June 5, 2017 Volume xxiii, #23
“No act of kindness, no matter how small, is ever wasted.”
—Aesop (Ancient Greek storyteller, c. 620-564 B.C.)
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Lowe’s Canada CEO urges retailers to engage staff as well as customers
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New U.S. owner pledges support to Tembec following takeover
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Canadian Tire’s Canvas brand caters to hip, young shoppers
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Hand tool inventor wins patent suit against Sears
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PLUS: Sears, Lowe’s, Home Hardware, Costco, Sherwin Williams, Coast Products, Henkel, and more!
Lowe’s Canada CEO urges retailers to engage staff as well as customers
TORONTO — Lowe’s Canada CEO Sylvain Prud’homme spoke at last week’s annual convention of the Retail Council of Canada. His message, made in front of about a thousand retailers and retail service providers from across Canada, outlined a strategy that involves everything from the power of the customer over the retail transaction to making hand tools in outer space.
Understanding the customer’s shopping process and lifestyle choices figured large, of course, but Prud’homme actually led off by talking about employee engagement. “Retail will experience about 35% employee turnover on average every year,” he noted. That means 10,000 new staff for Lowe’s Canada each year. “How do we get better at retaining those new employees?”
He talked about finding people with the right skill sets, then creating an environment in which they have the autonomy to function effectively.
Of course, the changing habits of today’s customer remain a challenge—and an enigma—for any retailer. Prud’homme pointed out that technology, especially mobile applications, have accelerated the rate of that change, and made customers more connected than ever. “They actually control their purchase experience, and that is something new for us. They can pick and choose the experiences they need.”
How to win these customers over? He outlined three approaches: listening, learning, and adapting. “And we do it in real time,” he added.
He also warned about the fickleness of shoppers, and how online use only exacerbates that trend. That’s why Lowe’s has been so aggressive about expanding its online presence, to offer “a seamless presence” to customers across digital and bricks-and-mortar realities.
“Your customer is only one click away from shifting their business away from your store,” he warned.
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New U.S. owner pledges support to Tembec following takeover
MONTREAL — After announcing its friendly takeover of Tembec last month, Rayonier Advanced Materials vowed to “come to bat” for the Quebec-based forestry firm in the U.S.-Canadian softwood lumber dispute. The pledge provides some welcome reassurance in what is the latest in a trail of out-of-province and international acquisitions of Quebec companies over the past decade.
“We'll be supportive of whatever works best for Quebec, Ontario, and our position here,” Rayonier Chairman and CEO Paul Boynton told reporters. The $807 million acquisition doesn’t affect the countervailing duties imposed by the U.S. on Canadian softwood lumber, but Tembec CEO James Lopez said Rayonier’s size and capital will help to offset the costs associated with them.
Assurances that Tembec’s Montreal headquarters will be kept intact didn’t fully assuage Unifor, the labour union that bargains for 900 Tembec workers. “We are concerned that the headquarters of Canadian operations in Montreal will have only a minor role in the direction of the company's operations,” said Unifor’s Quebec director, Renaud Gagné.
Meanwhile Roger Gauthier, president of the union’s Local 233, was cautiously optimistic. “They’re going to want to make our pulp just as good as their standard pulps,” he said in an interview. “I think for the town that’s going to be positive.” Still, Gauthier admitted to concerns about the Canadian business’s autonomy under the new owners.
Quebec Premier Philippe Couillard expressed his reluctance to intervene in a deal already agreed upon by the companies’ respective boards. Responding to questions about the Tembec sale while on a mission to Israel, the premier said that “when the two boards of directors decide in a consensual way to conclude a transaction, they must be allowed to act.” Yet the province’s corporate brain drain continues to be a touchy subject, emblematic of the divide between Couillard’s free trade-oriented Liberals and their nationalist opposition.
Rayonier’s acquisition adds Tembec to the list of firms sold out of province in recent years, including RONA, the iconic Saint-Hubert restaurants, the Groupe Uniprix pharmacy chain, Cirque du Soleil, and Alcan Aluminium. The loss of Saint-Hubert to Ontario-based Cara Operations, which owns Swiss Chalet, struck a particularly populist chord, while the Parti Québecois unsuccessfully sought to block the sale of RONA inc. to Lowe’s before that deal was completed last spring.
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Canadian Tire’s Canvas brand caters to hip, young shoppers
TORONTO — Canadian Tire’s preview of its spring Canvas line reflects the company’s commitment to reach a younger, hipper demographic.
This season’s showcase was in line with current design trends. In addition to the increased blurring between the indoor and outdoor looks, colours, patterns, and textiles play a major role in the décor on offer from Canvas. Black and white, terra cotta, and rose-gold touches blend together to create a hand-crafted theme.
“Part of the Canvas brand is being able to tell the whole mix and match story,” says Tracy Platt, brand design & development manager, consumer brands for Canadian Tire.
That mixing and matching includes the natural-looking, yet durable tables, chairs, rugs, and outdoor accessories. And beyond the basic patio components, displays incorporated traditionally indoor accessories such as mirrors and the currently fashionable succulent plants, as well as lanterns and table centerpieces.
Another fun trend on display was pineapple-themed accessories. The tropical fruit, now experiencing a surge in popularity, which Canadian Tire has picked up on, made appearances everywhere—from pillows patterns and patio umbrellas to fruit-shaped string lights and ceramic knick knacks.
For its line of textiles, Canadian Tire again commissioned a Canadian graphic designer to create a series of four cushions. The colourful offerings from Avril Loreti, a Toronto-based designer, are also water-, stain-, and UV-resistant. “Which is great,” Platt says. “Because you can leave them outside and they’ll stay just as vibrant and bright.”
She adds that working with designers is something she and her team feel strongly about, and having the hand-drawn look for their textiles helps set the line’s accessories apart, while still integrating well with the basic seasonal pieces on offer.
“We’re really working on being able to tell that whole decorating story,” says Platt. “That’s what Canvas is all about.”
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Hand tool inventor wins patent suit against Sears
CHICAGO — A federal jury has found that Sears and supplier Apex knowingly violated a patent with its Craftsman locking wrench. LoggerHead Tools, a father-and-son enterprise, filed a complaint five years ago over the product’s resemblance to its Bionic Wrench, which Sears ordered from LoggerHead from 2009 until the 2012 launch of Craftsman’s own Max Access Locking Wrench.
Now Dan Brown Sr. and his son have been awarded $6 million in damages for the copying of their product. Stanley Black & Decker bought the Craftsman line this year, but the tools are still sold at Sears stores.
“You don't often see David in the David vs. Goliath battles win,” Dan Brown Jr. told the Chicago Tribune. “It's a huge win for small businesses, small inventors, and people who think if they have a great idea they should be able to bring it to the market and not be crushed by a corporate giant.”
The Browns’ lawyer, Paul Skiermont, observed that small entrepreneurs, when they have the means to pursue large corporations at all, often settle intellectual property disputes for “pennies on the dollar.”
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RETAILER NEWS
BOUCHERVILLE, Que. — Lowe’s Canada announced that Langford RONA Home and Garden store in Victoria will be the second RONA big box location to convert to the Lowe’s banner. The renovation and re-merchandising of the existing store is expected to be completed by the fall. The 16-week process, beginning early this month, includes construction, departmental sequencing of new racking and re-merchandising, branding, and IT conversion. The store will remain open throughout that time.
HOFFMAN ESTATES, Ill. — Sears Holding has posted its first profit in almost two years, aided by cost-cutting measures and the sale of the Craftsman line of tools. At the same time, sales for the quarter continued to decline, falling 12.4% at Sears stores and 11.2% at Kmart. Net income of $244-million, or $2.28 per share, fell within the company’s forecast.
ST. JACOBS, Ont. — Home Hardware says “just a fraction” of its Canada 150 tulip bulbs aren’t blooming as expected. The company sold four million of the red-and-white tulip bulbs last fall in anticipation of the 150th anniversary of Confederation this year. It has received 180 complaints of plants flowering in unexpected colours like orange. Spokesperson Jessica Kuepfer said that, despite the low proportion of complaints, “people are disappointed and we are taking this very seriously.” The company is offering refunds to customers who can provide photographic documentation of the errant plants and proof of purchase at a Home Hardware store.
ISSAQUAH, Wash. ― Costco Wholesale Corp. reported net sales of $9.86 billion for the month of May, up 7% from the same period last year. For the year-to-date period, which covers three fiscal quarters, the company reported net sales of $92.11 billion, an increase of 6%. Same-store sales for the quarter were up 4.1% for May, and up 3.3% for the year to date. Canadian same-store sales were negative 2.2% in May, while year-to-date comps were up 4.2%.
SUPPLIER NEWS
PORTLAND — Coast Products has partnered with Quebec-based LM2 Sales Agency to provide sales representation in Eastern Canada to retail accounts and retail distributors in the hardware, DIY, sporting goods, marine, and automotive channels. Coast has a dedicated distribution warehouse in Peterborough, Ont. Coast, whose product lines include flashlights, headlamps, knives, and multi-tools, is headquartered in Portland, Ore.
CLEVELAND, Ohio — Sherwin-Williams Co. has completed its acquisition of Valspar Corp. Under the terms of the agreement, Valspar to shareholders will receive $113 per share in cash. The combined company generated 2016 revenues of $15.8 billion and employs 60,000 worldwide.
QUEBEC CITY — A back-to-work bill affecting construction workers on general strike since last week has passed in Quebec’s National Assembly. The provincial government tabled the legislation reluctantly, in order to bring an end to the high costs of the strike. Both workers and bosses denounced the law as union representatives have vowed to contest its validity in court. The Alliance syndicale de la construction’s Michel Trépanier told the Montreal Gazette that lawyers would be looking at two grounds for challenge: the removal of collective bargaining rights and the sweeping powers the government is giving itself to decide on arbitration.
DÜSSELDORF — Henkel has signed an agreement to acquire Cologne-based Sonderhoff Holding, a privately owned firm which manufactures high-impact sealing products for industrial assembly. Sonderhoff’s foam-based sealing offerings are used in a variety of industrial applications, protecting lighting systems, filtration solutions, and appliances against humidity and dust.
PEOPLE ON THE MOVE
Luc Lemonde, National Director, Dealer Sales at RONA, has informed us he has retired. His last day at Lowe’s/RONA was May 26.
NOTED
A record-breaking 1,000 delegates from 50 countries have registered for the 5th Global DIY Summit, in Berlin from June 8 to 9. Almost every significant home improvement company globally is sending their top management to Berlin, say the organizers. Dealers in attendance will benefit from networking and new ideas from the leading figures in the home improvement industry. (For more info, click here!)
OUT AND ABOUT
Our Publisher Beverly Allen will be among those delegates in Berlin for the Global DIY Summit. Be sure to say hello and pass along any tips or news if you see her!