September 7, 1999 - Volume v, #35
Michael McLarney, Editor & Publisher
Ph: 416-489-3396 Fx: 416-489-6154

I CAN'T BELIEVE THE INCREDIBLE RESPONSE WE'RE GETTING FOR THIS YEAR'S HARDLINES MARKETING CONFERENCE! PEOPLE ARE COMING FROM RIGHT ACROSS THE COUNTRY &endash; AND EVEN UP FROM THE U.S. BUT WHO CAN BLAME THEM? JUST CHECK OUT THIS LINEUP OF SPEAKERS …

DAN COTTER OF TRUSERV CORP.: the changing role of the independent as it competes alongside new retail formats &endash; including the big box.

DAVID KRAWZYK OF WICKES LUMBER: his company's strategy for targetting the contractor customer and increasing sales in the very competitive U.S. home improvement market.

LARRY MOORE OF SEARS CANADA: the HomeCentral program, the latest in home maintenance and customer relation-building.

MIKE LARGENT OF STAMBAUGH HARDWARE: can a small hardware store be tightly formatted? It worked for Mac's Milk, Blockbuster Video and lots of other retail chains. Why not hardware?

JOHN MacDOUGALL OF AWARD: Imagine offering your customer a monthly payment plan with on the spot financing for their home improvement projects.

JUST $249 FOR SUBSCRIBERS; $349 FOR NON-SUBSCRIBERS. SPACE IS FILLING FAST SO REGISTER NOW!!!

HOTEL: CALL THE SHERATON PARKWAY TORONTO NORTH HOTEL FOR OUR HARDLINES CONFERENCE RATE: 1-800-668-0101.

WOW! TWO NEW SPONSORS HAVE SIGNED UP TO SUPPORT THE CONFERENCE. MY THANKS TO:

HARDWARE MERCHANDISING MAGAZINE AND WOLF GUGLER AND ASSOCIATES, WHO JOIN:
-THE WATT GROUP
-THE COLOGNE INTERNATIONAL HARDWARE FAIR/DIY'TEC
-INTACTIX
-STERLING COMMERCE
-LOGISTICS SOLUTIONS

CANADIAN TIRE ROLLS OUT PARTSOURCE PROGRAM

Canadian Tire Corp. is finally rolling out its PartSource retail chain nationally. The stores, which feature about 7,000 sq.ft. of selling space, are aimed at both heavy automotive DIY customers and professional automotive installers. Stores stock approximately 20,000 products and offer same-day deliver of an additional 100,000 products.

Bruce Allen, previously vice-president, Automotive for Canadian Tire, is the president of PartSource. A new management team has been put in place, including new buyers, to oversee the program, which will operate as a strategic business unit within Canadian Tire.

The stand-alone stores will be franchised in the same manner Canadian Tire store ownership is structured. Some will be franchised by existing Canadian Tire dealers.

Seven stores were opened last year on a test basis in Hamilton and Cambridge, Ont., and Calgary. Canadian Tire plans to open about 200 PartSource stores in total, with a total investment of up to $400 million and the creation of 3,000-4,000 retail jobs during the next few years. A market-by-market assessment process is underway which will determine markets to be targeted first.

RONA inc. plans to expand its L'entrepôt de St-Bruno big box store to a total of 161,000 sq.ft. by the end of 1999. The result, says the company, will be the largest home renovation centre in North America.

Plans include expansion of the existing indoor drive-through lumberyard to 37,000 sq.ft. Other departments slated for expansion are seasonal, plumbing, lighting and paint. The project will cost $3.5 million.

Under RONA's partnership formula, the St-Bruno warehouse store is owned by the following RONA dealer-owners: Simon Cloutier, owner of the Rénovateur in Ste-Marie-de-Beauce; Raynauld Archambault and Robert Houle, co-owners of the Houle Inc. hardware store in Iberville; André H. Gagnon, Stéphane Gagnon and Jean-François Gagnon, co-owners of the Gagnon et Fils hardware stores in St-Hyacinthe and Granby; Jean-Pierre Lauzon, of the J.P. Lauzon hardware store in Chambly; Gérard Mercier, owner of the Brien hardware store in Longueuil; and Renaud Morissette of Acton Vale.

The company has just announced construction of a 12th L'entrepôt warehouse, to be located in Brossard, and upcoming openings of two new medium-size Le Rénovateur Regional stores in Granby and St-Hyacinthe. Since early 1999, RONA has opened five Le Rénovateur Régional stores and one L'entrepôt in Québec. It also plans to open about 20 new stores in Ontario over the next four years.

RONA inc. is currently determining the site for a second l'entrepôt big box store in the Ottawa region. Details should be forthcoming in the next few weeks.

Sexton Group has added the following new members: Empire Lumber, Manning, Alta.; Crawford Truss and Floor Systems, Aldersyde, Alta.; Metal Building Systems, Airdrie, Alta.; Redriver Lumber, Estevan, Sask.; Rightway Building Products Inc., High Level, Alta.; Fouillard Discount Centre, St. Lazare, Man.; Longlac

Building Centre, Longlac, Ont.; Figure 8 O/A Deh Cho Hardware, Fort Simpson NWT; Oakland Supply, Saskatoon; Ed Kaun & Sons, Fort Frances, Ont.; Curtis Lumber (Sunshine Coast), Madeira Park, B.C.; and Kenroc Drywall Supplies, Minneapolis, Minn.

Better Living Products of Canada has signed Williams Marketing Group to represent it in British Columbia, Alberta, Saskatchewan and Manitoba. Williams is headed up by D'Arcy Williams.

Rubbermaid Canada will expand its Mississauga, Ont., manufacturing and distribution facility, beginning this month, with completion estimated by sometime in the second half of 2000. The expansion will include increased warehouse space and new manufacturing technology.

Nu-Gro Corp. has signed a letter of intent to purchase the assets of the Canadian operations of Consolidated Envirowaste Industries Inc., a developer and operator of organic waste recycling facilities that produces saleable end products. The cash deal is expected to close by September 30.

German cement and building materials company Dyckerhoff AG agreed last Thursday to buy U.S. cement and ready-mixed concrete company Lone Star Industries for US$1.2 billion including the assumption of debt. Dyckerhoff did not specify the amount of debt it agreed to assume but launched an all-cash tender offer for all of Lone Star's outstanding common stock at $50 a share.

CANADIAN STOCK WATCH

COMPANY	52-WEEK HIGH	52-WEEK LOW	CLOSE (FRI.)
Canadian Tire	45.00	29.00	37.25
Canfor	13.30	4.25	11.10
Goodfellow	11.50	6.00	11.15
Hudsons Bay	23.85	14.00	20.60
MacMillan Blo.	27.85	11.50	23.35
Sears Canada	33.75	15.25	32.45
Taiga Forest	14.75	8.65	14.00
West Fraser	41.00	19.05	37.50

"What are the three words guaranteed to humiliate men everywhere? 'Hold my purse.'"
&endash; Francois Morency

"I got kicked out of Riverdance for using my arms."
&endash; Gary Valentine

(On the 1-800 hotline number on a jar of pickles) "Who the hell's got pickle questions?"
&endash; Tim Steeves

(Highlights from the annual "Just For Laughs" festival held this summer in Montréal)

PEOPLE ON THE MOVE

David Hoyes has joined Homecare Building Centres Ltd. as manager of purchasing. He was formerly at Beaver Lumber as director of merchandising for building materials and millwork. (905-671-2424)

The following corporate management changes, effective November 1, 1999, have been announced at the WINROC Corp.: Jake Kooy has been appointed operations manager for Allroc Building Products Ltd. He was formerly operations manager for Winroc's Canadian Prairie Region … Bob Hancock has been appointed operations manager for Winroc's U.S. locations. He was formerly Allroc's general manager … Russ Andrew has been appointed to the position of operations manager for Winroc's Canadian locations. He was formerly operations manager for Winroc's British Columbia Region. (403-236-5383)

Jeff McCarroll has joined Castle Building Centres as hardlines co-ordinator. A graduate of business administration at Sheridan College, he reports to Carmen Ruffolo, Castle's product manager, hardlines. (905-564-3307)

Janet M. Roy has been appointed vice-president, sales and marketing, for Canada Cordage Inc. A past president of the Canadian Hardware and Housewares Manufacturers Association, she was most recently a group product manager at CIBC. Before that, she was vice-president, consumer products, for Pyrene Corp. (519-745-7391)

Brass Craft Canada Ltd. has appointed Terry V. Gillard to the position of vice-president of retail sales. He has been with the company for the last 10 years as treasurer. (519-633-0340)

Clint Ellicott has been promoted to Ontario sales manager at Lafarge Packaged Materials. (416-787-4917)

Greg LaVigne has been appointed Ontario sales manager for BPB Westroc. He was formerly at the Lighting Division of Philips Electronics as director of trade marketing. (905-823-9881)

CORRECTION: Garry Boniface is the new national acounts team leader at LePage for the Maritimes and Ontario. (905-459-1140)

Wholesale trade remained unchanged in June from May, amounting to $29.8 billion, according to Stats Canada. Discounting the automotive sector, sales rose 0.4% and sales of metals, hardware, plumbing and heating rose 1.2%. Lumber and building materials rose 1.2%, as well.

* * * * * * *

HARDLINES the electronic newsletter. Michael McLarney, Editor & Publisher. Published weekly (except monthly in December and August) by McLARNEYCOM 283 Belsize Dr., Toronto, ON Canada M4S 1M5. 416-489-3396; fax: 416-489-6154. E-mail: hardline@terraport.net © 1999 by Michael McLarney. Reproduction in whole or in part is strictly forbidden. Subscription: $185+$12.95 GST = $197.95 (or $27.75 HST=$212.75) per year (GST #13987 0398 RT). Please make cheque payable to McLarneyCom.

September 7, 1999 - Volume v, #35
Michael McLarney, Editor & Publisher
Ph: 416-489-3396 Fx: 416-489-6154

I CAN'T BELIEVE THE INCREDIBLE RESPONSE WE'RE GETTING FOR THIS YEAR'S HARDLINES MARKETING CONFERENCE! PEOPLE ARE COMING FROM RIGHT ACROSS THE COUNTRY &endash; AND EVEN UP FROM THE U.S. BUT WHO CAN BLAME THEM? JUST CHECK OUT THIS LINEUP OF SPEAKERS …

DAN COTTER OF TRUSERV CORP.: the changing role of the independent as it competes alongside new retail formats &endash; including the big box.

DAVID KRAWZYK OF WICKES LUMBER: his company's strategy for targetting the contractor customer and increasing sales in the very competitive U.S. home improvement market.

LARRY MOORE OF SEARS CANADA: the HomeCentral program, the latest in home maintenance and customer relation-building.

MIKE LARGENT OF STAMBAUGH HARDWARE: can a small hardware store be tightly formatted? It worked for Mac's Milk, Blockbuster Video and lots of other retail chains. Why not hardware?

JOHN MacDOUGALL OF AWARD: Imagine offering your customer a monthly payment plan with on the spot financing for their home improvement projects.

JUST $249 FOR SUBSCRIBERS; $349 FOR NON-SUBSCRIBERS. SPACE IS FILLING FAST SO REGISTER NOW!!!

HOTEL: CALL THE SHERATON PARKWAY TORONTO NORTH HOTEL FOR OUR HARDLINES CONFERENCE RATE: 1-800-668-0101.

WOW! TWO NEW SPONSORS HAVE SIGNED UP TO SUPPORT THE CONFERENCE. MY THANKS TO:

HARDWARE MERCHANDISING MAGAZINE AND WOLF GUGLER AND ASSOCIATES, WHO JOIN:
-THE WATT GROUP
-THE COLOGNE INTERNATIONAL HARDWARE FAIR/DIY'TEC
-INTACTIX
-STERLING COMMERCE
-LOGISTICS SOLUTIONS

CANADIAN TIRE ROLLS OUT PARTSOURCE PROGRAM

Canadian Tire Corp. is finally rolling out its PartSource retail chain nationally. The stores, which feature about 7,000 sq.ft. of selling space, are aimed at both heavy automotive DIY customers and professional automotive installers. Stores stock approximately 20,000 products and offer same-day deliver of an additional 100,000 products.

Bruce Allen, previously vice-president, Automotive for Canadian Tire, is the president of PartSource. A new management team has been put in place, including new buyers, to oversee the program, which will operate as a strategic business unit within Canadian Tire.

The stand-alone stores will be franchised in the same manner Canadian Tire store ownership is structured. Some will be franchised by existing Canadian Tire dealers.

Seven stores were opened last year on a test basis in Hamilton and Cambridge, Ont., and Calgary. Canadian Tire plans to open about 200 PartSource stores in total, with a total investment of up to $400 million and the creation of 3,000-4,000 retail jobs during the next few years. A market-by-market assessment process is underway which will determine markets to be targeted first.

RONA inc. plans to expand its L'entrepôt de St-Bruno big box store to a total of 161,000 sq.ft. by the end of 1999. The result, says the company, will be the largest home renovation centre in North America.

Plans include expansion of the existing indoor drive-through lumberyard to 37,000 sq.ft. Other departments slated for expansion are seasonal, plumbing, lighting and paint. The project will cost $3.5 million.

Under RONA's partnership formula, the St-Bruno warehouse store is owned by the following RONA dealer-owners: Simon Cloutier, owner of the Rénovateur in Ste-Marie-de-Beauce; Raynauld Archambault and Robert Houle, co-owners of the Houle Inc. hardware store in Iberville; André H. Gagnon, Stéphane Gagnon and Jean-François Gagnon, co-owners of the Gagnon et Fils hardware stores in St-Hyacinthe and Granby; Jean-Pierre Lauzon, of the J.P. Lauzon hardware store in Chambly; Gérard Mercier, owner of the Brien hardware store in Longueuil; and Renaud Morissette of Acton Vale.

The company has just announced construction of a 12th L'entrepôt warehouse, to be located in Brossard, and upcoming openings of two new medium-size Le Rénovateur Regional stores in Granby and St-Hyacinthe. Since early 1999, RONA has opened five Le Rénovateur Régional stores and one L'entrepôt in Québec. It also plans to open about 20 new stores in Ontario over the next four years.

RONA inc. is currently determining the site for a second l'entrepôt big box store in the Ottawa region. Details should be forthcoming in the next few weeks.

Sexton Group has added the following new members: Empire Lumber, Manning, Alta.; Crawford Truss and Floor Systems, Aldersyde, Alta.; Metal Building Systems, Airdrie, Alta.; Redriver Lumber, Estevan, Sask.; Rightway Building Products Inc., High Level, Alta.; Fouillard Discount Centre, St. Lazare, Man.; Longlac

Building Centre, Longlac, Ont.; Figure 8 O/A Deh Cho Hardware, Fort Simpson NWT; Oakland Supply, Saskatoon; Ed Kaun & Sons, Fort Frances, Ont.; Curtis Lumber (Sunshine Coast), Madeira Park, B.C.; and Kenroc Drywall Supplies, Minneapolis, Minn.

Better Living Products of Canada has signed Williams Marketing Group to represent it in British Columbia, Alberta, Saskatchewan and Manitoba. Williams is headed up by D'Arcy Williams.

Rubbermaid Canada will expand its Mississauga, Ont., manufacturing and distribution facility, beginning this month, with completion estimated by sometime in the second half of 2000. The expansion will include increased warehouse space and new manufacturing technology.

Nu-Gro Corp. has signed a letter of intent to purchase the assets of the Canadian operations of Consolidated Envirowaste Industries Inc., a developer and operator of organic waste recycling facilities that produces saleable end products. The cash deal is expected to close by September 30.

German cement and building materials company Dyckerhoff AG agreed last Thursday to buy U.S. cement and ready-mixed concrete company Lone Star Industries for US$1.2 billion including the assumption of debt. Dyckerhoff did not specify the amount of debt it agreed to assume but launched an all-cash tender offer for all of Lone Star's outstanding common stock at $50 a share.

CANADIAN STOCK WATCH

COMPANY	52-WEEK HIGH	52-WEEK LOW	CLOSE (FRI.)
Canadian Tire	45.00	29.00	37.25
Canfor	13.30	4.25	11.10
Goodfellow	11.50	6.00	11.15
Hudsons Bay	23.85	14.00	20.60
MacMillan Blo.	27.85	11.50	23.35
Sears Canada	33.75	15.25	32.45
Taiga Forest	14.75	8.65	14.00
West Fraser	41.00	19.05	37.50

"What are the three words guaranteed to humiliate men everywhere? 'Hold my purse.'"
&endash; Francois Morency

"I got kicked out of Riverdance for using my arms."
&endash; Gary Valentine

(On the 1-800 hotline number on a jar of pickles) "Who the hell's got pickle questions?"
&endash; Tim Steeves

(Highlights from the annual "Just For Laughs" festival held this summer in Montréal)

PEOPLE ON THE MOVE

David Hoyes has joined Homecare Building Centres Ltd. as manager of purchasing. He was formerly at Beaver Lumber as director of merchandising for building materials and millwork. (905-671-2424)

The following corporate management changes, effective November 1, 1999, have been announced at the WINROC Corp.: Jake Kooy has been appointed operations manager for Allroc Building Products Ltd. He was formerly operations manager for Winroc's Canadian Prairie Region … Bob Hancock has been appointed operations manager for Winroc's U.S. locations. He was formerly Allroc's general manager … Russ Andrew has been appointed to the position of operations manager for Winroc's Canadian locations. He was formerly operations manager for Winroc's British Columbia Region. (403-236-5383)

Jeff McCarroll has joined Castle Building Centres as hardlines co-ordinator. A graduate of business administration at Sheridan College, he reports to Carmen Ruffolo, Castle's product manager, hardlines. (905-564-3307)

Janet M. Roy has been appointed vice-president, sales and marketing, for Canada Cordage Inc. A past president of the Canadian Hardware and Housewares Manufacturers Association, she was most recently a group product manager at CIBC. Before that, she was vice-president, consumer products, for Pyrene Corp. (519-745-7391)

Brass Craft Canada Ltd. has appointed Terry V. Gillard to the position of vice-president of retail sales. He has been with the company for the last 10 years as treasurer. (519-633-0340)

Clint Ellicott has been promoted to Ontario sales manager at Lafarge Packaged Materials. (416-787-4917)

Greg LaVigne has been appointed Ontario sales manager for BPB Westroc. He was formerly at the Lighting Division of Philips Electronics as director of trade marketing. (905-823-9881)

CORRECTION: Garry Boniface is the new national acounts team leader at LePage for the Maritimes and Ontario. (905-459-1140)

Wholesale trade remained unchanged in June from May, amounting to $29.8 billion, according to Stats Canada. Discounting the automotive sector, sales rose 0.4% and sales of metals, hardware, plumbing and heating rose 1.2%. Lumber and building materials rose 1.2%, as well.

* * * * * * *

HARDLINES the electronic newsletter. Michael McLarney, Editor & Publisher. Published weekly (except monthly in December and August) by McLARNEYCOM 283 Belsize Dr., Toronto, ON Canada M4S 1M5. 416-489-3396; fax: 416-489-6154. E-mail: hardline@terraport.net © 1999 by Michael McLarney. Reproduction in whole or in part is strictly forbidden. Subscription: $185+$12.95 GST = $197.95 (or $27.75 HST=$212.75) per year (GST #13987 0398 RT). Please make cheque payable to McLarneyCom.