February 20, 2017 Volume xxiii, #8

“The secret of staying young is to live honestly, eat slowly, and lie about your age.” — Lucille Ball (American actress, comedian, model, film-studio executive, and producer, 1911-1989)

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Lowe’s ramps up support for Ace, consolidates Winnipeg DC into Toronto

BOUCHERVILLE, Que. ― Lowe’s Canada has announced it is stepping up its investment in the Ace independent business that it owns through its acquisition of RONA. Lowe’s will bring the management and support of the Ace program into the Lowe’s Canada regional service centre in Toronto, while moving distribution for Ace to Lowe’s existing distribution centres in Boucherville, Que., and Calgary.

The move will result in the closing of the Ace head office and warehouse in Winnipeg, and the closing of Ace’s distribution centre in Kitchener, Ont., and leveraging of the Calgary and Boucherville locations to continue serving Ace dealers.

Winnipeg is scheduled to close by August, while Kitchener is expected to shut its doors by late fall.

Industry observers have speculated about Lowe’s long-term interest in Ace―and the independent network it serves―but with this move the company is affirming its willingness to invest resources to support and grow the entire independent retailer network. It plans on enhancing dealer growth by fostering marketing support, growing the Ace product offering, and providing improved product pricing.

“Our goal is to support Ace dealer sales growth and profitability by establishing a dynamic dealer support program that offers our dealers a better share in their markets,” said Alain Brisebois, executive vice president of affiliated dealers. “We strongly believe in independent retailers, a key vector for our growth. Within this context, investing in Ace programs will ensure a successful longer-term outcome.”

Many people from the Winnipeg office have been offered the chance to move to Toronto. So far, Bill Morrison, who runs Ace in Canada for Lowe’s, will make the move and develop his dedicated management and buying teams in Toronto. Ace will continue to be treated as distinct business unit within the Lowe’s organization, alongside the big box, Reno-Depot, and RONA proximity segments.

Brisebois emphasized that Lowe’s regards Ace as an important part of the company’s success. “Lowe’s will continue to invest in the Ace program to ensure this success.”

He added that Lowe’s will make every effort to ensure a smooth transition, providing resources that actively support employees, dealers, vendors, and customers. The company will ensure all dealers continue to be served during the switch to the new distribution centres, a process that will involve switching their systems to the same ones used by RONA affiliate dealers.

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Orgill expects to reduce delivery times to Western Canada with new DC

MEMPHIS — As Canadian dealers prepared to fly down to New Orleans for the latest Orgill Dealer Market, the giant Memphis-based hardware distributor was ramping up its logistics to better serve those dealers.

Orgill has launched the first phase of operations at its new Post Falls, Idaho, distribution centre, shipping to customers in certain regions of British Columbia. While the company originally planned to service just B.C. and Alberta from this facility, Orgill since expanded its planned coverage. “When the distribution centre becomes fully operational in April, we will also service our Saskatchewan customers from Post Falls,” says Ron Beal, Orgill president, chairman, and CEO. Most customers in Western Canada will then be serviced by Orgill Canada trucks, which will result in faster delivery times and reduced freight costs, the company says.

Over the past 18 months, Orgill, Inc. has invested significantly in its Canadian distribution network and infrastructure to provide greater service and flexibility to its growing customer base throughout the country. Customers in British Columbia will receive their deliveries within two days of their orders filling and trucks will service Alberta and Saskatchewan customers within three business days.

“This is significant because it means that these customers can count on a consistent, pre-scheduled time of delivery with a driver they know,” explains Randy Williams, Orgill general manager of distribution. “It also means that the product will be delivered in a heated trailer to minimize any potential freezing or weather-related damage.” 

The company also anticipated a strong showing of Canadians in New Orleans this past weekend, where Orgill will showcase “a full offering of Canadian-focused products, programs, and services,” says Beal. Members of Orgill’s London, Ont., and Post Falls operations and logistics management teams were to be on hand to meet with customers, answer questions, and discuss the enhancements to the Canadian distribution network.

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TIMBER MART kicks off 50th anniversary with convention and trade show

VAUGHAN, Ont. – TIMBER MART kicked off its 50th anniversary celebrations at their national annual convention at the Grand Velas Riviera Nayarit resort in Puerto Vallarta, Mexico, from January 22 to 29. The event played host to record attendance of more than 460 dealers, vendors, and staff.

Throughout the week-long celebration at the resort, dealers, vendors, and staff celebrated with a birthday party, complete with fireworks and birthday cake, dinners, live entertainment, and excursions.

“This year’s national convention was truly a special experience for us all as we celebrated this important milestone in our evolution as a buying group,” says Bernie Owens, president of TIMBER MART. “If the last 50 years have demonstrated anything, they have proven that TIMBER MART can and will adapt to change to ensure the Canadian independent remains competitive in their local market.”

The convention also anticipated the buying group’s annual national buying show, which took place last week at the Toronto Congress Centre. It managed to draw about 350 dealers from across the country, despite snowstorms in many parts of the country, including conditions in Atlantic Canada that prevented about 30 dealers from getting to the show.

The show featured 150-plus vendors in 225 booths at the Congress Centre near Toronto’s Pearson International Airport. While the show is considered a small one by the vendor community, it appeared to draw enough customers to make the effort pay off. One vendor noted that attendance was “surprisingly good out of the gate,” while another noted the quantity and quality of attendees exceeded their expectations.

But criticisms of its small size don’t faze TIMBER MART President Bernie Owens. He acknowledges that shows in North America in general are challenged in getting attendance. But he views the intimacy of this event as an important part of what the TIMBER MART is trying to accomplish with it: to offer a forum for dealers to connect and for the group to share and fortify the group’s culture and range of services.

“This show is about building products,” he says. “We do our key messaging here. We bring the members together to share TIMBER MART’s achievements and vision.”

As for those Atlantic dealers who couldn’t attend, TIMBER MART reps called them for their orders, then walked the show on their behalf to make sure those dealers didn’t miss out on the show specials.

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Conversion of RONA big boxes to Lowe’s banner begins with Edmonton store


BOUCHERVILLE, Que. — Lowe’s Canada has announced that its Namao RONA Home and Garden store, in Edmonton’s North end, will be the first RONA big box location to convert to the Lowe’s banner. The Namao store will undergo an extensive renovation and remerchandising. That process is expected to be completed by this summer.

But beginning this week, the store will undergo a 16-week physical transformation that involves construction, departmental sequencing of new racking and re-merchandising, branding, and IT conversion. As well, staff there will get the benefit of Lowe’s extensive training program. When done, the store will feature 97,429 square feet of retail sales space, an adjacent garden centre with 30,188 square feet, and a 16,922-square-foot lumber yard.

“The store will remain open during the conversion and we are committed to minimizing any impact on customers so that we can continue to offer the best shopping experience possible during the conversion process,” said Jim Caldwell, EVP of Lowe’s Canada Big Box Retail.

One of the key changes to the store will be the addition of large appliances, a core strength for Lowe’s stores. Assortments will be expanded, with the addition of brand names such as Kohler, John Deere, and Whirlpool. Lowe’s will also add installation services across a number of categories, warranty plans for products such as appliances, tools, and outdoor power equipment, and online shopping options, including the “Click & Collect” program for in-store pickup and local truck delivery and parcel shipping. This service was introduced at its Reno-Depot stores recently.

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The Hillman Group is expanding its sales team in Canada. Stephane Cyr has joined as regional sales manager for Quebec, based out of Montreal. He was formerly at Colonial Elegance. John Foubert has joined as regional sales manager for Western Canada. He’s based out of Airdrie, Alta. Their roles involve regional sales, service, and support, as well as growing the brand. Both individuals report to Steve Goulding, Hillman’s director of national retail sales for Canada.

David Johnson has joined All Weather Windows as VP for sales and marketing. Prior to the appointment, he had been with Signal Hill Equity Group since January of last year. Before joining Signal Hill, Johnson served as VP of the Industrial and Construction Group at Mosaic Capital, and previously as CEO and president of Expocrete Concrete Products Ltd.

The Global DIY Summit has announced the appointment of Iñaki Maillard as its new general manager. He will report directly to Ralf Rahmede and John W. Herbert, the chairmen, co-founders and official moderators of the Summit. Before this appointment, Maillard served as communications and marketing manager for the Summit during the past six years. Prior to that, he worked as correspondent at Thomson Reuters Mexico and Deutsche Welle Germany.

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