A YEAR OF CHANGES AT HOME HARDWARE REFLECTED AT ITS LATEST DEALER MARKET

There was something different about the latest Home Hardware Market, which concluded last fall at the company’s head office and warehouse in St. Jacobs, Ont. Under the theme “Share the Vision”, the event kicked off with a presentation by HGTV’s Scott McGillivray on renovations and return on investments. Beauti-Tone’s 2020 paint colour of the year was also unveiled during the market (it’s called “Honey I’m Home”).

The differences from previous markets were evident upon walking into the market itself. These included more emphasis on housewares, careful presentation of private labels according to programs rather than just products, more thoughtful grouping of Home’s various services to its dealers and a first-ever marketing strategy meeting for Home’s LBM dealers.

Additionally, there was a buzz that was generated around the show floor. That buzz was largely positive—and reflected the overall acceptance of the changes occurring.

The momentum of change is apparent everywhere. Home Hardware’s president and CEO, Kevin Macnab, had been in place for almost a year, and his reorganization of the company has affected every corner of the business.

Those changes have included a wholesale overhaul of the company’s buying teams, with new faces on board, and existing buyers taking on new portfolios. Reactions of vendors to new expectations from the company’s overhauled buying teams have been largely positive, if somewhat tentative. And dealers have been much more accepting of the transitions occurring under Macnab’s leadership.

This acceptance translated into an upbeat market that found dealers and vendors alike generally energized by the changes that have already taken place and the ones to come.

Briefly

TORBSA APPOINTS NEW BOARD, BOARD PRESIDENT

TORBSA Ltd., the Ontario-based buying group for building centres and commercial yards, has elected Greg Drouillard of Target Building Materials in Windsor, Ont., as its president of the board for the year ahead. The board of directors is now composed of Greg Drouillard; Dante DiGiovanni, VP operations, Blair Building Materials; Blaine Carter, VP, Woollatt Building Supply; Len Hewson, treasurer, Hewson Brothers Supply; and Steve Guglietti, secretary, Pro Con Building Supplies.

Rona Stores Pull Together For Food Bank

Four corporate RONA stores in the Outaouais region of Quebec handed over a $217,000 cheque to Moisson Outaouais as part of the 2019 Loto-Moisson campaign. The stores have supported the food bank since 2011, and in 2013, created the annual fundraising campaign, which raises thousands of dollars each year through the sale of tickets at the four stores and other points of sale. Since 2011, the Outaouais RONA corporate stores have presented a grand total of $1 million to the Moisson Outaouais.

TIMBER MART FUNDRAISES FOR CHILDREN’S WISH FOUNDATION

The Children’s Wish Foundation held its annual TIMBER MART Heroes Challenge last fall in 14 cities across Canada. Corporate teams competed in a variety of challenges, each pledging to raise $10,000. All told, this year’s challenge raised more than $1.2 million to put toward the cost of granting wishes for children with life-threatening illnesses.