February 29, 2016 Volume xxii, #9

“Be yourself. No one can say you're doing it wrong.”
—Charles M. Schultz (American cartoonist, 1922-2000)

IN THIS ISSUE:

• Canadians gather in unprecedented numbers at Orgill Market

• Attendance up at TIMBER MART’s 6th annual buying show

• Home Depot and Lowe’s post strong year-end results

• Home Hardware honoured for leadership

• PLUS: Peavey supports young farmers, La Coop reports strong results, CHHMA joins forces with office products association, Sears unloads eight Home stores, BuildDirect partners, Ikea expands pickup points—and more!

Canadians gather in unprecedented numbers at Orgill Market

ORLANDO, Fla. — Some 400 retail outlets from Canada were present at the latest Orgill Dealer Market, held at the Orlando Convention Centre this past weekend.

The show has been gaining popularity among Canadian independents in recent years, especially among Castle dealers, thanks to an earlier partnership between Orgill and Castle. But the recent acquisition by Orgill of hardware wholesaler Chalifour Canada effectively doubled that number of attendees.

The show marked that stunning increase by creating a Canadian “show within a show,” putting the Canadian vendors into a special section of the show floor. The move forced a number of exhibitors that had both U.S. and Canadian operations to essentially add an extra booth at an additional cost. However, most vendors admitted the focused venue was a great draw for Canadian dealers, who made a point of heading there early on, resulting in a positive experience of the show for the Canadian vendors.

Another indicator of the overwhelming presence of Canadians was a Canada Night reception held at the end of day one. Hosted by HARDLINES, the event drew more than 400 people to a casual meet-and-greet at the nearby B.B. King Blues Club.

Attendance up at TIMBER MART’s sixth annual buying show

MONTREAL ― TIMBER MART held its National Buying Show on Friday, February 19, at Montreal’s Palais des congrès, where the crowd represented a 15% boost from last year’s attendance. All told, more than 1,300 visitors passed through the exhibition, including some 400 dealer participants. The event was preceded the evening before by the group’s National Dealer Meeting, and by a breakfast seminar the morning of the show featuring motivational speaker Martin Latulippe.

Vendors noted that traffic was steady as soon as the floor opened at 9 a.m., in contrast to the usual staggered pacing of buying shows. TIMBER MART’s “Solutions Centre” was front and centre, featuring information hubs for all services and programs the group offers, including lumber and building materials, TIMBER MART Essentials, marketing, merchandising, and banner support.
 
With Orgill’s acquisition of Chalifour Canada―TIMBER MART’s wholesale distribution arm―Orgill Canada was showcased with a prominent centre zone dedicated to many of its top products, in addition to an information booth with senior officers. David Mobley, senior VP of North American sales, commented that the TIMBER MART buying show is “one of the busiest, and this is one of its busiest years.”

Apart from Orgill, Richelieu was far and away the largest hardware exhibitor, perhaps signalling that the company is ready to take a greater profile on the retail side.

Several of the vendors who spoke to HARDLINES said they also planned to be among the dealers in Orlando the following week for Orgill’s Spring Dealer Market, a testimony to the popularity of both events.

TIMBER MART president Bernie Owens expressed his satisfaction with the success of the show, noting that it is “truly a national buying show in the sense of offering a competitive advantage” to dealers, bringing TIMBER MART “back to our roots of being a buying group.” Touting the 15% spike in attendance at a time when many buying shows are struggling to keep numbers afloat, Owens said, “As an organization, we need to know what we’ve been doing right to continue getting that support.”

Home Depot and Lowe’s post strong year-end results

MOORESVILLE, N.C. & ATLANTA  — Both Lowe’s and Home Depot are riding the wave of the recovering economy and surging housing market in the U.S., with strong year-end results. That includes 17 consecutive quarters for Home Depot Canada of positive same-store sales growth and double-digit same-store growth by Lowe’s in Canada for the third year in a row.
                                   
Sales for Home Depot in fiscal 2015 were $88.5 billion, an increase of 6.4% from fiscal 2014. Same-store sales were up 5.6%, with U.S. same-store sales positive 7.1%. Net earnings for the year reached $7 billion, up a healthy 10.5% from the previous year. The company ended the year on a strong note, as well: fourth-quarter sales were up 9.5% to $21 billion and same-store sales soared by 7.1%. Home Depot announced a $5 billion share buy-back plan at the same time that it released the results.

Lowe’s posted results that lagged behind Home Depot’s, but were still strong: sales for the fourth quarter were up 5.1% and same-store sales were positive 5.2%.

For the fiscal year ended January 29, sales were $59.1 billion, an increase of 5.1%, and same-store sales increased 4.8%. Net earnings were $2.5 billion, reflecting the impact of the cost of exiting an Australian joint venture. Excluding the impact of this charge, adjusted net earnings were $3.1 billion, an increase of 14.0%.

Lowe’s in Canada is counting on the pending RONA acquisition to help drive growth in North America. “With this transaction, we see opportunities to further increase revenue and operating profitability in Canada,” said Robert Niblock, chairman, president and CEO of Lowe’s Cos. Those opportunities include leveraging its omnichannel strategy, applying its expertise in categories such as appliances, and driving increased profitability by leveraging shared supplier relationships.

Home Hardware honoured for leadership

ST. JACOBS, Ont. — Home Hardware has been recognized with the 2016 Business of the Year Award in the Over 50 Employees category by the Greater Kitchener Waterloo Chamber of Commerce at the 2016 Business Excellence Awards.

Presented at a gala event at Bingeman’s conference centre in Kitchener recently, the award recognized Home Hardware for innovative and proactive leadership, measurable success as a business and employer, good corporate citizenship, and for exceptional contributions to community betterment.

“We are pleased to receive this prestigious award,” says Home Hardware CEO Terry Davis. “It is truly the people that make Home Hardware the successful company that it is.”

DID YOU KNOW…?

RETAILER NEWS

RED DEER, Alta. — Peavey Industries announced that the Peavey Mart Community Agricultural Grant has awarded $50,000 over two years to implement a Young Agrarians program across Alberta. Non-profit organization Organic Alberta will manage the program, which includes workshops, mixers, and other events. “The Young Agrarians program provides a sense of community to young farmers to help them be successful,” said Peavey Industries President Doug Anderson. “That kind of co-ordinated effort is a force to be reckoned with, and we’re delighted to help the next generation of farmers to succeed.” Previous Peavey Mart Community Agricultural Grants have been awarded to non-profit groups in Manitoba, Saskatchewan, and Alberta.

MONTREAL ― La Coop fédérée held its AGM last week, reporting total sales of almost $6 billion. Part of the growth in 2015 was from the company’s Retail and Innovation Division (hardware and building supply outlets, energy, and innovation), where total sales reached $1.41 billion for the 2015 fiscal year. That’s up from $981.5 million in 2014. The increase was due mainly to the acquisition in January 2015 of all outstanding shares of Groupe BMR, which allowed for the full consolidation of this subsidiary’s sales. However, this increase was partly mitigated by a large decrease in oil product prices in La Coop’s Sonic Energy Sector.

TORONTO — Sears Canada Inc. has assigned eight of its Sears Home store leases to Leon’s Furniture Ltd. These arrangements further reduce Sears Canada’s bricks-and-mortar store footprint. The stores are in Abbotsford, Langley, Richmond, and Victoria, B.C.; and Brampton, Etobicoke, and Mississauga, Ont.  The Sears Home store in Moncton, N.B., will be converted to The Brick banner. The leases will be assigned effective June 1, with the exception of the Brampton location, which will be effective July 1. 

BURLINGTON, Ont. — Ikea’s Pick-Up and Order Point in Whitby, Ont., is now open, the company has announced. The 33,303-square-foot location gives customers who have shopped online or at an Ikea store the option of picking up their products closer to home. Customers are also able to place orders at the Pick-Up and Order Point, have access to services to support their purchases, and sit at a computer station to browse inventory. A selection of the banner’s most popular items will also be available for immediate takeaway. The Whitby point is now the third location of its kind open for business, following Quebec City and London, Ont., both of which opened in December 2015.

SUPPLIER NEWS
SCARBOROUGH, Ont. — The Canadian Hardware and Housewares Manufacturers Association and the Canadian Office Products Association have signed a shared services agreement, which will see COPA move into the CHHMA facilities in Scarborough, Ont., and staff will begin to work together on common issues, events, and programs. The two groups have concluded that they share many common goals and similar interests. However, they will continue to run as separate entities and be governed by their own bylaws and policies. Each association will maintain its own accountant, financial statements, and assets and will be responsible to its own board of directors. Staff at both the CHHMA and COPQ will also remain in their current positions. The two associations expect the balance of 2016 to be a year of transition and expect future synergies to provide significant savings in future years. For more information, contact CHHMA President Vaughn Crofford; 416-282-0022, extension 30.

VANCOUVER ― Ply Gem was at the recent Buildex Vancouver show for the construction, renovation, architecture, interior design, and property management industries, featuring an expanded line of windows, entrance doors, siding, and trim. Responding to consumer studies indicating a preference for domestically made products, Ply Gem was featuring products manufactured in Canada. One of the highlights was Ply Gem’s Design Series Metal Clad Vinyl “hybrid windows,” which feature an aluminum-cladded exterior and vinyl interior.

LANCASTER, Pa. — Armstrong World Industries reported steeper quarterly losses with a Q4 net loss of $13.8 million, compared to $3.6 million the same time last year. Sales dropped 1.7% from $587.3 million to $577.4 million, thanks to exchange rates. The results were further impacted by $17.5 million in costs associated with the spin-off of the company’s flooring business, due to take place April 1. For the fiscal year, net profits rose 47.6% to $94.2 million, up from $63.8 million in 2014, buoyed by the sale of the European flooring business. Sales fell 3.8% from $2.52 billion to $2.42 billion.

ECONOMIC INDICATORS
Sales of new single-family dwellings in the U.S. fell from a 10-month high as sales in the West dropped dramatically in February, although the general housing picture remains one of recovery. Single-family home sales declined 9.2% to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 494,000 units, nearly breaking even with December’s steep rise. Western sales plunged 32.1%, the largest percentage decline since May of 2010. (U.S. Commerce Department)

CLASSIFIED ADS