11,000+
HOME IMPROVEMENT
RETAILERS AND MANAGERS
ABOUT HARDLINES
WHO WE ARE
For over 30 years, Hardlines has been the trusted source for news, data, and connections in Canada’s hardware and building supply industry. We reach the decision-makers who matter: independent dealers, national retailers, buying groups, and suppliers. Hardlines connects your brand to the people shaping this market, at the places they are the most.
From our early days as a weekly newsletter to today’s multi-platform presence, our mission hasn’t changed: connect the industry and deliver results for our partners.
92% of our readers would recommend our products to a friend or colleague.
Source: Hardlines survey
EVERY MAJOR BUYING GROUP AND CORPORATE HEAD OFFICE
OUR AUDIENCES
Our readers are decision-makers; retail owners, senior executives, and managers who control buying decisions for thousands of locations nationwide. Hardlines puts your message in front of the people who matter.
THE PRO DEALER AND CONTRACTOR
SUPPLY MARKET
AN INTEGRATED APPROACH
HOW WE CONNECT YOU
Your customers also consume media across multiple touch points. We offer a unique mix of platforms to put your message in front of the right people.
DIGITAL
Hardlines Home Improvement Quarterly (HHIQ) and Pro Dealer, the two most respected publications in the industry.
YOUR HARDLINES TEAM
David Chestnut VP & Publisher
416-725-7992
david@hardlines.ca
Shannon MacLeod Account Manager
905-691-2492
shannon@hardlines.ca
EVENTS
Hardlines.ca, Canada’s leading industry news service, plus targeted monthly and weekly newsletters with open rates up to 51.8%.
The Hardlines Conference and the Outstanding Retailer Awards (ORAs)—Canada’s only national gathering of top executives, suppliers, and dealers.
No one else offers this level of reach and engagement in the Canadian hardware and building supply sector.
CONTENT
Michael McLarney, President mike@hardlines.ca
Steve Payne, Editor-in-Chief steve@hardlines.ca
Rebecca Dumais, Editor rebecca@hardlines.ca
Sarah McGoldrick, Digital Editor sarah@hardlines.ca
QUEBEC OFFICE
Geoff McLarney, Features Editor geoff@hardlines.ca
MARKETING, EVENTS, AND CLIENT SERVICES
Michelle Porter, Senior Marketing & Events Manager michelle@hardlines.ca
Jill MacLeod, Client Services Manager jillian@hardlines.ca
Shawn Samson, Design & Production shawn@twocreative.ca
ACCOUNTING
acounting@hardlines.ca
Hardlines Inc. 2060 Lakeshore Road, Suite 702 Burlington, ON L7R 0G2 905.330.3061 | hardlines.ca
10,506 QUALIFIED CIRCULATION
REACH AND CIRCULATION
Our audience spans every province, every buying group, and every major retail banner.
PRINT REACH
HARDLINES HOME IMPROVEMENT QUARTERLY (HHIQ)
10,506 QUALIFIED CIRCULATION
This publication is an industry trade publication carefully designed to meet the needs of the modern home improvement decision maker.
Pro Dealer Magazine
6,321 QUALIFIED CIRCULATION
6,321 QUALIFIED CIRCULATION
This publication is focused on LBM dealers and the pro contractor market and delivered to the businesses driving Canada’s building boom.
Our readers are:
• Corporate head office decision-makers
• National buying groups
• Independent hardware and building supply dealers
DIGITAL REACH
Hardlines.ca
• 180,000+ Monthly Ad Views
• High engagement from retail executives and industry suppliers
E-Newsletters
• Hardlines Weekly Report: 51.8% open rate
• Dealer News & HR Advisor: 30%+ open rates (Industry average: 15% monthly)
Audit statements are available upon request.
HARDLINES HOME IMPROVEMENT QUARTERLY (HHIQ)
The go-to publication for Canada’s home improvement retailers, packed with insights on trends, strategies, and success stories.
OUTDOOR LIVING SUPPLEMENT (HHIQ Q3 INSERT)
Hardlines will publish its fifth annual edition of the Outdoor Living supplement in 2026. This essential resource captures one of the industry’s fastest-growing categories. Each page is extensively dedicated to showing products for backyards, and includes everything from patio furniture, outdoor structures, and decks and railings to barbecues, grills and hardscaping. A standalone magazine supplement that is part of Hardlines’ Category Captains series, Outdoor Living 2026 will once again feature three dealer-owners who have specialized in the department, upcoming category trends, and a compendium of available products.
Publishes with the Q3 2026 edition of HHIQ Magazine.
Deadlines
Space: May 15
Material: June 12
PRINT PUBLICATIONS
HHIQ 2026 EDITORIAL SCHEDULE
Pricing
Full Page: $4,995
Half Page: $2,895
HHIQ AD RATES
Premium positions:
• Outside back cover add 20%
• Inside front cover add 15%
• Inside back cover add 10%
• Insert/outsert rates available upon request
PRO DEALER 2026 EDITORIAL SCHEDULE
PRO DEALER
The only Canadian magazine focused exclusively on the pro contractor market and building supply dealers.
PRO DEALER AD RATES
Premium positions:
• Outside back cover add 20%
• Inside front cover add 15%
• Inside back cover add 10%
• Insert/outsert rates available upon request
Material Specifications
Ads must be supplied as a press-ready PDF file with embedded fonts and graphics (PDF/X-1a:2001 preferred). Images should have a resolution of 300 ppi. Do not use spot colours or RGB art. Keep all colours CMYK.
Submission Requirements
Ads can be emailed to shannon@hardlines.ca
PRINT AD SPECIFICATIONS
PRINT AD SPECIFICATIONS
Double Page Spread
Trim Size: 18” x 10.875”
With Bleed: 18.25” x 11.125”
Type Safety: 17.5 x 10.375”
Full Page
Trim Size: 9” x 10.875”
With Bleed: 9.25 x 11.125”
Type Safety: 8.5” x 10.375”
Non-Bleed Size: 8.5” x 10.375”
Half Page Vertical
Trim Size: 4.375” x 10.875”
With Bleed: 4.625” x 11.125”
Type Safety: 3.875” x 10.375”
Non-Bleed Size: 3.875” x 10.375”
Half Page Horizontal
Non-Bleed Size: 8” x 4.75”
Third Page Vertical
Non-Bleed Size: 2.375” x 10.375”
Quarter Page Square
Non-Bleed size: 3.75” x 4.75”
Half Page Island
Non-Bleed size: 5” x 7.75”
Third Page Horizontal
Non-Bleed size: 8” x 375”
Quarter Page Horizontal
Non-Bleed size: 8” x 2.5”
For the above bleed ads, please ensure 0.125” bleed is added to all sides and important type or logos are kept 0.25” away from trim edges.
WEBSITE BANNERS
DIGITAL ADVERTISING OVERVIEW
HARDLINES.CA
Hardlines.ca is the industry’s digital hub, averaging over 225,000 monthly ad views in three key positions. Our newsletters drive unmatched engagement, with open rates up to 51.8%.
WEBSITE BANNER RATES
Each digital ad links to the website of your choice. Web banners appear in eight second intervals and rotate top to bottom randomly. GIF images must be under eight seconds. Artwork must be provided at least five days before go live date. Third-party code embedding is available at no extra charge.
HARDLINES WEEKLY REPORT (E-NEWSLETTER)
This is the only weekly Canadian source for industry intelligence and a keystone product in our digital marketing mix. Distributed every Monday morning, and packed with the latest news, trends analysis, interviews with industry leaders and statistics on housing and retail, our subscribers can start the week fully informed.
DEALER NEWS (MONTHLY E-NEWSLETTER)
Dealer News is targeted squarely at store owners and managers. A monthly send, it’s packed with news, tips, insights, and concrete ideas for dealers and store managers who want to run their businesses at maximum efficiency.
DN-B1
DN-B2
DN-S1 DN-S2
DAILY NEWS
We offer our industry a daily roundup of the news impacting the home improvement industry, store openings, appointment announcements, and event coverage.
PRO DEALER BUSINESS
PRO Dealer Business is the digital companion to Hardlines PRO Dealer magazine, featuring strategies to boost profits, case studies of successful dealers, insights on economic trends, and the latest products and innovations for pro customers.
HR ADVISOR
Hardlines HR Advisor is a monthly e-newsletter for the retail home improvement industry, keeping you informed on staffing issues, legal updates, and HR best practices. Each issue includes industry news, expert advice, and insights from HR professionals and agencies.
Custom Send Requirements
3RD PARTY E-MAILS
file.
4 Email layout must not be larger than 800px wide.
4 Images must be hosted and embedded in the HTML file upon submission.
Hardlines Custom Sends/3rd Party Emails give you direct access to our entire subscriber base of industry decision-makers. With fully customizable content and branding, they’re a powerful way to showcase your products, promotions, and expertise right in your target audience’s inbox.
4 HTML file and subject line must be submitted a week before scheduled email deployment date.
When creating your HTML, keep in mind:
• Opens and link tracking are automatic.
• External style sheets are not supported.
• Styles can be added to the code at the top of the email and they’ll be automatically inlined when the email sends, or you can use inline styles.
• To get the best results in the most email clients, design your code for an email, not for a webpage.
• iFrames and form code are supported but are usually stripped out by the email client.
• Media queries aren’t supported.
• Non-standard HTML tags generated by proprietary software, like Microsoft Publisher or Frontpage, won’t display correctly in many browsers and email clients:
- <v:shape> - <o:column> - <b: Xl>
![endif]
• JavaScript will most likely not display because most email clients disable it for security reasons.
• We discourage the use of image mapping (adding multiple links to a single image) for the following reasons:
- Using image mapping breaks our link-tracking functionality, so any clicks on these links won’t show up in your Clicks report.
- Using image maps is an outdated practice, and many versions of Outlook and other email clients do not render them correctly.
- They aren’t mobile-responsive. Image mapping specifies the “clickable spot” in your email using exact coordinates, but the elements of your email can shift when an email is viewed on a mobile device in order for it to display properly. As a result, the coordinates you mapped the links to may not stay in the spot you intended.
Need help creating your custom send?
We can create an HTML file for you using your supplied photos, logos and text. We can customize the HTML template to include your company’s branded colours.
Cost: $995
DIGITAL AD SPECS
All banners link to the website of your choice. Web banners appear in eight second intervals and rotate top to bottom randomly. GIF images must be under eight seconds. Artwork must be provided at least five days before go live date. Third-party code embedding is available at no extra charge.
WEBSITE
Access the people who matter most, in an environment designed for real conversations and meaningful connections.
CONFERENCE & EVENTS
WHERE THE INDUSTRY COMES TOGETHER
For nearly three decades, the Hardlines Conference has been the premier gathering for Canada’s hardware and building supply leaders. It’s the only national event where retailers, buying groups, suppliers, and industry experts connect to share insights and explore what’s next.
Two days of high-level presentations, expert panels, and invaluable networking opportunities. This is where strategic partnerships are formed and the industry’s future is shaped.
The Outstanding Retailer Awards (ORAs)
Celebrating the best in Canadian home improvement retail with categories spanning hardware stores, building centres, large-format retailers, and pro dealers.
2026 CONFERENCE DATE AND LOCATION
Fairmont Château Laurier, Ottawa, Ontario October 20 & 21, 2026 hardlinesconference.ca
SPONSORSHIP OPPORTUNITIES
Position your brand front and centre at the most influential event in Canada’s home improvement sector. Sponsorship provides extended visibility before, during, and after the event. Reach out for a full list of sponsorship perks.
Supporting Sponsor $5,995
• Present an ORA
• Full-page ad in HHIQ
• 2 tickets to conference & gala
• 6 months online visibility
• On-site signage
• Verbal recognition
• 2 tickets to conference & gala
• Logo in program, supporting sponsorship assets
• 1 ticket to conference & gala
• 3 months online visibility
ORA Sponsor $15,995
Meal or Coffee Sponsor $9,995
MAKE SURE YOUR TEAM HAS THE INSIGHTS AND ADVANTAGES THEY NEED TO STAY AHEAD.
Sign up for Hardlines Premium Membership today and start saving on reports, events, and advertising opportunities while staying connected to the people and information that matter most.
Contact: jillian@hardlines.ca Or visit hardlines.ca to get started.
PREMIUM MEMBERSHIP
YOUR EDGE STARTS HERE
Hardlines Premium Membership isn’t just a subscription it’s your competitive edge. Members get insider access to the most trusted intelligence in Canada’s home improvement industry, along with exclusive benefits that pay for themselves.
What’s Included:
Hardlines Weekly Report
Every Monday morning, get the latest news, trend analysis, and insights that help you make smarter decisions.
Breaking News Alerts
Be first to know about major developments in the industry delivered straight to your inbox.
HHIQ
(Hardlines Home
Improvement Quarterly)
One print issue per office, every quarter. Additional copies at a discounted price.
MEMBERSHIP PRICING
Classified Ads
One free 250-word ad with logo per year (2-week run), plus 15% off additional listings.
Exclusive Discounts
Save 20% on Hardlines Annual Reports and 20% on tickets to the Hardlines Conference and Outstanding Retailer Awards Gala.
Total Annual Savings: up to $2,206.
Membership packages for up to 100 people available upon request. Contact Jill for more information.
