LOBLAW IS THE LATEST BIG RETAILER TO SELL APPLIANCES

Real Canadian Superstore, the big box format for the Loblaw grocery chain, is now carrying heavy appliances in a pilot at its store in Milton, Ont. The retailer is teaming up with Canadian Appliance Source (CAS) with a store-within-a-store model.

The pilot features more than a dozen brands, including LG, Kitchen Aid, Samsung, Bosch, and Frigidaire. At 1,900 square feet, the storewithin-a-store concept will be operated by CAS appliance experts and offer the same service, terms, and conditions as standalone CAS stores. Customers will also be able to redeem PC Optimum points on major appliance purchases in this area of the store.

The first pilot will be expanded “to a small number of additional Real Canadian Superstore locations across the country later this year,” according to a release.

CAS was started in 2008 and now has almost 40 locations. They are concentrated in major cities like Toronto, Vancouver, and Montreal, but the retailer also has locations across the Prairies and in Nova Scotia.

The appliance market is a strong one for home improvement retailers, albeit a relatively new one. The market for appliance sales opened up more than a decade ago when Sears, the leading appliance seller in North America, began its decline. Sears carried a range of brands, including its own Kenmore label. At its peak, it owned almost half the appliance market in the U.S., but even by 2003, Lowe’s was in second place with almost 14 percent of the market, while Home Depot was also growing that category during that time.

Lowe’s brought appliance sales with it to Canadian Lowe’s stores when it took over RONA inc. in 2016.

At one point, Sears Canada had 140 locations plus about 900 catalogue and online pick-up locations. When it closed its doors, Home Depot was quick to follow the Lowe’s lead in filling the gap. Sears Canada closed its last store in January 2018, and soon after a newlook RONA store was introduced that featured an expanded appliance selection, following the model of the Lowe’s stores in Canada.

Other retailers followed suit. Home Hardware eventually made the foray into heavy appliances, and the category now constitutes an important part of many of its stores—even hardware stores, where dealers can take special orders for appliances.

BY GEOFF M c LARNEY