May 21, 2018 Volume xxiv, #20
“Rest is not idleness, and to lie sometimes on the grass under trees on a summer’s day, listening to the murmur of the water, or watching the clouds float across the sky, is by no means a waste of time.”
—Sir John Lubbock (English banker, politician, philanthropist, and scientist, 1834-1913)
IN THIS ISSUE:
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BMR gets serious about Ontario expansion with new sales rep and new programs
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New products from the show floor at the National Hardware Show
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Canadian Tire CEO commits to growth, private brands, rewards program
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Home Depot Canada will play role in company-wide IT hiring campaign
PLUS: BMR adds summer show, Smith takes LBM job at FCL, Lowe’s converts banners, negative comps for Home Depot Canada, Craftsman in Lowe’s, Canadian Tire wants direct-to-home, JRTech in more BMR stores, CertainTeed is investing, house sales fall, and more!
BMR gets serious about Ontario expansion with new sales rep and new programs
BOUCHERVILLE, Que. — Groupe BMR is back in the Ontario market.
The buying group and wholesaler is actively developing business outside its home province of Quebec, and Ontario is squarely in its sights. That includes a person working with the Ontario dealers, Gilles Parenteau, BMR business development advisor.
BMR already has a handful of dealers in Ontario, including Windsor Building Centre in Windsor and Drummond Building Supplies in Marmora (shown here). But the group ceased expansion efforts in that province after it was acquired outright by La Coop fédérée at the beginning of 2015. The next three years found the company focused on reorganization closer to home.
Now, as the group seeks to build a strong presence in Ontario, it’s embracing a number of dimensions of dealers’ needs. “One is certainly to emphasize the independent dealer’s value of success,” says Pierre Nolet, BMR’s vice president of business development.
“BMR dealers are independent entrepreneurs and cooperatives that have freely chosen to associate themselves with BMR Group. Their expertise in hardware and building materials, coupled with their in-depth knowledge of their respective markets, allows them to offer consumers and contractors highly personalized service,” Nolet continues.
BMR says the convergence of product, innovation, and service is already driving BMR’s growth in Ontario. Currently, the group has a network of 325 independent home improvement centres and hardware stores in Quebec, Ontario, and the Maritime Provinces. It also has 17 corporate stores, located mainly on the South Shore and North Shore of Montreal.
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New products from the show floor at the National Hardware Show
LAS VEGAS, Nev. — Individual companies that exhibited at the recent National Hardware Show offered an insight into the trends and product innovation that help drive the industry. On the show floor, new products were in abundance, driven by technological advances in categories such as lighting, power tools, space saving, and even wood panelling.
Surrey, B.C.-based QualityCraft was putting on a big push for two segments of its business, QualityCraft flooring and Montezuma tool storage, now combined as a full line of products to organize and utilize the garage space. Said QualityCraft’s SVP of sales and marketing, Dave Bickel, “Our goal is to own the garage, floor to ceiling, wall to wall.”
Philip Fitzpatrick, VP and general manager of Positec Canada, which markets Rockwell and Worx, showed off the Worx battery system. It runs on a 20-volt battery, or Power Module. “We’re building the whole thing around marketing the Power Module program,” for products ranging from leaf blowers to power mowers, Fitzpatrick said.
Another product advance at the show might be considered more low-tech, but no less innovative. Estwing featured a series of mallets and sledge hammers with spring steel bars that run all the way through the handle. The bars are locked with the hammer head using steel locking plates ensuring that the head never gets dislodged. Dhiren Bammi, Estwing’s managing director worldwide, said the line would be available in Canada in 90 days.
M-D Building Products, which recently purchased the weatherstripping, cleaning tools, screen, and snow brush lines of RCR International, was featuring RCR’s Climaloc brand, which will be maintained, but with the M-D name gradually replacing the RCR mark, said Joe Comitale, president of M-D Canada. “We’re maintaining product and UPC codes to make it easy to switch to the new lines,” he added.
Just days after winning the 2018 Energy Star Award for Excellence in the U.S., L’Image Home Products was at NHS to show off its latest lighting advances, including affordable LED lamps for low-income families. The Energy Star Award was given to L’Image for its efforts to promote the Energy Star brand and to educate consumers about the benefits of energy efficiency. The award is given by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and the U.S. Department of Energy. On day one of the show, the company received news that it had also won the Canadian version of the award, sponsored by Natural Resources Canada.
ShurTech Brands was featuring a new addition to its Canadian product lines: a better line of its popular green Painter’s Tape masking tape. According to Scott Robins, national account manager for ShurTech, Painter’s Mate Ultra fits in between the company’s Painter’s Mate value line and its top-end Frog Tape. It has a longer clean removal time—14 days versus seven. “And it meets the changes going on in paint formulations with a higher tack,” Robins said.
Mywoodwall was a very cool wood panelling product line harvested in Indonesia. The fast-growing wood can be remanufactured to a variety of colours and finishes. A simple peel-and-stick process makes DIY installation simple. The line has been picked up by Taiga for distribution in Canada.
The Quebec government once again organized a group stand for manufacturers from that province. Harry Jacobs of Ideal Security (shown left with a customer) reported healthy traffic for the display, despite being in the rear annex of the main hall. Eric LeClair of Bedford Ruler (on the right) was likewise pleased with the location and the traffic at the show. His company, which supplies stir sticks to paint and hardware dealers across Canada, was showcasing his family business’s wares, complete with private branding feature that puts the dealer’s name on each stir stick.
In the lawn and garden section of the show, Heath Outdoor Products had an array of bird feeders, including a new line of bright, colourful feeders shaped like birds such as owls and chickens. They can accommodate two suet pucks as well as loose bird feed.
DynaTRap offered a plug-in fly trap, which attracts the insects with to a disposable sticky pad that sits discreetly behind a decorative cover.
The show once again proved to be an important showcase for what's new in home improvement retailing, as well as an opportunity for vendors and retailers alike to renew existing relationships.
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Canadian Tire CEO commits to growth, private brands, rewards program
TORONTO — Canadian Tire used its annual general meeting at the Four Seasons hotel in Toronto earlier this month to make several announcements about the company.
Addressing the crowd, Maureen Sabia, chairman of the board, attributed Canadian Tire’s successful year to CEO Stephen Wetmore. “I would be remiss if I didn’t single out our CEO Stephen Wetmore for his efforts,” Sabia said.
The company’s Q1 profits declined from a year ago, coming in at $78 million compared to 87.5 million in the first quarter of 2017. Total revenues for the quarter rose by 3.3% to $2.81 billion, compared to $2.72 billion a year ago. Same-store sales saw an increase of 5.2%.
Sabia then revealed that Wetmore had signed another three-year commitment, which began this year. In addition to Wetmore’s commitment, Sabia also announced the company’s acquisition of Helly Hansen, the outdoor apparel brand, and the launch of Triangle Rewards program.
Triangle is the company’s latest effort to unite its many retail divisions under the Canadian Tire banner. Customers can use the card at Canadian Tire, Sport Chek, Gas+, participating Mark’s, and Atmosphere locations to earn Canadian Tire money, which can also be redeemed at any of those stores. Of the launch, Sabia said “there’s no better example of us working as one company.”
She went on to say that while the last few years have been positive for Canadian Tire, they have also taught her team that the company’s future success depends on disruption, not just sticking to what’s always been successful. “Great challenges also present great opportunities,” she said.
For his part, Wetmore described the Triangle program as “the most important announcement we have made since I joined the company” and a “natural progression” for the Canadian Tire rewards program.
The Helly Hansen acquisition is the most recent example of the company’s efforts to build up its private brands in-store. Over the past year, it has also picked up the Paderno cookware line, premium barbecue brand Vermont Castings, the lawn care brand Golfgreen, and team sports Sher-Wood Athletics Group Inc., which manufactures hockey gear and licensed products.
In terms of Canadian Tire Retail, Wetmore also announced that the home delivery pilot the company was testing in the Ottawa area will be expanded to across the country starting late this summer. All these announcements, Wetmore said, are in line with the company’s goal to become the number-one retail brand in Canada by 2022.
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Home Depot Canada will play role in company-wide IT hiring campaign
TORONTO — The Home Depot is looking to support its intensive growth into high tech retailing by hiring 1,000 new IT professionals across North America this year. And the Canadian division will play a role in that initiative.
Most of the hiring will take place in Austin, Tex., where Home Depot opened a corporate tech and data centre in 2005. Up to 500 people are being sought for that facility. But the retailer has technology centres in Atlanta, Ga., and Dallas, Tex., which will collectively hire another 500. The hires will support initiatives related to a massive $11.1 billion, three-year strategic investment plan that was first unveiled at the end of last year. It addresses the store and online shopping experience, supply chain and delivery capabilities, and associate and workforce management systems.
Closer to home, The Home Depot Canada is recruiting 100-plus new technology professionals at its headquarters in Toronto’s east end, called its Store Support Centre.
“With the changing Canadian retail environment, we know technology is playing an increasingly important role,” says Paul Berto, director, corporate communications, external affairs, and sustainability for Home Depot Canada. The initiative, he points out, ensures that Home Depot shoppers can interact with the retailer across multiple platforms.
“Customers want to shop whenever, wherever, and however they want. That’s why the Canadian team is making similar investments in our business for roles like software engineering, system engineering, UX design, product management, and roles with e-commerce,” Berto adds.
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RETAILER NEWS
BOUCHERVILLE, Que. — Groupe BMR will hold its first Imports and Seasonal Products Trade Show from August 28 to 29, 2018, in Boucherville. The company says the dealer show is intended to compensate for the increasingly long delivery times faced by its overseas suppliers, in order to ensure all dealers receive their merchandise in plenty of time for spring. Among the categories to be showcased are patio furniture, barbecue and garden décor, and accessories.
MOORESVILLE, N.C. — Lowe’s is stepping up its timeline for bringing Craftsman tools into its stores in the U.S. The storied brand was purchased from Sears Holdings last year by Stanley Black & Decker. Lowe’s was originally going to start introducing the line later this year. But now the company says it will introduce a range of hand tools, tool storage, and organizational products by mid-year. Even more lines will be added before year’s end, in time for the holiday selling season.
BOUCHERVILLE, Que. — Lowe’s Canada will convert its Calgary RONA Home and Garden store to the Lowe’s banner at the end of a four-month transformation begun last week and due to be completed by the fall. The renamed MacLeod Lowe’s will feature 124,000 square feet of retail sales space, an adjacent garden centre of 14,000 square feet, and an 8,000-square-foot lumber yard. The announcement follows the grand opening of the 23rd Reno-Depot store, in Charlemagne, Que. The former RONA L’Entrepôt converted to the Reno-Depot banner as the result of a $3.7 million investment and a 12-week transformation.
ATLANTA — Home Depot reported profits of $2.4 billion for the first quarter, up from $2.08 billion a year ago. Same-store sales, however, missed Wall Street estimates, rising by 4.2% rather than the expected 5.4%, partly as a result of cooler weather delaying the spring rush. Total revenues for the quarter amounted to $24.95 billion. From a regional perspective, weather had an impact on various regions of Canada, which posted “slightly negative” same-store sales.
TORONTO — Canadian Tire is looking at delivering on a direct-to-home strategy for online sales. The company expects to be able to implement this service by mid-summer for consumers in four or five markets across the country, to start.
SUPPLIER NEWS
MONTREAL — JRTech Solutions Inc., the Canadian reseller of Pricer digital price tags, is rolling out the electronic label technology in 20 more BMR stores. Installations are planned for 2018 with a total order value of $2.2 million. This brings the number of BMR stores using the technology to 40. Another 20 stores are expected to take on the electronic tags in 2019, says Pricer. JRTech has been involved in more than 400 store installations with Pricer technology since 2009.
MALVERN, Pa. — CertainTeed is investing $37 million to make its Milan Township, Ohio, plant a flagship of the company’s operations. The upgrades, which are slated for completion in 2020, will allow CertainTeed to produce its own asphalt instead of relying on outside suppliers. The plant’s footprint will grow from 45 to 55 acres, according to the Sandusky (Ohio) Register.
PEOPLE ON THE MOVE
Cody Smith has been promoted to the role of director, Home and Building Solutions at Federated Co-operatives Limited. He takes over from Tony Steier, who has retired from FCL. Smith has been with the co-op for the past 15 years in a variety of buyer roles, most recently as category development manager.
ECONOMIC INDICATORS
House sales in Canada fell 2.9% from March to April. Year over year, actual (not seasonally adjusted) activity was down 13.9% from April 2017. The number of newly listed homes also fell in April, down 4.8% from the previous month. CREA’s house price index was up 1.5% year over year, while the year-over-year national average sale price declined by 11.3% in April. About 60% of all local housing markets reported fewer sales, led by the Fraser Valley, Calgary, Ottawa, and Montreal. The number of newly listed homes declined 4.8% in April, representing a nine year low. (Canadian Real Estate Association)
U.S. housing starts seasonally adjusted in April fell 3.7% from the previous month, but up 10.5% year over year. Single-family housing starts in April were flat compared with March. (U.S. Census Bureau)
NOTED
Jeff Kinnaird, president of Home Depot Canada, has been recognized for a lifetime of achievement by the Retail Council of Canada (RCC). The Excellence in Retailing Awards Gala will close the first day of RCC’s conference, STORE 2018, May 29 to May 30. For more information and to purchase tickets, click here.
OVERHEARD…
“We intend to keep on offering tailored and meaningful business programs, as well as value, in exchange for bringing in additional retailers into our family.”
—Pierre Nolet, VP of business development for Groupe BMR, as it reaches into Ontario with aggressive plans for growing its dealer base.