity to earn a $2,500 scholarship to any student enrolled in an eligible skilled trade program at a recognized Canadian trade college. The 2024-25 Trade Scholarship program is now open to the public. Deadline for applications is Aug. 16.

RONA inc. has announced the conversion of 19 stores to the RONA+ banner this fall. They include all but one of the remaining Réno-Dépôt stores, along with three RONA big box stores: the RONA Home & Garden stores in Winnipeg and Waterdown (Hamilton, Ont.) and the RONA l’Entrepôt store in Quebec City.

The Home Hardware store at the Altona Mall in Altona, Man., has new owners. Henry Suderman bought the business from the Janzen family, which also owns a Home Hardware Building Centre in Morden, Man. According to pembinavalleyonline.com, the grand reopening is set for the end of this month.

The owners of Midland Home Hardware Building Centre and Design Centre in Midland, Ont., have sold their business to another dealer-owner in the region. Brothers Kevin and Keith Mateff and their wives Wendy and Elizabeth are retiring. Chris Locke, Bill Ecklund, and Kirk McLean, dealer-owners at Orillia Home Hardware Building Centre, have acquired the business.

Wolseley Canada will hold the grand opening this week of its Market Distribution Centre, a 180,000-square-foot facility in Brampton, Ont. The facility includes a branch outlet and showroom, along with a distribution facility with automation that will support Wolseley locations in the Greater Toronto Area and surrounding markets. The new DC will stock 10,000 products. The grand opening takes place May 29 and will feature Maple Leaf hockey legend Doug Gilmour.

Financial services are now available in IKEA Canada stores nationally. In keeping with the company’s desire to make life more affordable for Canadians, IKEA Canada is collaborating with Royal Bank of Canada to launch purchase financing to its customers called “PayPlan by RBC.” This pay-over-time program gives in-store customers access to financing with no hidden fees, says the retailer. The new financing options are available at IKEA stores across the country, with plans to make PayPlan by RBC purchase-financing available for online shoppers starting in June.

The Gendreau family, owners of Garaga Inc., have announced the acquisition of Novatech Group, a Canadian manufacturer of doors and insulated glass. Founded in 1982 by Raymond Ouellette in Sainte-Julie, Que., Novatech now boasts more than 3,000 employees and an annual turnover in excess of $1 billion. The transaction is expected to close this week.

Month over month, investment in building construction increased 4.5 percent to $20.4 billion in March. The residential sector rose 5.4 percent to $14.3 billion, while investment in the non-residential sector decreased 2.3 percent to $6.1 billion. Seven provinces logged increases in residential construction spending, led by Ontario and Quebec. Investment in detached single-family homes grew 6.5 percent to $7.3 billion in March, up for the eighth consecutive month. (StatCan)

Canadian Tire Corp. felt the pinch in its first quarter as consumers held back on discretionary spending. The company reported revenues for the quarter totalling $3.52 billion, a 4.9 percent decline from $3.71 billion in Q1 of last year.

Like many retailers, CTC sees its most modest results in the first quarter, after the dust has settled from the holiday rush. Its financial services business often drives profits during that period of the year.

Comp sales fell by 1.6 percent overall but slid by just 0.6 percent at the namesake Canadian Tire banner. Mark’s comps were down by 1.2 percent while at SportChek same-store sales declined by 6.5 percent.

As CEO and president Greg Hicks noted on a call to analysts, “Canadian Tire often acts as a barometer for the Canadian economy overall.” He added that “the increased cost of living combined with higher interest rates has created a period of hesitation among Canadian consumers. This has had an obvious impact on our operations.”

Essential categories at CTR were up two percent, led by automotive. Growth in seasonal and gardening categories was an exception to the trend away from non-essential purchases.

CTC continues to lean into its Triangle Rewards loyalty program. “In Q1, loyalty sales outpaced non-loyalty sales, underlining the value our customers are seeing in our membership program,” Hicks said. Accordingly, the company announced “our biggest rewards event of the season,” which took place May 9 to 16. During the Triangle Max Stack Event, customers could combine multiple promotions to maximize savings across the Canadian Tire, Mark’s, and SportChek banners.

During the quarter, private label brands continued to play a strong role in CTC’s offering. “We continue to put a lot of strategic emphasis on owned brands,” EVP and Canadian Tire Retail president TJ Flood told analysts, noting that the company was “slightly up in penetration in owned brands” for the quarter.

The Home Depot reported first-quarter financials that underscored how the retail home improvement industry remained stalled well into 2024. Revenues fell 2.3 percent to $36.42 billion, while comp sales declined for the sixth consecutive quarter. Total company comps were down 2.8 percent enterprise-wide, while comps in the U.S. showed an even deeper dip, down 3.2 percent.

Those lower comps represented a drop in both the number of transactions and the average ticket size.

In Canada, where customers are feeling the pain in their pocketbooks from higher prices and prolonged high interest rates, comps fell slightly below that 2.8 percent company average. In a call to analysts, Home Depot president and CEO Ted Decker noted that a late spring impacted the retailer’s results across the board—something felt in most parts of Canada, as well—while homeowners have slowed spending on discretionary projects.

While that DIY spend remains the basis of the company’s success, Home Depot continues to look for ways to grow its connection with larger contractors and builders. According to Decker, “our focus remains on creating the best inter-connected experience growing pro wallet share with a differentiated set of capabilities in building new stores. Driving sales growth with our pro customers remains one of our top focus areas.”

He added that Home Depot continues adding services and programs to woo the pro. “We are developing more fulfilment options, a dedicated sales force, specific digital assets, trade credit, and order management capabilities geared at the residential pro who shops across categories.”

A key part of that pro trajectory has included the development of a distribution network that will serve the pros with large next-day job lot deliveries. Called flatbed distribution centres, the first has opened in Canada in Mississauga, Ont., giving the Canadian division an important tool to build its pro penetration.

That service will be enhanced later this year when the company will enable jobsite pickup for returns back to the FDC, rather than a pro having to take the return back to a store, “which will be a game changer for pro shopping experience,” said Ann-Marie Campbell, Home Depot’s senior executive vice-president. (Home Depot Canada president Michael Rowe reports to Campbell in Atlanta.)

RONA inc.’s commitment to its independent, or affiliated, dealers remains intact following the company’s takeover at the beginning of 2023 by a New York-based private equity company, Sycamore Partners. RONA continues to add points of sale to its affiliate dealer network, including one returning dealer.

“Since we announced our new business positioning, along with a series of new programs last December at Connexia, our annual dealers’ event, 11 stores have chosen to join the network of RONA affiliated dealers to take advantage of its unique and highly competitive positioning,” says Alain Ménard, senior vice-president, RONA affiliated dealers.

Most recently, these six dealers have joined the RONA ranks:

• RONA Manotick in Ontario, near Ottawa, owned by Joe Reid, Ryan Austin, and Pat Butler. It is the town’s very first home improvement store, with 14,000 square feet of retail space.
• RONA Timmins, also in Ontario, owned by Jean and Shannon Gauthier. It’s a brand new store that will open this month.
• Two stores in Alberta—RONA Lac La Biche, which is owned by Greg and Valerie Bouchard, and RONA Olds, acquired last January by Garth Dagg and Sheldon Foss who switched it to RONA. A $1 million investment will expand the retail space from 10,000 square feet to 16,000 square feet.
• RONA Agassiz in British Columbia is a family business owned by Paul and Rose Tebrinke and their son, Shaun. The store features 6,000 square feet of retail space, along with a 5,000-square-foot indoor lumber yard and a 98,000-square-foot outdoor lumber yard.
• RONA Quincaillerie Saint-Jean-Baptiste in Quebec, owned by François Thifault, is coming back to RONA after a short stint with another banner.

Ménard expressed RONA’s ambition to make its network of more than 200 affiliated stores a priority. “Our goal is to become the strongest network of affiliated dealers in Canada. We’ve put in place a new value proposition that is attractive to existing dealers and to future dealers looking to join our network.” He added that he believes his company’s offering can measure up to make RONA “the partner of choice for hardware independents.”

A dedicated trade show for affiliated dealers, called Connexia, is another way the company is engaging independents. This year, it will be held Oct. 8 and 9.

“I welcome our new dealer-owners and congratulate those who are opening or acquiring new stores, but, above all, I thank them for trusting us,” Ménard added. “Together, we have the strength, the energy, and the means to increase our network’s footprint in Canada and to propel their businesses to new heights.”

The latest effort to unionize at a Canadian facility that is part of a U.S. retail chain is currently underway. But it’s hardly the first time such a move has been attempted.

Workers at Amazon’s DXT4 warehouse in Laval, Que., can unionize, says the province’s labour tribunal. The workers have been trying to join the Confédération des syndicats nationaux union (CSN) for two years. Caroline Senneville, president of the CSN, told the CBC that employees are dissatisfied by what they claim is a hectic work pace, low wages, and inadequate health and safety measures.

Amazon says it will contest the decision in a hearing set for June 10. If a union is formed, it will be the first Amazon fulfilment centre to unionize in Canada, where the company has some 25 such facilities.

“We believe it’s important for all employees to have their voices heard, but card check auto-certification does the opposite,” said Barbara Agrait, an Amazon spokesperson, who sent her company’s official statement to Hardlines. “For example, if someone joins a union at a previous employer or before being hired by Amazon, the law assumes they want that union to represent them at any future employer – whether they actually want that or not.”

However, Senneville pointed out that the process to vote in a union is completely legal.

While the Amazon spokesperson’s response did not address the Amazon unionization directly, it did lay out some concerns for the well-being of future workers.

“And if a simple majority of people at an employer have joined a union at any point (whether while there or at a previous company), then there’s no vote and representation is automatic for all employees—including maybe dozens or hundreds of employees who didn’t even know it was being considered,” Agrait added.

“We believe everyone should have the right to get informed and vote based on their current circumstances and beliefs – just like they do in any other type of election.”

U.S.-based companies have been battling unions in Canada for decades. When a Walmart store in Jonquière, Que., voted to unionize in 2004, on the day the vote was sent to arbitration, Walmart announced it would close the store, which it did three months later, putting 190 people out of work. The retailer said the store was unprofitable.

When The Home Depot acquired the Aikenhead’s chain from Molson Cos. in 1994, it also got 25 percent ownership of the Réno-Dépôt chain that Molson already owned. When Réno-Dépôt went up for sale a few years later, Home Depot Canada did not exercise its right of first refusal to acquire the Quebec stores. Home Depot Canada president Annette Verschuren at the time told Hardlines that the presence of the union at Réno-Dépôt was an important factor in turning down the deal.

PEOPLE ON THE MOVE

Sylvain Dulude marks 35 years at Techniseal this year. The company is celebrating this milestone for its VP and general manager, who started out in 1989 as head of operations. He arrived in 1989 and began work as Techniseal’s operations manager. From there, he advanced to R&D, where he participated in the development of 30-plus products. Among his numerous awards, Dulude earned the 2021 Hardware Industry Manager Award from AQMAT. He won the 2020 Company of the Year Award, plus the 2020 and 2023 President of the Year Awards, awarded by parent company Oldcastle APG. “Throughout his career, his innovative spirit, leadership abilities, and unifying qualities have instilled strength and demonstrated his commitment,” Techniseal stated in a release.

Alysha Kearney has left her position as assistant manager, public relations, at Home Hardware Stores Ltd.’s head office in St. Jacobs, Ont. Her new position is a communications strategist at Southlake Health Centre in Newmarket, Ont.

DID YOU KNOW…?

… that as a valued Hardlines Premium Member, you get to run a complimentary Classified Ad each year in this newsletter? Don’t pass up a free chance to grow your team, add new lines, or advertise a new opportunity at your company. Contact Jillian MacLeod at the Hardlines World Headquarters to book your free Hardlines Classified. (For a full list of all your Premium Membership benefits, click here!)

RETAILER NEWS

RONA has established the dates for this year’s Connexia dealer event. This third consecutive annual edition will be held on Oct. 8 and 9. Affiliated dealers from across the country will gather at the Fairmont Queen Elizabeth hotel in Montreal for a day of networking with meetings and workshops. These will be followed by a trade show for affiliates only, featuring selected RONA vendors who will present their new products for 2025.

Walmart has increased its range of drone use for deliveries in the Dallas-Fort Worth market. The company started with drones in that area last August, but the addition of a couple more Walmart stores with the service at the end of April means up to 75 percent of area residents can now access drone deliveries.

Online furniture and home décor seller Wayfair Inc. is opening its first bricks-and-mortar store. The 150,000-square-foot location is located in Edens Plaza in Wilmette, Ill. The grand opening will be on May 23. Besides furniture, home decor, housewares, and home improvement products, the store has an onsite restaurant.

Walmart posted Q1 earnings of $5.10 billion, up from $1.67 billion a year earlier. Revenues increased by six percent to $161.51 billion, from $152.3 billion in Q1 of 2023. In Canada, sales grew by 3.9 percent to $5.3 billion.

SUPPLIER NEWS

At Doman Building Materials Group Ltd., Q1 revenues fell by 1.1 percent to $602.5 million, from $609.1 million in 2023. The company attributed the decline to a slowing construction materials market, along with declining lumber pricing. Net earnings of $14.4 million were down from $14.9 million a year earlier.

The Atlantic Building Supply Dealers Association, in partnership with the Canadian Mental Health Association, will hold a two-hour webinar on mental health education in the workplace. The date is May 28, and the webinar will take place from 8 a.m. to 10 a.m. If you are interested in attending, please email the ABSDA.

Koelnmesse, whose events include Eisenwarenmesse—the International Hardware Fair in Cologne, Germany, has partnered with another international trade show company, dmg events. They have signed a Memorandum of Understanding to collaborate on developing key trade exhibitions across the Middle East. This strategic partnership will combine their respective brands to take advantage of growth opportunities in those growing markets. Shows being considered include office décor and furniture, as well as possible shows for the hardware and tools segment. dmg has offices in 10 countries including Canada.

Lafarge Canada and Geocycle Canada have completed a pilot at the Lafarge Brookfield Cement Plant in Nova Scotia. The project uses recycled minerals recovered from waste sources to produce high-quality clinker, the main ingredient in cement. The result is 100 percent recycled cement, which in turn, is the main component of concrete. The aim is to reduce CO2 levels by as much as 60 percent per tonne of clinker. Both Lafarge Canada and Geocycle Canada are part of Holcim Group. This is the first-ever pilot in North America and only the second in the world across the parent company.

Sales of existing homes fell 1.7 percent between March and April, coming in a little below the average of the last 10 years. At the same time, the number of newly listed homes rose by 2.8 percent on a month-over-month basis. The actual (not seasonally adjusted) number of transactions came in 10.1 percent above April 2023; however, a significant part of that gain likely reflected the timing of the Easter long weekend. (Canadian Real Estate Assoc.)

The value of building permits decreased 11.7 percent to $10.5 billion in March compared with the previous month. Construction intentions in the residential sector decreased by 8.3 percent to $6.5 billion, led by a 13.7 percent decline in Ontario. Five other provinces, however, saw residential permits increase, including Quebec and Manitoba. Across Canada, 4,200 new single-family homes were authorized in March. (StatCan)

Globally, each year, more concrete is sold than all other building materials combined, according to Lafarge Canada.

Kevin Macnab, president and CEO of Home Hardware Stores Ltd., announced last week his intention to retire. He made the announcement at the company’s annual general meeting on May 8.

Macnab took the helm at Home Hardware in October 2018 and during his tenure there navigated the company through major changes in every aspect of the business, from fulfilment to staffing and organization. He successfully brought the company to its 60th anniversary this year—he was only the fourth CEO at Home Hardware in all that time.

Under his tenure, the company moved forward on its then-new repositioning as a retail company, shifting the strategy from operating as a wholesale company. That process drew a lot of attention to Home Hardware, as it worked to compete in an evolving retail playing field that was upset even more by the Covid pandemic.

Macnab says he has loved retail throughout his career, which has included key roles at Marks & Spencer and almost 20 years at Toys “R” Us. There, he served as both lead for the company in Canada and as president of the international division before he moved to Home Hardware Stores.

“I have long planned to retire no later than my 65th birthday and, after some reflection, I believe that now is the time to think about this next phase of life,” Macnab said. “I have had a 37-year career in retail and have felt a passion for it since day one.”

“On behalf of our dealers and team members, I want to thank Kevin for six years of dedication to Home Hardware,” said Christine Hand, chair of the Home Hardware board. “His commitment to our organization and the retail industry at large is nothing short of inspirational and we look forward to celebrating his retirement.”

No firm timeline has been set for Macnab’s departure, but he says he cares deeply about the continued success of Home, its dealers and team members, and intends to stay on during the board’s succession process to facilitate a smooth transition when his successor is named.

“I am thrilled to have worked alongside the dealers and our team members for the past six years and can see a bright future for this great company.”

McMunn & Yates, the home improvement chain based in Dauphin, Man., has 22 stores in western Canada, with 16 of them in its home province of Manitoba. The stores represent more than eight percent of that province’s home improvement sales (source: the Hardlines Market Share Report). Now, the opening of three new locations expands the retailer’s reach in the West.

“This was our acquisition of the Canadian Lumber stores, owned by Henry and Brenda Friesen, in the southern Manitoba communities of Winkler, Morden, and Altona (shown here),” says McMunn & Yates president Jason Yates. The three stores are near the south end of the province of Manitoba, not far from the U.S. border. They had comprised the business that was founded in 1987 by Henry Friesen and his father Harry Friesen. When the Friesens decided to sell their shares, McMunn & Yates acquired the stores in the summer of 2023.

The majority of McMunn & Yates stores are spread through the centre of the province, including the retailer’s home city of Dauphin, with additional locations close to the TransCanada Highway from Steinbach to Winnipeg to Brandon. The most northerly store is in Thompson, Man. There are also two stores in Saskatchewan and two in northwestern Ontario. The southern expansion takes the company into fresh territory.

“This region is a busy and active area of Manitoba and is a nice fit for our store model,” says Yates.

Even though the acquisitions took place almost a year ago, Yates explains the timing of the recent openings. “We have been working on renovations and merchandising changes the past several months. We coordinated the new store opening sale to be in conjunction with our annual anniversary sale held at our other stores.”

A new report by consumer affairs magazine Protégez-Vous ranks Quebec’s hardware chains in terms of customer satisfaction, and smaller firms occupy the top of the list. G.H. Berger, Canac, and Laferté scored high on product mix, quality, and in-stock quantities.

Hardware shoppers expressed overall approval of their in-store experience, giving an average score of eight out of 10. One soft spot in consumer sentiment is around staffing: the report points to data from Quebec industry association AQMAT that indicates two-thirds of customers want assistance or advice when making purchases.

In the Protégez-Vous survey, a quarter of respondents said finding that help can be a challenge. The trend was most pronounced in big boxes (though Home Depot, which drew modest ratings on that front, was an exception). “When you don’t need a staff member, it’s fine,” said one survey respondent.

While coming in second place overall, Canac stole the show in terms of pricing. “It succeeds in offering the best prices, especially because it orders its products in large quantities,” Protégez-Vous’ Marie-Eve Shaffer noted in a release.

Patrick Morin came close for its value offering. There, a basket of 30 items that cost $675 at Canac rang up at $771. “The prices are competitive at Patrick Morin, but not always,” said one respondent.

The two chains focus on buying local, helping them to avoid international shipping costs, and can store large quantities of product in their warehouses. Both consist entirely of corporate stores, with no independent affiliates.

“They basically cut through the middle men,” AQMAT president Richard Darveau explained to Protégez-Vous, “which allows them to be more aggressive because their purchasing costs are lower.”

Among big boxes, Home Depot came out on top in terms of pricing, with the benchmark basket totalling $773. Still, the study noted that effect was department-specific. Building materials and electric tools were more likely to be priced competitively. Home Depot’s prices for painting and finishing products, on the other hand, were elevated compared to banners like L’entrepôt RONA and Réno-Dépôt.

The magazine also assessed the state of e-commerce in the industry. Two thirds of survey participants acknowledged having shopped in-store without consulting a web site first.

While chains like RONA and Canadian Tire may make up to a tenth of their sales online, Hardlines president Michael McLarney told Protégez-Vous that “in general, independent hardware stores do less than one percent.”

Canadian Tire Corp. has seen tremendous growth in its loyalty program, Triangle Rewards, and that growth was spurred by the rise in online selling through Covid. The brilliance of the program is that it spans the range of Canadian Tire banners, including Sport Chek and Mark’s, and lets shoppers collect points from any of these stores. Now, following a year where Canadian Tire, like so many other hardlines retailers, saw sales slump (or normalize???—Editor), the company is putting even more emphasis than ever on its points program. It released its first-quarter results late last week, indicating that it still struggles to rebound from the Covid fall-off effect “in a challenging consumer demand environment,” according to its Q1 results release. Comps for the whole company were down 1.6 percent, with the Canadian Tire Retail stores down 0.6 percent.

The importance of Canadian Tire using every weapon in its arsenal becomes even more acute. And its loyalty program is a big part of that arsenal. The retailer is holding what it calls “our biggest rewards event of the season” with a series of promotions that will give shoppers the chance to earn multiple rewards, called stacking, with the “Triangle Max Stack Event.” From May 9 to May 16, Triangle Rewards members have access to savings in-store and online.

According to a release, “This one-of-a-kind event allows Canadians to purchase amazing items at reduced prices, stack exclusive offers on select products and earn 15-times to 50-times bonus CT money that they can then use towards the purchase of other items across their favourite Canadian Tire banner store.”

One promotion, held this past weekend, let users earn storewide bonus offers: members who spend $150 or more will earn $30 in additional CT Money and those purchases over $250 will earn $50 in bonus CT Money. In addition, an assortment of stackable offers will be available throughout this week, including the ability to earn extra points on specific products.

PEOPLE ON THE MOVE

Alex Yakovyshenko, CEO and general manager of Haney Builders’ Supplies in Maple Ridge, B.C., has been named chairman of the board of the Building Supply Industry Association of British Columbia. He takes over from Gary Sangha of Crown Building Supplies in Surrey, B.C.

DID YOU KNOW…?

…that the latest edition of Hardlines Dealer News has hit subscriber inboxes? In this issue, we look at Ace’s centenary, Home Depot’s pro business, and one Home Hardware dealer’s outdoor grilling focus. Hardlines Dealer News is monthly and it’s free: click here to subscribe now!

RETAILER NEWS

Canadian Tire Corp.’s first-quarter results show the company is still recovering from the drop-off in sales post-Covid, but its hardware business managed better than other divisions. Revenue was $3.52 billion, down 4.9 percent from $3.71 billion in the same period last year. Comparable sales for the whole company were down 1.6 percent, while comps at Canadian Tire Retail stores were down only 0.6 percent. Essential categories at CTR were up two percent, led by automotive. Discretionary categories were down overall, but seasonal and gardening categories grew. Despite the continued sluggish results, the company enjoyed “product margin appreciation for the quarter, while also reducing inventory levels,” said Greg Hicks, president and CEO of Canadian Tire Corp.

Quebec dealer Matériaux Pont-Masson is making buzz with its latest marketing campaign, a tribute to the 1977 film Slap Shot. The BMR-affiliated store network has partnered with Gravité Marketing since 2019 and the idea for the spot came out of a brainstorming session between the agency and the retailer. Although an American production, Slap Shot became a cult classic in Quebec due to its casting of local talent and extensive vernacular French dialogue.

Amazon’s first-quarter net sales increased 13 percent to $143.3 billion, compared with $127.4 billion in the first quarter of 2023. Amazon is global, but North American sales kept up, posting an annual increase in the quarter of 12 percent. The company’s operating income increased to $15.3 billion in the first quarter, more than three times the profits of $4.8 billion in the first quarter of 2023.

Canadian Tire and Canac have aligned with the nonprofit Les Produits du Québec to display that organization’s three certification labels on applicable products in the retailers’ stores. They join such retailers as BMR and Walmart who are already partnered with the organization. “They have wind in their sales and we want to be part of their growth,” Patrick Delisle, Canac’s marketing director, told Le Journal de
Montréal.

AD reports that member sales in the first three months of 2024 hit a record $19.5 billion, up seven percent across AD’s 14 divisions in three countries. Same-store sales increased by two percent in Canada, three percent in the U.S., and five percent in Mexico. Member purchases grew by two percent to $4.7 billion. In Canada, AD’s retail home improvement business is represented by its Building Supplies Division, which consists mainly of members of the former TORBSA buying group.

For the first quarter of 2024, Grainger had sales of $4.2 billion, up 3.5 percent, or 4.9 percent on a daily, organic constant currency basis. Sales in the quarter increased 3.5 percent. Operating earnings were $669 million, down 1.6 percent.

Ace Hardware in the U.S. has debuted its own private-label line of barbecue sauces and rubs. The mid-priced assortment is called Loud Mouth, and it became available on April 25.

U.S. farm and hardware retailer Tractor Supply Co. reported that net sales for the first quarter of 2024 increased 2.9 percent to a record $3.39 billion, from $3.30 billion in the first quarter of 2023. The increase was driven by new store openings and growth in comparable store sales, which were up 1.1 percent. Gross profit increased 4.4 percent to $1.22 billion.

Terry Deane of Southridge Building Supplies in Surrey, B.C., and a former owner of Hollyburn Lumber, has died. Born in Montreal in 1946, Deane was considered a pioneer in the building supply industry in the Lower Mainland. He started his career at Seaford Sales in North Vancouver in 1965. In 1975, he moved to Hollyburn Lumber, and became a partner in the business two years later. In 2002, he and his four sons established Southridge Building Supplies. Deane leaves behind his wife, Wilma, four sons and a daughter, as well as eight grandchildren and five great grandchildren.

Taiga Building Products reported Q1 net sales of $393.6 million, down four percent from $408.5 million a year earlier. The decline was attributed to lower sales volumes of commodity products. Net earnings fell to $12.8 million from $13.5 million in the comparable period of 2023.

Canfor Corp. will acquire the El Dorado lumber plant from an Arkansas affiliate of Domtar Corp.  for $73 million. According to Canfor, it will raise the mill’s capacity to 175 million board feet per year through planned upgrades. Meanwhile, the Vancouver-based company narrowed its Q1 loss to $64.5 million, from $142.0 million in the comparable period of last year. Sales for the quarter edged down to $1.38 billion from $1.39 billion.

Western Forest Products Inc. reported a net loss of $8.0 million in the first quarter of 2024, compared to a $17.7 million loss a year earlier. Revenues of $239.5 million were down from $263.8 million. At the same time, the company announced the indefinite curtailment of its Alberni Pacific Division facility.

Home Depot Canada is currently getting its newest facility up and running at full capacity to fill in an important part of its supply chain. The flatbed distribution centre, erected last year in Mississauga, Ont., and now being outfitted, is designed to get large loads of products directly to contractor jobsites. The 300,000-square-foot DC shares space with an equally large bulk distribution centre, which ships commodities to the stores themselves.

Canada’s largest home improvement retailer remains committed to its regular business and expects to build more stores to serve those channels, but Home Depot recognizes the importance of the pro customer and sees huge growth potential with it. In fact, in the U.S., 10 percent of its customers are pros and builders, but they account for almost 50 percent of Home Depot’s sales. According to Michael Rowe, president of Home Depot Canada, the Canadian stores lag slightly behind the U.S. stores when it comes to attracting pros, but that’s changing and the new FDC is key to the strategy to make that happen.

“The ratio of pros here in Canada is very, very close now. We’re not far behind.”

The facility, which has a fleet of large flatbed trucks delivering products by next day if orders are place as late as 4 p.m. (a deadline the company is working to push to 8 p.m.) will go a long way to putting Home Depot on the radar of Canadian contractors. And as the country expands its new housing programs, the potential is huge—but Rowe is still not satisfied. “There’s more to do, clearly.”

That includes the likelihood of even more FDCs in Canada. There are already 17 in the U.S., with more planned. “We’ll add more BDCs and FDCs in smaller markets.” Rowe wouldn’t confirm other locations or timelines—“We’re largely figuring out ourselves how many FDCs”—the obvious suspects are expected to be on the list: Vancouver, Edmonton, possibly Calgary, and Montreal. The company also renamed its contractor loyalty program to ProExtra to conform to the U.S. program. “Renaming this was quite an accelerator for us,” he says.

While the year has started slow, there is opportunity ahead for the retail home improvement industry as Canada shapes its housing policy to increase the number of homes in this country. And Home Hardware CEO Kevin Macnab says the timing is right.

“We all know additional housing in Canada is an absolute necessity. We can and will play a part in helping address the housing shortage by providing expert advice and quality price. But in addition to that, we have a national partnership we’ve established with Skills Canada to help develop skilled tradespeople—because, of course, the country needs that.”

That expected push to build more housing, he adds, will be good for Home Hardware and for the entire industry. “That’s going to benefit us and benefit the sector.”

Michael Rowe, president of Home Depot Canada, agrees. Canada’s commitment to build more housing represents “an opportunity in the Canadian marketplace.” His company is working to gear up its services to sell to larger pro customers, including builders and the commercial or maintenance, repair, and operations (MRO) segment, which addresses the servicing and care of large institutions and civic projects. This is a market, he says, that Home Depot wants to grow.

Both retailers are doing more to address the heavy pro market. Home Depot Canada has opened its first flatbed distribution centre (see story above) to get large commodities deliveries to jobsites within 24 hours or less.

Home Hardware has signed on as a presenting sponsor of the Skills Canada National Competition for 2024. Skills Canada is a not-for-profit organization that actively promotes careers in the skilled trades and technologies to youth and their communities in Canada. The competition will take place in Quebec City on May 30 and 31.

Members of AQMAT, the Quebec Hardware and Building Supply Association, heard a presentation from president Richard Darveau ahead of their annual general meeting last week. Darveau outlined the highlights of the latest edition of the organization’s annual “Family Portrait” of the industry that included tracking movement between the province’s two main banners, RONA and BMR.

With a showman’s flair, Darveau donned a series of coloured novelty eyeglasses to illustrate looking at the industry through different lenses, such as rose-coloured for the positives of the past year, black for the negatives, green to consider an ecological perspective, and a distinctly Québécois blue when examining the impact of buy-local initiatives.

The document offers an overview of the main retail banners for the year, like the Hardlines Retail Report does for Canada as a whole. The Quebec report covers developments including banner changes and store closures, as well as data on the activities of the small number of true independents.

Darveau said it’s a key tool in a world where big “Big Data” is increasingly a force to be reckoned with. “The data is more complex, more varied” than ever, he explained. “There are people my age in this room who remember the ‘good old days’ when everything was slower.”

He sketched a picture of an industry with a sales tally of about $19 billion in a year that saw 18 stores close. In the same period, eight dealers changed banners and another nine stores got new owners while remaining under their existing brands. Five former true independents signed onto banners, while eight retailers shed theirs to strike out on their own. Among six new store openings were a new Canac in the port of Contrecœur, Que., and the largest Patrick Morin to date in Brossard, on Montreal’s South Shore.

Across Quebec, corporate stores comprise some 56 percent of dealers. Independent affiliates make up another 40 percent, while 3.5 percent of stores are unaffiliated. RONA continued to dominate market share in the province, accounting for over a third of total sales. Home Depot was a distant second at just under 15 percent.

Darveau stressed that having an accurate picture of the industry as a whole is key to countering misinformation. As a sports enthusiast, he also compared it to training the body in order to remain competitive. In developing the report, he said, AQMAT strove to be “fair and equitable to all our members,” preferring to work with self-reported figures from head offices wherever possible.

Pedro Da Silva has been named vice-president, industrial divisions, at Goodfellow Inc. Da Silva has been with Goodfellow for almost eight years, most recently in the role of general manager.

Joel Pletch, store manager at Walkerton Home Hardware in southwestern Ontario, has won the North American Hardware and Paint Association (NHPA) 2024 Young Retailer of the Year Award. The Young Retailer of the Year program, now in its 28th year, identifies and promotes the next generation of aspiring independent home improvement, paint, and decorating retailers. It recognizes individuals aged 35 and younger throughout the U.S. and Canada.

DID YOU KNOW…?

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RETAILER NEWS

Kent Building Supplies has opened a new store on Findlay Blvd. in Riverview, N.B. It replaces another location that is now closed on Coverdale Rd. The new location ramped up last month with a contractor event before its grand opening. It hosted some 30 vendors and attracted 250 pro customers along with giveaways and draws.

Peavey Industries recently celebrated the grand opening of a new Peavey Mart store in Steinbach, Man. The new location clocks in at 28,800 square feet, plus an additional 1,440-square-feet greenhouse. A seasonal section will cater to homeowners’ lawn, yard, and garden needs before converting into a Christmas and toy department later in the year.

RONA inc. has welcomed six new dealers as independent affiliates. They are RONA Quincaillerie Saint-Jean-Baptiste in Quebec, RONA Manotick and RONA Timmins in Ontario, RONA Lac La Biche and RONA Olds in Alberta, and RONA Agassiz in British Columbia.

A Stratford, Ont., Giant Tiger store is among the latest retailers to get rid of its self-checkout stations. Owner Scott Savage told CBC News that the decision was motivated not by loss prevention concerns but by feedback from his clientele, many of whom are seniors. “The biggest complaint you have from everybody is, ‘You don’t pay me to work here,’ ” he said.

All through May, customers who visit a participating RONA store will have the opportunity to donate at checkout to support the construction or renovation project of an organization in the province. The RONA Foundation’s Build from the Heart program aims to help organizations across the country carry out projects to revitalize living environments or make it easier to access housing for Canadian populations in need. Last year, the RONA Foundation donated $500,000 to community projects across Canada. The goal this year is to double that amount.

Yantzi Home Building Centre and Tavistock Home Hardware in southwestern Ontario have a new official shareholder of both businesses. Steffan Yantzi, 27, officially became the dealer-owner on Jan. 1. Yantzi Building Supplies is in its 73rd year of operation and joined the Home Hardware banner in 2016. The family purchased Tavistock Home Hardware in 2018.

AD Canada has been recognized as a Great Place to Work for the second year in a row, according to the Top Workplace rankings by Energage LLC, an HR technology company. In addition, AD Canada has been recognized in the ranks of 2024 Best Workplaces in Canada among firms with fewer than 100 Canadian employees, ranking 10th nationally for its size category.

King Marketing’s team of full-time sales representatives gathered for their national sales meeting in Niagara Falls last week. The event culminated with King’s awards night that celebrated the achievements of the sales agency’s reps across the country. Jeremy Ross won the Peddler of the Year Award “for his exemplary work on behalf of his represented vendors,” the company said in a release.

The governments of Alberta and Saskatchewan have awarded $595,000 to fund programs for the building supply industry and directly support members of the Western Retail Lumber Association. Liz Kovach, WRLA president, and Andrew Reimer, WRLA Chair, had the opportunity late last month to thank the Alberta government personally for “enabling us to put ambitious new programs into action.” The first such effort will be to add a permanent Workforce Development position to the WRLA team.

“We live in an ecosystem where everyone interacts together. And we’re the only retail sector with a vertical structure.”
—Richard Darveau, president of Quebec trade association AQMAT, describing the unique position of the home improvement retail marketplace.

Home Hardware is pulling out all the stops during its 60th birthday year. The company, which is one of Canada’s top four home improvement retailers, got its start in the small town of St. Jacobs, nestled in the heart of southern Ontario’s Mennonite country, back in 1964.

Today, the organization generates estimated sales exceeding $9 billion (source: the Hardlines Retail Report) from more than 1,000 stores. Those stores represent a variety of formats under the Home Hardware, Home Building Centre, Home Hardware Building Centre, and Home Furniture banners.

Here are some of the initiatives planned for the year:

• Nostalgic brand campaign featuring Home’s evolution over the last 60 years
• 60th anniversary sale from April 25 to May 8 that features big discounts off BeautiTone Designer Interior & Exterior, Delta Faucets, and Mosaic Cookware & Bakeware
• National contest from April 25 to May 22 that lets customers enter a draw to win one of two $5,000 grand prizes, or one of fifty $1,000 gift cards
• Scene+ “60 Bonus Points Promotion” whereby customers can earn 60 bonus points on purchases of $50 or more
• Social media contests starting April 26, such as Home Hardware Trivia, and inviting Canadians to share their memories of Home Hardware for the chance to win a prize

“This milestone is a testament to over six decades of dedication and hard work by our dealers and team members across the country,” said Kevin Macnab, president and CEO of Home Hardware Stores Ltd. “While celebrating 60 years of rich history, we’re also focused on continued growth to ensure we keep delivering the exceptional customer service we’re known for in communities across Canada.”

In 1964, in St. Jacobs, Ont., Walter Hachborn, Henry Sittler, and silent partner Arthur Zilliax laid the groundwork for what would become Canada’s largest dealer-owned home improvement retailer. With a history that spans 60 years, Home Hardware Stores Ltd. has a legacy to be proud of. That legacy includes grassroots growth and expansion that now represents more than 1,000 stores nationwide.

Throughout that time, the company has had only four CEOs, starting with Hachborn himself. Hardlines spoke recently with Home Hardware’s current president and CEO, Kevin Macnab, about what’s in store for both customers and Home Hardware dealers themselves during the anniversary year ahead. That includes a campaign that focuses on how Home Hardware dealers and head office workers support their local communities.

“We’ll be highlighting the incredible way the Home team, our dealers and corporately, give back to their communities and we’re going to commemorate 60 years of business with 60 stories of goodwill that will be shared both internally and with community media,” he says. “We’re doing a lot this year, but I particularly like that 60 Acts of Kindness Campaign.”

Macnab says customers will see special sales and promotions to celebrate the 60th and promises some great deals for customers. “I’m hesitant to call our strategy high-low. I would say we’ll have really strong promotions through this event.”

He expects the events to create pride for the dealers. And the Homecoming dealer market in September in Toronto will be an occasion for further celebrating their collective achievements. The festivities are a welcome addition for an industry that is coming off a slow year in 2023 and a soft start to 2024. Macnab points out that the company has been supporting the dealers to ensure their growth.

“The key to our success is our dealers and we’ve been working really hard to support them, enabling them to grow their businesses with their customers, or growing their footage.”

The anniversary milestone comes amidst a time of great change for Home Hardware. The company was historically focused primarily on its shareholders—the dealers themselves. But in a shift that actually began under Macnab’s predecessor, interim CEO Terry Davis, a new strategy was begun to put the customer front and centre. As the company phrases it, the move has been from being a hardware wholesaler to a retail company.

“Over the last few years we’ve been very focused on the end consumer to better support our dealers. We’ve made changes to strengthen our product assortments as well as implementing the Scene+ loyalty program, over the last few years,” Macnab says. “So we have made changes—and change is never easy. And sometimes there’s pushback. But what I would tell you—we’re at a point now where we’ve been through the biggest elements of change and dealers are seeing the benefits of the work we’ve done.”

Macnab adds that the company conducted its first-ever dealer satisfaction survey last year, “and we received positive results from it.” All told, he is pleased with the birthday plans, and the array of advertising and promotional programs, “all those things that generate excitement for dealers and customers.”

In conversation with Hardlines, Home Hardware president and CEO Kevin Macnab talked last week about how the company’s newest milestone has served a larger purpose.

“We’ve used our 60th anniversary to clarify Home Hardware’s purpose, vision, and mission. These are Home’s guiding principles, which will drive our decision making,” Macnab says. “They create unity and understanding throughout the company.”

He sees these guiding principles as crucial to driving the company into the future following a series of changes within the company—changes, he says, which are largely now in place. “Our purpose, simply put, is to improve life at home. Now, that can be home with a capital ‘H’ as part of our dealer network. But it also means a store experience with lower case ‘h’ for our customers to improve life.

“Our vision is for home to be Canada’s most trusted and preferred home improvement experience. So we’re very focused on experience,” he says. “And our mission is to serve communities through our strong independent dealer network, by providing superior home improvement experiences with helpful advice, competitive prices, and quality products.”

Macnab suggests that redefining these aspects of the company’s culture after changes the company has been through in recent years is fitting. “Like I’ve said, we’ve made change, and we’ve been through the most significant element of change.”

Orgill Inc., the Memphis-based hardware wholesaler, has a range of customers in Canada. It supplies independent hardware and building supply dealers in every region of the country. Orgill has sales of close to $4 billion, shipping more than 75,000 SKUs from seven distribution centres in the U.S. and one in Canada. But despite its size, this company is working hard to keep up its technology advancements.

Boyden Moore, Orgill’s president and CEO, spoke with Hardlines during the company’s Spring Dealer Market, held in Orlando, Fla., earlier this year. He shared how Orgill is moving forward, with a strategy that has included a new tech lead, dealer-targeted online supports, and even robots.

“A few years ago we brought in a new CIO/CTO role, Mark Hamer,” says Moore. “His charge from me was to modernize our technical infrastructure. He’s made some big gains for us.”

Hamer’s mandate was to learn about the tech that Orgill’s vendors—and customers—are using, understanding every part of the technology within the company’s distribution system, “and every part of the business,” Moore points out. A year later, Hamer came back to Orgill’s executive team. “He put a plan together, a path to mastermind data management to really get the company prepared to take advantage of some of the technology we weren’t taking advantage of.”

Now, even AI is being used. This includes 70 robots at Orgill’s DC in Tifton, Ga. (shown here). The robots are doing demand picking and they work overnight moving stock around based on the next day’s orders. “So the pick cycle is efficient when the workers come in the next day,” Moore says. “We’re using artificial intelligence to see how the pick waves are coming and how they could be rearranged in the modules to be the most efficient when the people come in.”

Technology has been updated and refined for Orgill’s dealer customers, as well. Dealer services include an integrated e-commerce product that is hosted on a dealer’s own website. The platform gives customers access to anything the dealer sells, not just the products supplied from Orgill.

“We knew a dealer would not be able to offer a website unless they could offer their whole product range,” says Moore. That e-commerce platform is under constant improvement, he says, with recent enhancements that include making the search engine better and making services easier to use generally.

“There’s just constant development, and we feel like that’s a role we play, to help our dealers be successful. That, of course, is our mission—and it’s not just in distribution services, but whatever else can we leverage on our dealers’ behalf.”

Aaron Jarosz has been promoted to vice-president, contractor services, at The Home Depot Canada. He most recently led Home Depot Canada’s merchandising execution team as senior director, merchandising operations. Jarosz joined The Home Depot in 2011. In his new role, he will lead the pro/home services team and join the leadership team in Canada, led by company president Michael Rowe.

Brett Harrison is the new territory manager at Regal ideas. Based in Winnipeg, he will cover Manitoba, Saskatchewan, and Northern Ontario. He was formerly a project manager at Winnipeg Building & Decorating Ltd.

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RETAILER NEWS

The Canadian Tire store in Innisfil, Ont., has new owners. The store, about an hour north of Toronto, will hold its grand reopening ribbon cutting on May 4. Stephane Diamond and Christine Forget are the associate dealers. Both of them have experience owning Canadian Tire stores in Montreal.

Two stores in Alberta, Medicine Hat Home Hardware Building Centre and Alta-Wide Home Building Centre in Vegreville, have recently converted to the Home Hardware banner. The stores are owned by Lisa and Mark Brumm, who also own a third store in the province, Sylvan Lake Home Hardware Building Centre, which became a Home store in 2023.

RONA inc. has welcomed six new dealers as independent affiliates. They are RONA Quincaillerie Saint-Jean-Baptiste in Quebec, RONA Manotick and RONA Timmins in Ontario, RONA Lac La Biche and RONA Olds in Alberta, and RONA Agassiz in British Columbia. “Since we announced our new business positioning, along with a series of new programs last December at Connexia, our annual dealers’ event, 11 stores have chosen to join the network of RONA affiliated dealers,” Alain Ménard, senior vice-president for affiliate dealers, said in a release.

As part of IKEA Canada’s ongoing commitment to keep prices down for Canadian consumers (including lowering prices on 1,500 products this year), the retailer has introduced new financial services for customers shopping online. Using the Pay in 4 by Afterpay, customers can split purchases into four interest-free payments. The first payment is taken when the order is placed and the remaining three are automatically processed every two weeks. The service is available for purchases between $50 and $1,000 and is currently available for online purchases only.

RONA inc. has completed the sale of its distribution centre in Terrebonne, a suburb of Montreal, to BMTC Group, a holding company in Montreal that has assets in furniture and household appliances retail. The imminent cessation of regular operations at RONA’s Terrebonne facility had been announced back in January. BMTC, in a release, said that the deal cost $96 million before taxes—and RONA has a lease-back agreement, the details of which were not specified.

United Hardware is merging with another U.S. co-op, Do it Best. The merger is expected to enhance efficiency, add buying power, and drive store growth for the dealers. Both United Hardware and Do it Best leadership teams are focusing on a seamless transition so service to dealer-customers won’t be disrupted. All United Hardware stores will maintain their independent brand identities, allowing them to retain their autonomy and individuality within the larger co-operative framework.

West Fraser Timber Co. reported its Q1 sales remained flat at $1.627 billion from the comparable period of 2023. Earnings of $35 million reversed a loss of $42 million a year earlier. In addition, the company has announced the completion of the sale of its Quesnel River, B.C., and Slave Lake, Alta., pulp mills to an affiliate of a fund managed by Atlas Holdings. Both facilities produce bleached chemi-thermomechanical pulp for the manufacture of paper products.

Retail sales edged down by 0.1 percent to $66.7 billion in February. Sales were down in five of nine subsectors, led by a 2.2 percent decline at gasoline stations and fuel vendors. Core retail sales, which exclude automotive and fuel categories, were unchanged. Sales in the LBM and garden subsectors fell by 0.4 percent. (StatCan)

Investment in building construction declined 1.1 percent to $19.3 billion. Spending in the residential sector dropped by 1.2 percent from January to $13.4 billion, led by a $153 million decline in Ontario. In the single-family detached segment, however, investment rose by 1.3 percent to $6.7 billion, with gains reported across the country with the exception of Yukon. (StatCan)