June 25, 2018 Volume xxiv, #25
“Ever tried? Ever failed? No matter. Try again. Fail again. Fail better.”
—Samuel Beckett (Irish novelist, playwright and poet, 1906-1989)
IN THIS ISSUE:
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Home Hardware makes big gains in Quebec with new dealer members
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Peavey adds stores in Manitoba and Alberta, with more locations planned
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Reorg at Hardlines puts Katherine Yager in operations role
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M-D ramps up inventory, sales after RCR acquisition
PLUS: Lowe's Canada donates to Children’s Miracle Network, Martel to acquire Potvin & Bouchard store, FCL funds community programs, Alma TIMBER MART destroyed, Task Tools celebrates its 50th, Home Hardware hosts charity golf, Spanky the monkey, Sherwin-Williams and Home Depot to drop paint strippers, HBC urged to drop Trump-branded products, Taiga donates to flooding victims in Atlantic Canada, house sales flat, and more!
Home Hardware makes big gains in Quebec with new dealer members
ST. JACOBS, Ont. ― With more than 1,000 stores spread across every province and territory, Home Hardware Stores Limited is well represented in the Canadian marketplace. However, it has traditionally been under-represented in Canada’s second-largest province.
But that’s changing.
In the first half of 2018, the co-op more than doubled last year’s growth of Quebec store conversions. Year to date, it has welcomed eight new stores into the fold, for a total of 133 stores in the province. The latest additions include L.D. Roy, Sainte-Perpétue; Riopel Centre de Rénovation, Sainte-Adèle; and Nemaska Home Hardware in Nemaska.
Another five locations belong to one dealer, Groupe Turcotte, a home improvement and garden centre retailer based in Laval, with more than 200 employees. Turcotte also has a sixth store in Stittsville, Ont. It too has switched to a Home Hardware Building Centre.
The other Turcotte locations are Les Grands Jardins de Laval, Laval; Les Vivaces Plus, Blainville; Quincaillerie Côte des Neiges, Montreal; Quincaillerie Latendresse, Pointe-aux-Trembles; and Quincaillerie Parc & Bernard, also in Montréal. The grand openings at these Turcotte stores are planned for September 2018.
Quebec, which represents slightly more than one-fifth of retail home improvement sales in Canada (source: the 2018 Hardlines Retail Report—your ever-helpful Editor) had just 125 Home Hardware stores at the end of 2017, representing about 12% of Home’s locations. These latest conversions reflect years of investment in the Quebec market that have seen dealer numbers there increase dramatically. That initiative was spearheaded by Dunc Wilson when he joined Home a decade ago to lead dealer development nationally.
“We want to welcome our new dealers into the Home Hardware family,” says Wilson. “This growth represents further evidence of our interest to growing our presence in Quebec and we look forward to continuing to serve these communities.”
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Peavey adds stores in Manitoba and Alberta, with more locations planned
RED DEER, Alta. — Peavey Industries continues to add stores through 2018. It opened its 38th Peavey Mart store in the Pembina Highway area of Winnipeg in January, with a grand opening sale in March. The store, in a former Zellers location, comprises almost 33,000 square feet. This is the second Winnipeg location for Peavey, complementing the Nairn store on the city’s East Side. And it’s Peavey’s fifth in Manitoba, along with Brandon, Winkler, and Swan River.
To support these locations Peavey has invested in a key interactive sponsorship of the Red River Exhibition, in addition to several community sponsorships in other Manitoba markets.
Peavey’s most recent opening, and its 39th Peavey Mart, opened in Sherwood Park, Alta., in April, with a grand opening in early June. The new 29,000 square foot store features tweaks to the merchandise assortment and placement that included relocating the pet and birding sections toward the front of the store, complete with new graphics.
Later in 2018, Peavey will add 10,000 square feet to its existing location in Humboldt, Sask., a project approved in early 2018. In addition to its wide market area in the centre of the province, Humboldt is the centre of the province’s fast-growing sheep industry. That expansion is expected to be finished by Christmas.
Also in Saskatchewan, the Peavey Mart in Kindersley will move to an expanded location vacated by a Home Hardware. The new 40,000-square-foot space will be renovated and is expected to be open this fall. (Photo: Drew Kenworthy)
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Reorg at Hardlines puts Katherine Yager in operations role
WORLD HEADQUARTERS, Toronto — Continuing our reorganization at Hardlines Inc., we are pleased to announce the appointment of Katherine Yager as Vice President of Operations. This promotion follows on the previously announced departure of Beverly Allen, Publisher and Partner, who is retiring effective July 1.
Katherine has been with Hardlines full-time for five and a half years. Formerly Marketing Director for Hardlines, she has grown her role over time, managing all sides of company’s day-to-day activities, including the Hardlines Conference, website, reports, and research.
In her new role, she will use the skills she honed as Marketing Director with her background in business to oversee the company’s finances, budget, and cash flow, and work with the Hardlines Team to develop new products and services to better serve the retail Home improvement industry.
Katherine’s experience combines well with her education, which includes a Masters of Arts in Political Science from York University and a Business Administration Certificate from George Brown College. In her spare time, Katherine is an avid ultramarathon runner who recently finished her first 100-mile race.
With her strengths in planning, evaluating, and keeping projects on budget and on time, Katherine will be a valuable part of Hardlines’ growth in coming years.
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M-D ramps up inventory, sales after RCR acquisition
MISSISSAUGA, Ont. — Following the acquisition in March of the assets of Boucherville, Que.-based RCR International, M‐D Building Products, Inc. has been busy relocating inventory from RCR’s Boucherville warehouse to M-D’s facilities in Mississauga, Ont.
M-D also purchased the assets of RCR’s Chicago‐based wholly‐owned subsidiary, W.J. Dennis. RCR and W.J. Dennis produced weather‐stripping, insulation components, screening, snow brushes, squeegees, and other hardware and seasonal products for the retail market in North America. M-D took over about 1,000 SKUs in total.
M-D is keeping RCR’s well-known Climaloc brand, but will, over time, add the M-D brand on packaging, to read “Climaloc by M-D”. The company is trying to minimize the impact on its retail customers, says Joe Comitale, president of M‐D Canada. “We’re maintaining the product and UPC codes to make it easy to convert to the new lines.”
Comitale points out that the time to ship weather-stripping products is August and September, “But we’ll be in position by the middle of July,” he notes. “We are fully operational. We expect to have full inventory in 30 days.”
The company is not just focused on the product side. “We’re shifting our resources and adding people, mostly on the sales side, to make sure we’re serving our customers properly.”
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DID YOU KNOW…?
… that the North American Retail Hardware Association has launched a refreshed, updated version of its website? The new www.nrha.org allows retailers to find NRHA’s employee training programs, business services, research studies, and other resources, including 50 Trainer’s Toolbox lessons and a simple login access for the online training courses available to NRHA members. For more information on the NRHA and how it can help you be a better retailer, visit www.nrha.org or www.hardlines.ca/nrha.
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RETAILER NEWS
BOUCHERVILLE, Que. — Lowe’s Canada has announced a $593,631 donation to Children’s Miracle Network and Opération Enfant Soleil, following a nationwide fundraising campaign. “Through partnerships with 14 children’s hospitals across Canada, the Children’s Miracle Network and Opération Enfant Soleil provide tangible assistance to sick kids and their families,” said Jean-Sébastien Lamoureux, Lowe’s Canada’s SVP for communications, public affairs, and compliance.
BOUCHERVILLE, Que. — Groupe Martel will acquire the Potvin & Bouchard store in Alma, Que. Groupe Martel, which is also a member of Groupe BMR, already owns two renovation centres (in Alma and Saint-Nazaire) and operates the Scierie Martel and Usine Tremblay sawmills and the Structures Martel wooden structures plant. The new store, which is owned, along with three other Potvin & Bouchard stores, by Groupe BMR, will be Martel’s third BMR store when the deal closes in August. The existing employees will retain their current positions and the store will continue to operate under the Potvin & Bouchard banner.
SASKATOON — Federated Co-operatives Ltd. is funding 24 projects this year in communities across Western Canada through its Co-op Community Spaces Program. The $2 million in grants will be dispersed among projects like a learning garden at the public library in Victoria, B.C.; an inclusive playground in Airdrie, Alta.; the Children’s Discovery Museum in Saskatoon; and a multi-use trail network near Dauphin, Man. FCL administers the program on behalf of 180 independent retail co-operatives across Western Canada that form the Co-operative Retailing System.
ALMA, Que. — The Matériaux Alma store in Alma, Que., a TIMBER MART member, was destroyed by a pre-dawn fire last week. The cause of the fire is unknown; tenants of the apartments upstairs noticed smoke entering their units around 4:30 on the morning of June 19. Ten employees are left temporarily out of work. The fourth-generation family business was founded in 1916. Current owner Bertrand Collard took over from his father Jos. Management has not yet said whether the store will be rebuilt.
ST. JACOBS, Ont. — Home Hardware Stores held its annual charity golf tournament last week, hosting dealer-owners, staff, suppliers, and friends in support of KW Counselling Services. With about 600 people participating, the event filled four courses: Elmira Golf Club, Whistle Bear Golf Club, Grey Silo Golf Club, and Rebel Creek Golf Club. Last year, nearly $62,000 was raised from the event in support of the Alzheimer Society Waterloo Wellington. In the past 20 years, Home Hardware’s charity golf tournaments have raised nearly $630,000 for various charities.
CLEVELAND — Sherwin-Williams will phase out the use of paint stripper ingredient methylene chloride this year. The decision comes after pressure from environmental advocates, and follows on a similar announcement by Lowe’s Cos. earlier this month. Last year, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency proposed a ban on paint removers made with methylene chloride, which is linked to lung and liver cancer, and N-methylpyrrolidone (NMP). Now Home Depot has weighed in, saying it would remove the products from its shelves by year’s end.
OTTAWA — A campaign is calling on Hudson’s Bay Co., Winners, and other retailers to stop carrying brands owned by members of the Trump family, as frustration rises over tariffs on Canadian goods entering the U.S. Maclean’s columnist Scott Gilmore is among those calling for a boycott. Gilmore, a Conservative Party member who is married to Liberal MP and environment minister Catherine McKenna, compiled a list of companies to boycott, including The Bay, Lord & Taylor, and Walmart, which carry Ivanka Trump’s clothing lines.
SUPPLIER NEWS
DELTA, B.C. — Task Tools is celebrating its 50th anniversary with the launch of a new line of heavy-duty ballistics work gear, a line of patented Starlock oscillating accessories, and an expanded assortment of European-made drill bits. Starting this month, Task is running a series of contests and giveaways through social media every month for the remainder of the year. The company is still family-owned and operated, with CEO Craig Caplan having taken the helm from his father Michael in 2008.
BURNABY, B.C. — Taiga Building Products has responded to recent flooding in Atlantic Canada with a $10,000 donation to the Canadian Red Cross. The building materials wholesaler company has branches in Halifax and Moncton, and one in Paradise, Nfld.
ROCKFORD, Ill. ― Vaughan & Bushnell Manufacturing has acquired a fellow hand tool maker. Dasco Pro Inc. makes chisels, punches, and other forged hand tools. Vaughan & Bushnell will continue to use the Dasco name for these lines.
NEW BRITAIN, Conn. — Stanley Ventures, a division of Stanley Black & Decker, is investing in Israeli wireless charging startup Humavox. The partnership will enable Humavox to bring wireless charging to a broad array of products and technologies, while enabling uninterrupted usage of battery power. As part of this strategic partnership, Stanley Black & Decker is the lead investor in Humavox’s current funding round. Humavox’s technology uses near-field radio frequency to turn ordinary items like car cup holders and gym bags into “hidden chargers”.
ECONOMIC INDICATORS
National home sales were little changed from April to May. Sales edged down by 0.1%, marking their lowest level in more than five years. Actual (not seasonally adjusted) activity was down 16.2% from May 2017, reaching a seven-year low for the month. The number of newly listed homes rose 5.1% in May but remained below year-ago levels. (Canadian Real Estate Association)
U.S. housing starts rose by 5% to an annualized rate of 1.35 million, beating a forecast of 1.31 million and reaching the highest pace since July 2007. Single-family starts rose by 3.9%, while starts of multi-family units were up by 7.5%. The gains were regionally specific, as all areas apart from the Midwest logged declines, albeit by only 0.9% in the South. At the same time, permits were down for the second month, falling by 4.6% to a rate of 1.3 million, despite gains in the Northeast and Midwest. (U.S. Commerce Dept.)
NOTED
A Home Depot cashier was left with scratches and four bite wounds last week after a spider monkey got loose from a parked SUV. Spanky the monkey accompanies her human, Tina Ballard, wherever she goes. It's not the first animal control incident at a Home Depot store, as this exclusive Hardlines dramatization of a 2011 shih tzu attack shows. (OK, a cheap ploy to get you to rewatch one of my favourite Hardlines TV segments. A blast from the past!—your nostalgic Editor)
OVERHEARD…
“[Hudson’s Bay Company] respect[s] our customers’ right to choose the brands that work for them. In turn, our customers’ choices inform our decisions on which merchandise we offer.”
—Tiffany Bourré, spokesperson for the company, in an email to CBC News in response to consumer concerns over The Bay and other retailers carrying the signature clothing lines of Ivanka Trump, daughter of U.S. President Donald Trump.