Castle launches new commercial banner

MARKHAM, ON - Castle Building Centres Group's growth plan includes the launch of two new banner brands. The move is part of the company's strategy to capture more independents in the home improvement sector, a market that James Jones, Castle's vice-president of national marketing, describes as being "full of opportunity". Speaking to a CHHMA breakfast last week, Jones said that a new commercial building specialty banner, Commercial Building Supplies Inc., was created two months ago to attract dealers who do significant commercial and industrial business. "These would be dealers who are heavily into things like gypsum, insulation and roofing, and who do between $20-25 million on about 50 SKUs," explained Jones. Jones said the company does not expect the program to grow much beyond 15 dealers, which it hopes to have the end of next year. The first two members of the new program will be announced within the next few weeks. A second new banner will also be added to the Castle Group umbrella. It will focus on specialty dealers, who deal in such categories as windows and doors, and kitchen and bath. Next week in Hardlines: Castle's plans for marketing and store development

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Wal-Mart supercentres increase home products offering

MISSISSAUGA - Wal-Mart Canada will open five new supercentres across Alberta this week. The new stores, which are between 101,000 and 205,000 square feet and approximately 30% larger than existing Wal-Marts, will open in Wainwright, Vegreville, Lethbridge, Pincher Creek and West Edmonton. By the end of this month, 17 Wal-Mart supercentres will be operating across Canada. The giant retailer hopes to have 28 of the stores here by early 2008. The new-format stores include increased offerings in enhanced home fashion and electronics departments. Each store will have approximately 120,000 products, compared to 80,000 in a traditional store. The new stores will also mark Wal-Mart's entry into the realm of fresh groceries, with about 40,000 square feet of grocery goods in each location.

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Conference reflects importance of staff training

TORONTO - Strategies for implementing successful staff training are the focus of a new half-day session being introduced to the annual Hardlines Conference, which will be held here Oct.15-16. As the exclusive provider of NRHA training programs in Canada, Hardlines will present a series of seminars on staff training issues, including how employees can reinforce the store brand, using technology to increase staff efficiency and increasing profits through better product knowledge. For more information about the Hardlines Conference, click here.

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Strong housing trend can't continue: report

TORONTO - The strong housing market that Canada has enjoyed is unsustainable in the longer term, according to a new report by Scotia Economics. While low unemployment, high immigration, and tight rental vacancy rates are helping to maintain the sector, affordability is becoming an issue for increasing numbers of homebuyers, Adrienne Warren, senior economist with Scotia Economics, said in a prepared statement. Uncertainty over the effect of the sub-prime mortgage crisis in the U.S. and regional overvaluation of housing stock, may trigger softening conditions, says Warren. The report looked at conditions in 15 cities, noting that with the exception of St. John's, current inflation-adjusted price levels are above their long-term trend. "The further domestic home prices climb above underlying economic fundamentals, the greater the risk of an eventual correction," says Ms.Warren.

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Stock adds another commercial supplier

RALEIGH, NC - Pro dealer Stock Building Supply continues to make inroads into the industrial-commercial market through acquisitions. The retailer, based here, has acquired ProSource Supply, a Houston-based supplier of commercial doors, trim hardwood and their installation services. ProSource generated $17.2 million in sales last year, according to Stock, whose parent company, Wolseley plc, has shown no signs of curtailing its recent buying spree. Wolseley's other U.S.-based asset, the plumbing distributor Ferguson Enterprises, last week bought two companies: Western Air Systems and Controls, a three-branch distributor of Trane HVAC systems that generated nearly $60 million in sales last year; and Davidson Pipe, a New York-based plumbing and fittings distributor which had sales last year of $125.8 million. News of these acquisitions was first reported by the magazine Modern Distribution Management.

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