March 13, 2017 Volume xxiii, #11
If the path be beautiful, let us not ask where it leads.” —Anatole France (French poet and novelist, 1844-1924)
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New products and services awaited Canadians at latest Orgill show
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Home Depot listens to its customers to tweak the pro desk
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TIMBER MART’s Bernie Owens: buying groups will remain relevant
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Lancaster expanding in Canada following Dynamic acquisition
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PLUS: LumberZone makes transition, Canadian Tire ad goes viral, Ikea opens more Collection Points in Atlantic Canada, Home Depot Canada will hire, Sears Canada sells Quebec logistics centre, Coast Distributors takes home Orions, BBH celebrates 10th anniversary, EcoPoxy awarded, and more!
New products and services awaited Canadians at latest Orgill show
NEW ORLEANS, La. — At the recent Orgill dealer market in New Orleans, a number of new offerings, including a tool rental program, were either directed specifically at Canadian dealers or are now available to them.
The show always features model stores right on the show floor. There’s even one that’s tailored for the needs of the Canadian dealers who trek down to the show. This year, “Maple Ridge Home Centre” had a full inventory of Canadian-compliant products, as it has for the past few years, reflecting the Memphis-based wholesaler’s initiatives to develop a full inventory that would be available to Canadian customers and satisfy all laws concerning labelling and specs.
The store, which was 30% larger than previous iterations, benefitted from more space for three expanded departments: paint (which featured Valspar prominently), lawn and garden, and housewares. Also available: a rental department, enabling dealers to provide products that include lawn and garden tools such as tillers and power rakes, as well as power tools like heavy duty chop saws and grinders.
Brand new for dealers was POP on demand, a bin-tagging program that lets dealers use shelf signage that features the actual product picture for easy identification (and re-stocking) and even includes the store’s name.
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Home Depot listens to its customers to tweak the pro desk
TORONTO ― A new look for Home Depot’s contractor counter has actually done away with the counter altogether. Instead, the area for serving and checking out the retailer’s pro customers has been deconstructed into a series of smaller counters where each contractor can be served separately by a store associate.
It’s part of a “pro-centric” initiative launched late last year to serve contractors better, says Jamal Hamad, director of pro and tool rental for Home Depot Canada. The store where the innovations are being tested is the Home Depot on Caledonia in mid-town Toronto.
Other enhancements at the store include a closer review of the brands that appeal to pros and increasing the availability of job-lot quantities. In addition, the store has designated pro parking and special carts for pros. The checkouts, he says, offer “fast-lane” service for contractors.
As a result of these tweaks, the whole store has a more pro-oriented feel. “There’s a different vibe within that store as it relates to the pro,” Hamad adds.
“The pro customer has really evolved. A new generation of pro customers is coming up that are more digitally savvy. They’re really looking at their business differently.” The secret to staying close to those changes, Hamad says, is paying attention to their needs. “We’re listening,” he says very simply. “We’re 100 percent listening to the pros.”
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TIMBER MART’s Bernie Owens: buying groups will remain relevant
TORONTO ― Bernie Owens believes the buying group model is a good one that will continue to serve independents. The president of TIMBER MART notes that the groups in Canada, unlike their U.S. counterparts, “are not channel specific.” Groups here can have members that range from pro dealers and gypsum supply dealers (GSDs) to home centres and hardware stores.
“With us, it’s got its pros and cons—but more pros―that we have different segments, so if one slows down the others keep going.” He points out, for example, that alongside the traditional dealers in his group’s ranks, TIMBER MART represents the largest volume by GSDs in Canada.
But he’s very selective about which commercial dealers can join. And that directive goes for any member, for that matter. There’s no cap in size, he says, but “if it’s a well-run business and we have a fit in our group, we can sign them.”
He points to a larger affiliation, as well. TIMBER MART’s membership in yet another buying group, Spancan, gives his members access to a strong source of hardware supply. And in return he says his group can provide loyalty to drive volumes. “When a vendor wins it, he gets the business,” Owens says.
The relationship with Spancan keeps growing, he says. With that group, his members can negotiate vendor-direct programs. For fill-in and less-than-vendor-direct orders, he praises the role that hardware wholesaler Orgill provides.
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Lancaster expanding in Canada following Dynamic acquisition
CALGARY — Paint sundries distributor Lancaster Canada may have had a modest presence at the latest Buying Show of the Western Retail Lumber Association, but the 10-foot booth belied the clout of this company, which in the U.S. has a trade show of its own for its customers across North America.
Here, however, the company is gaining momentum following the acquisition by Lancaster’s parent company, The Merit Distribution Group, of Dynamic Paint Products, a 40-year-old family-owned distributor and manufacturer of paint sundries based in Toronto. The deal closed last summer when owner James Mumby agreed to sell the business.
The Dynamic business has given Lancaster a solid foothold in this country, with 3,400 Dynamic SKUs and production of its own. “Now we are national distributor of national-brand products that owns a manufacturing plant,” says Mark Mossman, national sales manager for Lancaster Canada (shown here on the left with Kelly McConnell, a Lancaster rep). Besides making products such as paint roller sleeves, Lancaster brings in product from China. The importance, he says, is to have a full range of products related to painting and finishing. “Our focus is on the big picture.”
Meanwhile, the company, through a team of 14 reps nationwide, is working to get its SKU count in Canada up to 8,000. The longer-term goal is to give Canadian customers access to the full range of 17,000 SKUs that Lancaster carries in its U.S. distribution centres, but these have to become Canadian compliant, including bilingual packaging, Mossman notes.
Lancaster has six warehouses in North America, and they now all carry the Dynamic line, which has become a house brand for Lancaster.
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DID YOU KNOW…?
...The Meet the Buyers Breakfast will feature Lowe’s top buying influences for its Lowe’s, RONA, and Reno-Depot stores? It’s being held at a Toronto-area hotel location close to Pearson International Airport. (We’ll confirm the location very soon!) This vendor-only event will feature: Alan Blundell, Divisional Vice President, Merchandising, Lowe’s; Marc Gingras, Divisional Vice President, RONA Proximity Stores; Christian Dauphinais, Divisional Vice President, Merchandising for Reno-Depot; and Igor Halencak, Vice President National Procurement, Central Merchandising, and Global Sourcing, Lowe’s Canada. (Click here now to reserve your spot!)!
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RETAILER NEWS
STEINBACH, Man. — TIMBER MART member The LumberZone, which recently acquired two former North American Lumber stores in the Winnipeg area, is celebrating its expansion with sales. Beginning this week, the Transcona and Stonewall stores will hold major sales in order to liquidate their current inventories and make way for The LumberZone’s lines.
TORONTO ― An ad by Canadian Tire that features a theme of inclusion has gone viral. While the ad was launched six months ago, it has been gaining views recently, thanks to a heartwarming story line that features neighbourhood children inviting a boy in a wheelchair to join their basketball game. Called “Wheels,” the ad grew from 800,000 views to more than 50 million views and 1.7 million shares in one week.
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BURLINGTON, Ont. ― Ikea has opened five more “Collection Points” in Atlantic Canada. They’re in St. John’s, Charlottetown, and Fredericton; and in New Glasgow and Sydney, N.S. Customers who shop online can have their orders delivered to the Collection Points for $59, except in St. John’s, where the delivery fee is $79. Home delivery, at a cost of about $155, is still available. The Collection Points are not Ikea stores and are owned by third-party service provider Sameday Worldwide. Ikea recently launched Collection Points in Halifax, Moncton, Saint John, and Saskatoon. It plans to open a full store in Halifax by the fall.
TORONTO — Home Depot Canada will hire some 6,200 associates for the spring in full-time, part-time, and seasonal positions. “There’s no better time than spring to join our team,” President Jeff Kinnaird says. “Over the past 20 years I’ve had the privilege of growing my career from a lumber associate to the president of the Canadian division.” The company has job fairs planned at each of its 182 Canadian stores.
TORONTO — Sears Canada Inc. has completed the sale of its national logistics centre in Ville St. Laurent, Que., to VSL Logistics Hub for $50 million. Sears is leasing back the facility and plans to continue operating the NLC with no resulting staff reduction or disruption of service.
SUPPLIER NEWS
NANAIMO, B.C. — Hardware wholesaler Coast Distributors took home three Orion awards from the BSIA of B.C. last week. Mat Brunt won in the “inside sales/customer service” category, while Geoff Staller earned “best outside sales rep.” Coast Owner and Sales Manager Brad McCluskie took home the award for “best overall supplier” for 2016. Anthony Snell, purchasing manager, accepted the "best overall supplier" on behalf of Coast Kelowna’s office.
MONTREAL — Groupe BBH celebrated last month the 10th anniversary of the merger of its two predecessors. Barry & Boulerice and LNS Horizon joined together in 2007, starting with a 20,000-square-foot building and 20 employees. Today, the workwear manufacturer has more than 50 staff in an 80,000-square-foot HQ, as well as an office in China. In addition to its range of existing brands, including Mike Holmes Workwear and Dickies, the company has recently rolled out an embroidery business.
RENSSELAER, N.Y. — The Northeastern Retail Lumber Association has announced that products by EcoPoxy have been honoured at the association’s 123rd annual LBM Expo, held recently in Providence, R.I. Morris, Man.-based EcoPoxy was awarded Best Latest Product for its UVPoxy, a commercial-grade epoxy for exotic woods, live-edge furniture, slab finishing, table, bar, and countertops. This is the first time the company has exhibited at LBM Expo.
ECONOMIC INDICATORS
Housing starts in January reached 210,207 units seasonally adjusted in February, up 0.06% from 208,934 units in January. Urban starts increased by 0.9% seasonally adjusted to 193,035 units, with multiple urban starts down by 4.7% and single-detached urban starts up by 12.1%. Rural starts were estimated at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 17,172 units. (CMHC)
NOTED
Canadian vendors and retail leaders should seriously consider attending the 5th Global DIY Summit in Berlin from June 8 to 9. Take advantage of the Early Bird Pricing by registering by March 15 and save up to €300. This truly global event brings together 900 participants from 50 countries around the world to share the very latest concepts and innovations in the retail home improvement industry. Learn more about the program here.
OVERHEARD…
“The service component is so vital to this segment of the business.” —Jamal Hamad, director of pro and tool rental for Home Depot Canada, on the latest initiatives at a test store in Toronto that caters heavily to contractors.
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