September 4, 2017 Volume xxiii, #33
“There are no passengers on Spaceship Earth. We are all crew.”
— Marshall McLuhan, (Canadian communications theorist, English professor, and philosopher, 1911-1980)
IN THIS ISSUE:
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Orgill market offers merchandising programs for contractor customers
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Round one of NAFTA talks end on cautiously optimistic note
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Hardlines has a range of ways to inform and connect the industry—do you know them all?
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WD-40 assists grizzly bear research
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PLUS: Halencak promoted at Lowe’s Canada, Castle member Buchanan's Hardware to host grand opening, Manitouwadge Home Hardware celebrates 100th, Jacobs & Thompson donates to hurricane relief, U.K.’s Kingfisher reports decline, RenoWare Technologies allies with Saberis, boards approve Rayonier’s purchase of Tembec, Stanley Black & Decker opens Makerspace lab, Paul Taylor joins ShopCity.com, retail sales squeezed, and more!
Orgill market offers merchandising programs for contractor customers
BOSTON — About 400 Canadians went down to Boston recently for Orgill’s fall dealer market. Organizers claim it’s the largest contingent from north of the border to attend in the 10 years that Orgill has been operating in this country.
One of the most visited areas of the market continued to be the concept stores. This year’s event featured two fully merchandised stores. An update to Orgill’s Walnut Grove Hardware and Supply model store presented space-saving techniques with categories geared towards the DIY and farm customer. The second model store was brand new to Orgill. Central Tool & Building Supply was focused on attracting contractors and builders. It featured merchandising innovations of its own, including “H-racking”, or warehouse-style fixturing (shown here), that lets dealers open up the storage area at the back of the store to better showcase products. All assortments within the store were 100% Canadian-compliant.
Philip Walker, Orgill’s senior vice president of merchandising services, said the concept can help dealers build a store-within-a-store concept that will offer a destination for contractors and builders. “But this is also a showcase of the other assortments that a retailer would want to feature to offer these customers a complete shopping experience,” he noted.
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Round one of NAFTA talks end on cautiously optimistic note
SPECIAL REPORT — Canada is preparing for the second round of negotiations for the North American Free Trade Agreement, this week in Mexico City. But rhetoric from the leader of NAFTA’s largest partner, United States President Donald Trump, is threatening to derail the talks.
Both Canada and Mexico prefer to speak in terms of a simple “modernization” of NAFTA, while the U.S. favours “renegotiation,” which has potentially more wide-reaching implications.
While the Canadian delegation is open to a swift resolution, a government source told the CBC it won’t sign off on a deal that gives Canada short shrift simply to meet a deadline. Both U.S. and Mexican officials are anxious to have a new deal in place ahead of elections in both countries next year.
Looming in the background of the trade talks is the ongoing dispute over softwood lumber between Canada and the U.S. With no deal before NAFTA talks began, the two sets of negotiations have proceeded on parallel but separate tracks. At the NAFTA table, Canada is fighting to retain the built-in dispute resolution process against U.S. wishes to scrap it and rely on domestic courts. The U.S. Lumber Coalition backs the White House’s preference for eliminating chapter 19, which provides for bi-national tribunals to make binding decisions.
Canada’s softwood lumber industry logged a temporary win last week in negotiations. The lifting of a 19.88% countervailing duty leaves most forestry firms paying anti-dumping tariffs at a rate of just 6.87%.
One of the more contentious issues addressed in the talks surrounded rules about country of origin for automotive and parts manufacturers. The Trump administration wants tighter regulations on the number of vehicles and car parts originating from outside of the free trade zone, and of the U.S. in particular. Auto industry brass from all three countries, however, stood with Canada and the U.S. against more specific regulations.
At the same time, despite Canada’s overall modest goals for the negotiations, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and Foreign Affairs Minister Chrystia Freeland are pushing for a more expansive and ambitious view of NAFTA’s remit. Freeland has spoken of having a “progressive” deal that promotes “fair trade” as well as “free trade”. The Trudeau cabinet supports the inclusion of provisions protecting economic equality on the basis of gender, and protection for Indigenous communities, including action on climate change.
Opposition MPs have expressed scepticism about the Trump administration’s openness to such moves.
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Hardlines has a range of ways to inform and connect the industry—do you know them all?
WORLD HQ, Toronto — Knowledge is power, and Hardlines is in the business of providing just that, whether it’s in the form of one of our detailed industry reports, our conferences and events, or this newsletter that you’re reading now.
Here’s a rundown of the news, reports, and events that we provide to you, our Faithful Readers...
Daily and Weekly News: You are already reading this weekly HARDLINES e-newsletter, our flagship publication, but did you know we have free Daily News updates? Every morning (well, most mornings), Hardlines gathers the latest retail and industry news from around the world and sends it free to Daily News subscribers. Keep up to date on Lowe’s, Home Depot, Walmart, Costco, Amazon, and more every day. (Sign up for the Dailies here!)
Trade Magazine for Dealers: Hardlines Home Improvement Quarterly is an industry trade publication carefully designed to meet the needs of the modern home improvement decision maker. Each issue is mailed out to more than 11,000 dealers and managers across Canada. HHIQ regularly features the latest trends shaping home improvement retailing and shares stories about independent dealers who are winning in their local markets. (Click here to subscribe!)
Research & Reports: The annual Hardlines Retail Reportincludes everything we know about the industry, newly expanded with more analysis and data than ever before. This year’s report contains 200 PPT slides, featuring industry sales data as of year-end 2016 and up-to-date analysis of marketplace trends and the industry’s top retailers. The Hardlines Market Share Reportprovides an in-depth breakdown of the sales and store counts of every major banner in hardware and home improvement retailing in Canada. Our Who’s Who Directory has full listings of the buyers at all of the major home improvement retailers in Canada. A must for every sales rep, it includes company contact information, key buyers, and their categories.
Conferences & Events: We’ve got two big events remaining this year. Our second annual Home Improvement eRetailer Summit, in Orlando, Fla., from September 13 to 15, is an opportunity to connect manufacturers, distributors, and pre-qualified online retailers who are specifically interested in increasing online sales of home improvement products through collaboration and partnerships. The 22nd Annual Hardlines Conference will be held at the Sheraton on the Falls in Niagara Falls, Ont., November 14 to 15. What can we say? Two action-packed days with top leaders of the home improvement industry!
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WD-40 assists grizzly bear research
EDMONTON — A University of Alberta biologist seeking to prevent grizzly bears from killing cattle found an unlikely weapon in an ordinary can of WD-40.
Andrea Morehouse’s 15-year study, dubbed the intercept feeding program, attempted to change grizzly behaviour by collecting roadkill during the winter. The carcasses were then distributed by helicopter drop at various locations in hopes that bears emerging from hibernation would choose to feed on them instead of descending into cattle pastures.
Morehouse explained to the CBC that to track the number of grizzlies who went for the roadkill, her team chose “two trees that were near [each] site and we sprayed those trees with WD-40 and wrapped them in barbed wire. For whatever reason, that I don’t know, WD-40 elicits a rub response from bears and so they would come into the sites, feed on the roadkill and then rub on these artificial rub trees that we had collected.”
WD-40 is in fact a lubricating water-displacement product (hence the “WD”) and has, over the years, been subject to a lot of myths and misinformation. It has been considered ideal bait for fishing and a cure for arthritis, claims the company takes great pains to deny.
While WD-40 has proven effective as a bear rub, in the end, the grizzlies in the study took up the researchers’ roadkill offer, but only to whet their appetites. The number of cattle they kill has held steady.
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DID YOU KNOW…?
...that our website has been updated? You can now purchase our Retail Report or seamlessly auto-renew your annual HARDLINES subscription with a credit card, letting us process and respond to your order quickly. You can also now manage your HARDLINES subscription yourself. That’s right: you can make changes to the users on your subscription by adding or removing addresses through your own password-protected access to ensure that you and your team stay current with HARDLINES each week. Click here for more information!
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RETAILER NEWS
PORT LORING, Ont. — On September 9, Buchanan's Hardware, in Northern Ontario’s Nipissing region, will host a grand opening. The company, which joined Castle Building Centres earlier this year, has expanded its LBM offering—complete with an indoor lumber yard, a new delivery truck, and extended hours of operation.
ST. JACOBS, Ont. — Manitouwadge Home Hardware Building Centre celebrated its 10th anniversary last weekend with a special three-day sale. In honour of the occasion, the store has updated its inventory and added new product lines.
LONDON and EASTLEIGH, U.K. — Britain’s largest hardware banners have both sustained first-quarter losses. Kingfisher reported an 8% decline in sales in Q2, with comparable sales falling 4.7% for the period. The group’s French business, which includes Castorama, saw sales fall by 3.8% to £1.2 billion. On the home front, its B&Q banner had sales of £967 million, a decline of 7.8%. Meanwhile, Bunnings UK & Ireland, part of Australia’s Wesfarmers retail group, posted a loss of £54 million for the year as it continued to feel the effects of its acquisition of Homebase last year.
SUPPLIER NEWS
TORONTO — Jacobs & Thompson’s Consumer Products Division, Polar Bear Products, with their distribution partner Zotefoams plc, have donated a truckload of Prozote Camping Pads to the American Red Cross to aid in the Hurricane Harvey Disaster Relief efforts in Texas. Polar Bear Products is a line of weatherproofing, floor protection, and outdoor foam products including the Prozote Camping Pad. The team at Polar Bear donated the pads to ensure that those who have been affected by the recent disaster will have somewhere comfortable to sleep while they wait for the storm to dissipate and for disaster relief efforts to be carried out. “We have been closely following the devastation that has happened in Texas and Louisiana caused by Hurricane Harvey,” stated Chris Brand, CEO of Jacobs & Thompson. “We immediately wanted to help those affected and displaced and saw an immediate fit with a product that we already make for the market.”
LONDON, Ont. — RenoWare Technologies Inc. has partnered with Saberis to provide LBM vendor integration for installed or package sales. Together, the two programs integrate vendor quotation-order systems (i.e., Jeld-Wen, All Weather, Peter Kohler, kitchen design) and many POS systems with RenoWare’s Installed Sales app. The RenoWare app is designed specifically for building centres to better manage installation services. It’s designed to help dealers eliminate manual entry, reduce errors, and increase productivity. RenoWare manages all aspects of Installed Sales; CRM, job tracking, complete document management, reporting, and direct mail marketing.
JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — Amendments to the terms of Rayonier Advanced Materials’ purchase of Montreal-based Tembec have received unanimous approval from the boards of both companies, according to the Florida Business Journal. The revised deal raises the value of shares offered by 17%, with a 61% premium to the closing price of Tembec’s shares as of the eve of the sale’s original announcement. In a statement, Tembec’s CEO and President James Lopez said his company was “pleased with the opportunity to deliver even greater value to our shareholders.”
NEW BRITAIN, Conn. — Stanley Black & Decker has opened its Makerspace lab in Towson, Md. The 4,500-square-foot workshop will allow employees to translate ideas into working prototypes, whether they work in product design or not. Stocked with a range of hand and power tools, as well as welding and 3-D printing equipment, the space is part of the company’s strategy for growing its Maryland operations.
PEOPLE ON THE MOVE
Igor Halencak has been named senior vice president, central merchandising and global sourcing at Lowe’s Canada. In this capacity, Halencak will oversee a new centre of excellence responsible for leveraging merchandising best practices across the entire Lowe’s Canada network of banners and supporting divisional merchandising teams. The new structure will also simplify vendor-relationship management through the establishment of a single contact point for vendors supplying more than one of Lowe’s Canada’s banners. Halencak joined Lowe’s Canada in 2013 as head of merchandising and marketing, Lowe’s big box. Most recently, he was vice president, central merchandising, procurement and global sourcing.
Steve Jones is no longer with Task Tools, where he had been VP of sales. He joined the Delta, B.C.-based company in 2014. (sjones0127@rogers.com; 416-446-1786)
Paul Taylor has joined ShopCity.com as Operations Manager. He was formerly Corporate Marketing Supervisor for the Napoleon Group of Companies. ShopCity.com is a web platform that creates a shared showcase for businesses in local communities.
ECONOMIC INDICATORS
Retail sales squeezed out a fourth consecutive monthly increase in June, edging up 0.1% to $49 billion. Building materials and garden equipment were among the sectors that offset losses at auto dealerships and gas stations: their 2.2% increase was the ninth in 10 months. Retail sales were up in five provinces in June, but Ontario reported a 0.7% decline, weighed down by lower sales at new car dealers. (StatCan)
NOTED
Encouraging customers to shop at local stores instead of big-box stores supports your local economy. According to research conducted by the North American Retail Hardware Association and Independent We Stand, twice as much money remains in the local economy when customers shop at an independent home improvement retailer than if they spent the same amount at a national retailer.
OUT & ABOUT
Our Publisher Beverly Allen is overseas this week, in Cologne, Germany. She’s attending spoga+gafa, the giant trade show for lawn and garden and outdoor products. Be sure to say hello if you see her walking the floor!