WHY WE’RE GOING TO WHISTLER

The Hardlines Conference—as retail conferences go—has always marched to the beat of its own drummer. In the 26-year history of the event, this has been the conference where friends and competitors alike would meet collegially to learn from each other.

Take, for example, the 2009 conference. Annette Verschuren, then-president of the Canadian division of Home Depot, bantered good-naturedly from the podium with Robert Dutton, then-president of RONA inc., who was in the audience. Verschuren was trying to get (so the joke went) Dutton to buy some stores from her.

At earlier Hardlines Conferences, Michael McLarney would invite the presidents of the leading retail groups to a pre-conference dinner, where introductions were made among competitors who would never meet in any other forum.

Michael says his inspiration for the Hardlines Conference was Richard Saul Wurman, an American architect who created the famous TED (Technology, Entertainment, Design) Conferences in 1984.

Thousands of conferences later, TED talks—as they are now called—are legendary for their influence. Their slogan is “Ideas worth spreading.” We at Hardlines should probably “borrow” that. However, we already have a perfectly good slogan: “Connecting the Home Improvement Industry.” It’s what we do— whether those connections are between company presidents, vice-presidents, buyers, dealers, or vendors.

This fall’s event in Whistler is a longawaited step away from the Toronto area— or, more recently, Niagara-on-the-Lake, Ont. So much of the news in our industry comes from Western Canada that holding the Hardlines Conference in B.C. is long overdue.

We couldn’t have chosen a more spectacular location. The Fairmont Chateau Whistler Hotel, at the foot of Blackcomb Mountain, will host thought leaders from our industry and beyond. See the full roster of speakers on pages 44 and 45. Who knows what connections you can make there?

Thanks to Thomas Foreman and his staff at the Building Supply Industry Association of B.C., who have joined forces with us to make this an important joint venture. We look forward to seeing you there!