February 6, 2017 Volume xxiii, #6
“A day without sunshine is like, you know, night.”
—Steve Martin (American comedian, actor, musician, and author, 1945- )
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Home Improvement eRetailer Summit offers buyer meetings and speaker program
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How Home Depot analyzes and uses customer data
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Lepage trailer hits the road
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Tembec open to export quotas under softwood lumber agreement
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PLUS: Wolf Gugler celebrates 20 years, Castle adds Nova Scotia dealer, Reno-Depot offers online sales with in-store pick up, Wal-Mart’s Jim Thompson retires, Stanley B&D year end, U.S. construction stats, and more!
Home Improvement eRetailer Summit offers buyer meetings and speaker program
TRUMBULL, Conn. — Fueled by a need for the hardware, housewares, and home improvement sector to develop winning e-commerce strategies, the Second Annual Home Improvement eRetailer Summit will be held September 13 to 15, 2017, at the Rosen Shingle Creek in Orlando, Fla.
With a new date and new location, the Summit will provide a dynamic forum for suppliers to get face to face with North America’s leading eRetail buyers and executives.
The purpose is simple: to help the hardware and tools, home decor, paint, housewares, lawn and garden, outdoor living, and flooring sectors develop winning e-commerce strategies through mutual co-operation and strategizing.
This invitation-only event was a ground-breaking forum in 2016 for cutting-edge eRetailers to meet, share ideas, and connect with forward-thinking suppliers eager to increase their online business in a series of exclusive one-on-one meetings.
“The eRetailer Summit gave me the opportunity to gather with specific individuals in the same space to discuss ideas, partnerships, and struggles in the hardware and building supply industry,” said Philip Brown, co-founder of SupplyHog.com.
Both the contacts and the content portions of the Summit proved valuable, as underscored by Jeff Golden, director of The Home Store for TheShops.tv: “Very much enjoyed meeting vendors and very much enjoyed meeting other eRetailers. I loved the speakers.”
The education portion of the Summit is being expanded even further this year, with education and sharing of best practices from online retail leaders. The presenters for this year’s Summit are already being confirmed, and include: Al Meyers, of the world-renowned retail consultancy Kalypso; Elizabeth Ragone, director, digital commerce, for HSN.com; and Steve Greenspon, CEO of Honey-Can-Do International.
“The 2016 eRetailer summit was a great experience for Midwest Fastener, especially in terms of education and networking. In 2017, Midwest is excited to participate once again with a continued objective of increasing our knowledge of the online hardware marketplace,” added Jason DeVries, director of marketing at Midwest Fastener.
“The Home Improvement eRetailer Summit has built its success on an intimate model with limited participants who all get the chance to network and interact,” said Sonya Ruff Jarvis, managing member, Jarvis Consultants and the event’s founder. “A combination of great content and solid business-building interactions makes this event a success.”
(For more information about the Home Improvement eRetailer Summit, contact Beverly Allen: 647-880-4589; or bev@eretailersummit.com.)
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How Home Depot analyzes and uses customer data
NEW YORK — The Home Depot collects data from digital resources such as its website, promotional emails, and social media, and uses that information to drive traffic to stores and better target its advertising and marketing efforts. A Home Depot executive discussed those methods recently at the National Retail Federation’s annual convention in New York.
With a presentation entitled “Data: The New Currency for Retail Marketers,” David Abbott, Home Depot’s vice president of integrated media and online marketing, talked about how retailers are changing the way they spend their advertising and marketing funds and how they use data to find creative new ways to reach customers.
To keep growing sales at bricks-and-mortar locations, Home Depot uses a variety of platforms to drive store traffic. The big box chain still makes 94 to 95% of its sales in the physical stores, but the various platforms it uses keep those sales growing, Abbott says.
“As much as our e-commerce business is growing, it’s there to help customers interact with the stores,” he notes. “We work hard to stitch together the interactions of the various devices as they relate to the store.”
Customer personalization can help boost sales to DIYers and, even more importantly, to pros, Abbott adds. Contractors and trades are in a store multiple times a week, so creating personal relationships is key.
“In the store operation, we have individuals who manage our pro accounts. If we have a contractor that spends $1 million a year, they have someone they can call. What we want to do is provide our associates enough information about the pro customer to be able to give a well-rounded look at what that customer’s needs are. That’s one of the things we’ll be focusing on in 2017—figuring out what information we can provide to the stores to provide more relevant information to the customers.”
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Lepage trailer hits the road
CALGARY — It may have been at the back of the hall, but a bright red trailer sponsored by Lepage drew lots of attention at the recent Buying Show of the Western Retail Lumber Association.
The trailer was showcasing a couple of new products for Lepage, its Quad line of sealants, including Quad Max window, door, and siding sealant, which can be applied in wet conditions and is freeze-thaw stable; and Quad Foam, a polyurethane foam for sealing gaps and cracks.
The trailer’s stop in Calgary was part of a cross-country tour to a number of cities and customer events. Right after the show it was heading to Ottawa for a contractor appreciation show hosted by Home Hardware dealers in the region and in mid-February it will be at the TIMBER MART show in Toronto. In mid-March it will be back out West at Slegg Lumber on Vancouver Island and then in St. Jacobs, Ont., for the Home Hardware Spring Market a week later.
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Tembec open to export quotas under softwood lumber agreement
MONTREAL — Tembec CEO James Lopez has signalled that his company could be open to quotas on lumber exports to the U.S., the Canadian Press reports. In a departure from the stance of many competitors, Lopez suggested that, although no restrictions should be necessary, the company “could live with a quota system” as an alternative to duties, in order to reach a compromise with the U.S. Lumber Coalition.
U.S. challenges to the softwood lumber deal under NAFTA are expected as protectionist sentiments grow under the new government of U.S. President Donald Trump.
Lopez believes the Coalition would prefer a negotiated solution, but acknowledged that “if the U.S. is overly ambitious on the reduction in the Canadian market share … it would be better to litigate than negotiate.” The Quebec government is opposed to any duties or quotas, while the B.C. Lumber Trade Council is opposed to a hard quota but is open to discussing a system that is flexible to market conditions.
Tembec posted a Q1 loss of $0.09 per share but saw sales rise to $370 million, from $354 million a year earlier.
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DID YOU KNOW…?
...that our Early Bird Pricing for the 22nd annual Hardlines Conference will save you money? Don’t miss this incredible forum for learning and networking, November 14 to 15 in Niagara Falls, Ont. To register for the 22nd annual Hardlines Conference, click here now!
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RETAILER NEWS
BOUCHERVILLE, Que. — Lowe’s introduced a Click and Collect program last week for its Reno-Depot stores across Canada. The "Buy Online, Pick Up in Store" plan allows customers to pay for purchases online and collect them within two hours. Each of the 21 Reno-Depot stores will serve as pick up points for the service. In a second phase of the online service, customers will be offered at-home delivery through Reno-Depot’s delivery fleet.
MISSISSAUGA, Ont. — Castle Building Centres Group has added a new member location in Alma, N.S. Shady Lane Building Centre was founded 10 years ago by Abe Plett. His sons Andre and Eldon grew up in the family business and help operate it now. Their product assortment includes lumber, building material products, and hardware.
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BOUCHERVILLE, Que. — Lowe’s Canada plans to hire about 2,800 employees to fill seasonal roles at its 54 Lowe’s-bannered stores across Canada. The company is also hiring for new stores opening in Edmonton’s Sherwood Park and in Southwest London by the middle of this year. Seasonal employees are most needed in spring and summer, typically from March until September.
SUPPLIER NEWS
CHARLOTTE, N.C. — Jeld-Wen has entered the New York Stock Exchange with an initial public offering of 25 million shares of its common stock at a public offering price of $23 per share. More than 22 million of the shares will be sold by the company itself, while Onex Corp.-affiliated stockholders will sell the rest. Shares rose 13.6% the first day to $26.12. Once expenses are covered, the company expects to generate some $475 million in revenue, of which $375 will go toward paying debt.
NEW BRITAIN, Conn. — Stanley Black & Decker posted Q4 profits totalling $255.5 million, or $1.71 per share. Quarterly revenues of $2.92 billion failed to meet expectations, a result the company attributed to restructuring costs. The company reported profits of $965.3 million and revenues of $11.41 billion. Stanley Black & Decker has been busy reorganizing its business to maximize profitability, with the sale of its locks business and the acquisition of Sears’ Craftsman brand and Newell’s tool business announced during the quarter.
CLEVELAND — Sherwin-Williams Co. reported net income of $203 million in Q4. Revenues for the quarter were $2.78 billion. For the fiscal year, the paint manufacturer reported profit of $1.13 billion on revenues of $11.86 billion. On top of these results, the company is proceeding with its planned acquisition of Valspar, but now expects to be required to sell some assets.
PEOPLE ON THE MOVE
At Lowe’s Canada, Tristan Flanagan is now merchandise manager, storage and household products for RONA’s proximity stores. He was previously assistant merchandiser for tools and automotive for the proximity stores.
On January 26, Jim Thompson closed his career at Wal-Mart. He spent more than 40 years with the company. Most recently he was COO of Wal-Mart China, but his CV includes roles at Walmart Canada as COO, EVP real estate, and head merchant.
ECONOMIC INDICATORS
The number of U.S. housing units authorized by building permits in December fell 0.2% from the previous month, but was up 0.7% from December 2015. Also: construction spending in December was down 0.2% seasonally adjusted from November, but up 4.2% year over year. Construction spending for all of 2016 was up 4.5% over 2015. (U.S. Commerce Dept.)
NOTED
Wolf Gugler, president of Wolf Gugler Executive Search, is celebrating 20 years of executive search and talent recruitment. Starting in 1997, when he struck out on his own, Gugler specialized in the hardware and home improvement sector, and quickly became the go-to executive search person for the industry. He added a U.S. office in 2000 and now serves companies across North America. “Looking back over that time, we’ve had the good fortune to work with tier-one companies such as Home Depot, Ace Hardware, Rust-Oleum Consumer Brands, and many others,” Gugler says. “Given the staggering costs associated with making a wrong hiring decision, we believe progressive organizations need to follow disciplined hiring and development processes using the best objective service available.”
OVERHEARD…
“We recognized the benefit in continuing our focus on the home improvement industry and strive to provide the best service available, regardless of company size.”
—Wolf Gugler, president of Wolf Gugler Executive Search, who specializes in the hardware and home improvement industry, and is celebrating his 20th year in business.