7.4K
Downloads
52
Episodes
This podcast series is dedicated to interviews with industry leaders from the retail, wholesale, and vendor sides of home improvement retailing. Get insights into the trends and challenges confronting retailers in general and in particular the dealers who sell products and services for building, repairing, and renovating homes.
Episodes
Wednesday Jul 26, 2023
Wednesday Jul 26, 2023
Hardlines Editor and podcast host Steve Payne interviews Romain Mercier, a customer engagement and communications expert and a partner at PS&Co, an agency that provides consulting services and harnesses data to build measurable customer experiences. Romain describes his extensive background in banking, data analytics, and finally, digital marketing. He shares considerations for SMBs and mid-markets on catching up with Canadian Tire and the big box stores in customer engagement. Romain speaks of the importance of digital channels for SMBs and why it is important for your brand to digitize your business. He explains the Federal Canadian Digital Adoption Program, available to all businesses that have had over $3 million in revenue over the last three years. Listen in for tips on digitizing your Candian SMB.
Key Takeaways:
[:17] Steve introduces Romain Mercier. Romain is a partner at PS&Co, an agency that provides consulting services and harnesses data to build measurable customer experiences. It’s clear that Romain knows what he’s doing with tech and customer engagement. He’s worked for some of the biggest names in tech after beginning his career in banking.
[:56] Romain has worked in senior capacities for Oracle, Adobe, Playtech, SAP, and Resulticks. He’s based in Vancouver and hails originally from France. Steve welcomes Romain to What’s In Store.
[1:33] Romain speaks of his financial background, working for a Big Five bank. He got the crash course on how to run a business, look at it from a P&L point of view, and look at the strategies that can drive revenue and drive efficiencies.
[1:56] More than a decade ago, Romain made the move to a tech vertical, leveraging data to find ways to generate more revenue and find efficiencies. He developed reports for finance departments, operations departments, sales departments, HR departments, and rarely for marketing departments. Marketing was getting roughly the same budget, year after year.
[2:42] Romain joined Oracle Eloqua, where he started nurturing by email. Romain started working more with technology that enabled him to build engagement with customers and better communication, leveraging data to find out more about the interests and intents of the customers, and leveraging technology to automate communication to reduce the cost of sales.
[3:22] Romain has been doing this for 15 years. As the market matured, servicing very large North American companies, Romain realized the value he provided was more to the service of guiding his clients than the technology itself.
[3:51] Romain brings a spectrum of large tech vendors, small tech vendors, and digital engagement, taking the strategy that big corporations use and simplifying it for the benefit of SMB and mid-market organizations in Canada.
[4:37] Steve and Romain contrast Canadian Tire’s omnichannel strategy with the online sales of independent hardware and building supply dealers. How can independent retailers compete in technology not only with Canadian Tire but with Amazon? The digital technology industry has been maturing over the last 15 to 20 years to be faster, cheaper, and more convenient.
[6:38] Independent retailers now have access, at a tenth of the price, to the same technology Canadian Tire has invested in for years, using the same strategy on social media and digital advertisement, much more cost-effectively.
[6:50] The challenge that SMB and mid-market retailers have is they don’t have the talent in-house that a Candian Tire team or other large retailer’s digital marketing team might have. They don’t have the same budget to pay the top marketing agencies to help them. But the cost of the technology is now affordable to the SMB market. Hire outside talent to help you.
[8:27] When did advertising and marketing turn into customer engagement? It started before COVID-19, when the social media started happening. The big accelerator was COVID-19 when every store except essential services was closed. The only way to generate revenue was to have an eCommerce site. During COVID-19, the purpose of digital commerce was survival.
[9:38] Since then, the acceleration of social and new apps that come on the market, has snowballed but it’s still done without a strategy or goal. Engagement means better understanding your customers to bring them something of value. Grab all the digital data crumbs your customer leaves with you and put them together for a better view of the customer.
[10:50] When you know your customer or prospect’s interest and intent, you can communicate better with them and reply to their needs with the proper positioning of your offer.
[11:40] The importance of social media for retailers. What are the goals and objectives you have? Depending on your brand and your intention, some channels are better than others for your purposes. Pinterest is for browsing. LinkedIn is B2B. Social media is huge for Direct to Consumer eCommerce. If your market is B2B, social media might not be a good value for you.
[13:05] The home improvement retail industry has 5,000 stores. A thousand are hardware stores. Three thousand are building supply stores or lumberyards. Just shy of 1,000 are Canadian Tire and big box stores. Steve asks, with 5,000 points of sale, how is our industry positioned for the digital age? Romain thinks the industry is well-positioned to catch up fast!
[13:44] Romain says there are a lot of improvements to be done for smaller organizations to digitally transform. They haven’t been investing over the same period as the big box stores. The most compelling need is for SMBs and mid-markets to adopt more digitization in their businesses to survive. Before COVID-19 that was not the case.
[14:23] The momentum for compelling events for change is there. Changing needs planning. Changing without an objective is not going to work. The Canadian federal government realized that SMB organizations do not have internal knowledge of digital experts on payroll. They don’t have data analysts.
[14:58] The Canadian federal government has developed a $4 billion program available for all Canadian organizations that generated over half a million dollars in revenue over the past three years.
[15:17] That fund provides each organization with $15,000 funding for agencies certified under the program, like PS&Co, an assessment of their current situation, and a roadmap of a multi-year, muti-step plan to increase the usage of digital technology in their organization, gain efficiency, and generate additional revenue.
[15:50] These funds could be used for brands to create a digital logo, a website, an eComm site to bypass a distributor, or research for using digital in a supply chain, including QR codes to manage an inventory. It could be for digital security to prevent your website from being hacked or suffering a data breach of customer information. All of these topics are important to plan.
[16:49] Romain strongly urges the listeners to look into this Canadian Digital Adoption Program. There are talented government-certified experts at PS&Co, that can help them over a couple of years, make sense of how to move forward,
[17:03] Steve thanks Romain Mercier for joining What’s In Store and telling listeners about the Canadian Digital Adoption Program. Romain thanks Steve for having him on What’s in Store.
About Us:
What’s in Store is a podcast series of the Hardlines Information Network, brought to you by Jeld-Wen.
Resources:
Sponsor: Jeld-Wen
Quotes:
“[At a big bank,] I got the crash course on how to run a business and how to look at a business from a P&L point of view and look at the strategies that can drive revenue and efficiencies.” — Romain Mercier
“Over time, I realized the value that I provided was more into the service that I guided our clients with than the technology itself.” — Romain Mercier
“The challenge that SMBs and mid-market have is they don’t have the talent in-house that a Canadian Tire team might have. … They don’t have the same budget for agencies to help them.” — Romain Mercier
Since [COVID-19], the acceleration of social and … new apps that come on the market, has snowballed but it’s still done without a purpose, without a strategy, or without a goal.” — Romain Mercier
Wednesday Jun 28, 2023
Wednesday Jun 28, 2023
Hardlines Associate Editor and podcast host Geoff McLarney interviews Michael McLarney, Founder and President of Hardlines.
About Us:
What’s in Store is a podcast series of the Hardlines Information Network, brought to you by Jeld-Wen.
For information on our annual Retail Report and where to download it, click here.
Resources:
Sponsor: Jeld-Wen
Monday May 29, 2023
Wednesday Apr 26, 2023
Wednesday Apr 26, 2023
Hardlines Associate Editor and podcast host Geoff McLarney and Senior Editor Steve Payne interview Russ Permann, President and CEO of Taiga Building Products on how Taiga weathered the pandemic, how the supply chain looks today, and his expectations for technology improvements for the business and the industry.
Key Takeaways:
[:41] Michael introduces Russ Permann, President and CEO of Taiga Building Products. The correct way to pronounce Taiga is both tay-ga and tie-ga! Calgary, Alberta is Russ’s office, but the corporate office of Taiga Building Products is in Vancouver.
[2:15] During the pandemic, Taiga Building Products focused mainly on the basics. It was a difficult period. They acted with integrity and honesty with vendors and customers.
[3:38] Taiga Building Products uses a hybrid system of the right technology in the right setting for the right event. They had started online meetings before the pandemic. They hold in-person meetings as well.
[4:47] Materials are readily available. Interest rates are up and housing starts are down, so demand is down. Ocean freight is running and lead times are more predictable. In certain categories, supply restraints will come again.
[7:02] Mills are closing for economic reasons. Particularly in British Columbia. The log supply to the mills has been reduced by the old-growth restrictions in BC.
[8:59] Prices on almost all commodities have returned to pre-COVID-19 levels. That may not be a permanent condition. Supply limitations in BC and longer trucking routes to mills have caused a permanent price increase in wood products. Russ expects more mill closures.
[10:43] Taiga has invested heavily in technology. As an industry, there is a transparency gap in the supply chain that Russ wants to address before others come in to disrupt the industry.
[11:53] Outsiders are willing to take a risk to disrupt the industry because of its sheer size and because it’s an industry that hasn’t spent a lot of time focusing on productivity improvements.
[12:25] Taiga Building Products is focusing on two areas of technology, first, making Taiga Building Products more efficient and frictionless to do business with, and second, improving transparency between Taiga Building Products, their vendors, and customers.
[13:12] Russ describes the warehouse management systems technology adopted already by Taiga Building Products starting in 2015. That has made them more internally transparent, accurate, and reliable. They know what they have, where it is, and how long it takes to ship it.
[14:55] There is potential for disruption of the building industry, based on what has happened already, such as with large-scale modular buildings. Markets are driven by a desire for cost efficiency. Technology is one of the best facilitators of cost efficiency.
[16:54] It’s incumbent on Russ and others who have benefited a lot from this industry to think about how to leverage technology to gain cost efficiency, get better, and be more predictable.
[18:05] Every time fuel rises, it never scales back to the previous cost. The most expensive mile is an empty mile so they concentrate on load fulfillment. Russ explains how to optimize a route to ensure a full truck.
[20:12] Russ’s last thoughts: “We’re still a business that gets things done through our people. It’s an industry made up of people and it’s one thing I really enjoy about the world we live in today is that there’s still a lot of stuff done in our business that’s done eye-to-eye with people you can trust. It’s really fulfilling. … Here at Taiga we really value our people.”
[21:34] Geoff and Steve thank Russ Permann for joining What’s In Store and giving listeners a better understanding of Taiga Building Products.
About Us:
What’s in Store is a podcast series of the Hardlines Information Network, brought to you by Jeld-Wen
Resources:
Sponsor: Jeld-Wen
Quotes:
“I would describe it as a hybrid. I think we’re learning to use the right technology in the right setting for the right event. We’re trying to match those appropriately.” — Russ
“We’ve seen some early attempts at pairing technology with building, construction, and LBM concepts that haven’t quite … achieved the desired scale that they’ve looked to get to but what they have demonstrated … is that they can raise a lot of interested capital.” — Russ
“The most expensive mile is an empty mile, in any business, and so the way to optimize the use of freight is to get as much on a vehicle as possible.” — Russ
“If ever you have a problem, if you’re a customer or a vendor, call our people and they will do their best to make it right for you. If you need anything, call our people, and if you need my assistance, hopefully, I won’t mess it up but feel free to give me a call.” — Russ
Friday Apr 14, 2023
Friday Apr 14, 2023
Michael McLarney, Hardlines President and podcast host, interviews Joel Siebert, the Owner of Mountain View Building Materials on building team members individually.
Key Takeaways:
[:31] Michael introduces Joel Siebert and the topic of the episode.
[:47] Mountain View Building Materials has been in business for 17 years, headquartered in Calgary with a second store in Kelowna. The Calgary store sells everything to do with the outside of the home, The Kelowna store is smaller and sells outdoor living products.
[1:48] Kelowna is around seven hours from Calgary and a lot of people from Calgary have summer homes on the lakes there. For a few years, Calgary customers were having Mountain View ship items from Calgary that they couldn’t find in Kelowna. So Mountain View opened a store in Kelowna.
[3:03] At the Western Retail Lumber Association show in Winnipeg early this year, Joel hosted a seminar on motivating your sales force to be passionate about selling. Joel praises his brother Brad and Sheia Carr for their expertise. Joel hires salespeople with a solid history of customer service. Joel relates why food service workers make such good sales candidates.
[6:41] A salesperson doesn’t need to know everything about building materials to do the job effectively. You’re not selling building materials, you’re selling a project. When you’re meeting with a customer, you know what a deck is. You’re selling a deck. The 2ʺx4ʺs, the framing, and the composite decking are the by-products of your selling this project to the customer.
[7:22] Once the salespeople focused on selling projects, and the emotional connection to the projects they were selling, the training on the sales team ramped up because they were able to talk about something they were familiar with quickly, rather than focusing on the details of the materials that go into the project.
[7:59] Every team member has different priorities. If you give a blanket reward to the team, you don’t get to show that you care about their priorities and that you’re listening to them and understanding what their concerns are. Managers have regular meetings with the sales team and weekly one-on-ones. Joel does not have an office and interacts with the salespeople often.
[9:21] Joel quotes a ski coach he used to work for, “Your kids are never going to care what you know until they know how much you care.” Joel is always going to listen to what everybody has to say and will do his best to help them as much as humanly possible. He doesn’t expect them to put their work ahead of their home life.
[11:42] Joel observes that the younger generations heavily value lifestyle over work. When they value lifestyle over work, their progression at work doesn’t happen as fast as their lifestyle expectations. Sometimes Joel will reward them with extra holidays or personal time off. If you have the right people, they are willing to push while they are at work.
[14:02] Joel sees that with the older generations, time off is what they like as they ease into retirement. Joel has had success with pairing up the older and younger generations. The older generation has industry knowledge and life experience. The managers put the senior employees in a sales leadership role. It builds morale and validates their careers.
[16:05] Joel tells how he helps team members make a career in building materials. The industry was built on family businesses but families are getting smaller. When Joel sees someone is committed to a career path with Mountain View, he wants to build rungs for them so they know they’re progressing. And as they progress, others need to take their places on the rungs below.
[16:55] Joel has attended Hardlines conferences and WRLA, where succession planning has been discussed. Most of the conversation has been about what happens when the owners want to leave the business. Mountain View’s succession planning is about maintaining the business and filling spots when team members move up to be management and executives.
[18:15] Joel values transparency about money with the sales team. It’s their job to create paychecks for everybody within the organization. Every other department spends cash. Accountability is key. If salespeople don’t perform, everybody feels it. Joel shows the sales team how the dollars are being spent and where they have to be to break even and do better.
[20:25] Transparency leads to a higher level of trust. The ownership and management are building a plan so that the sales team can achieve the success they want. It’s accountability and extreme ownership across the board. The company is only as good as each team member is going to allow it to be. They want everybody to be the best that they can be.
[21:55] A monthly pizza party just doesn’t cut it anymore. Pizza is appreciated but there is more the managers can do that doesn’t have to cost a lot but that shows their team they are listening and they care about what’s going on in their lives. It’s not a one-way street.
[23:05] Make everybody feel unique and validated! That’s what everybody wants.
[23:12] Michael thanks Joel for sharing his insights today on how to work with a team and treat them as people and not just as a collective team.
About Us:
What’s in Store is a podcast series of the Hardlines Information Network, brought to you by RDTS: Innovative strategies to maximize your ROI.
Resources:
Sponsor: Jeld-Wen
Mountain View Building Materials
WRLA Building & Hardware Showcase
Quotes:
“One of the things that we hone in on with our sales team and our training to build confidence is … ‘You’re not selling building materials, you’re selling a project. … So when you’re meeting with your customer and you’re servicing them, you know what a deck is, so you’re selling them this deck.’” — Joel
“The training on the sales team ramped up because they were able to talk to something that they were familiar with really quickly, rather than having to focus in on all of the technical details of what goes into the project.” — Joel
“I don’t have an office anymore. … so I can have more of an interaction with [the sales team]. … As much as everybody appreciates staff parties, it’s our job as managers to understand what’s going on in our people’s lives and reward and incentivize accordingly.” — Joel
“Make everybody feel unique and validated! That’s what everybody wants.” — Joel
Wednesday Mar 01, 2023
Wednesday Mar 01, 2023
Michael McLarney, Hardlines President and podcast host, interviews Eri Mathy, the Head of Business Development for IKEA Canada.
Key Takeaways:
[:31] Michael shares Eri Mathy’s bio and the topic of the episode.
[1:21] Michael welcomes Eri Mathy to the podcast.
[1:34] Eri is the Head of Business Development, at IKEA Canada. Her role includes expansion, penetrating more households, and getting more people in this lovely country to love IKEA. She also looks over sustainability, transformation, and innovation. IKEA has been on a journey to transform its business to become an omnichannel retailer.
[2:33] IKEA started its omnichannel transformation journey a couple of years ago but it was disrupted by the pandemic. How people furnished their homes changed. IKEA asked how to make a better home for people who spend so much time in it. This helped IKEA to accelerate its transformation journey to become a better omnichannel company with more online sales.
[4:12] Since the pandemic, IKEA grew 171% in online sales. So they learned that customers still want to make their homes better, and come to IKEA, but IKEA needed to get much better at making it easier. IKEA focused on making online shopping and browsing easy and fun, and developing services to fulfill these online orders.
[4:42] IKEA spent hours and energy developing its service offer during COVID-19. One service was Click & Collect, where customers can order from their cell phones and pick a time slot for where and when they would like to pick it up from an IKEA store. Click & Collect became very popular during the pandemic. The pick-up lockers are open 24 hours at the stores.
[6:13] IKEA is still just beginning its transformation. This is a very diverse market and the needs are different in Canada. IKEA seeks to be most relevant to every demographic.
[7:12] IKEA has focused on small living spaces. Urbanization is happening in Canada and around the world. Around the world, IKEA does home visits every year to see how people are using the products in different demographics. Canada has many shared homes. IKEA opened a smaller-format store in downtown Toronto in May to reflect how people live in Canada.
[9:24] IKEA makes the new stores accessible and affordable to visit. They chose city centers for the sites. The first small-format store is in the heart of downtown Toronto. The next small store to open is in the Scarborough town center. Customers want to come to physical stores, interact with staff, touch and feel the range of furniture and get planning for complex furnishings.
[11:28] Building up a kitchen, bathroom, or bedroom is a big investment and it’s quite technical to piece that together. IKEA specialists support the customer in that journey with expertise and efficiency. IKEA's small stores and large stores have planning, installation, and delivery services. To prolong the furniture, IKEA offers free spare parts.
[12:26] In 2019, IKEA offered a sell-back program where customers can sell back their pre-loved furniture and get store credit to renew their home furnishings.
[13:20] The spare parts and the sell-back programs help IKEA to become even more affordable for many customers. By prolonging your furniture for a longer time you get the value out of the purchase you have made. IKEA is working to make its products even more durable and recyclable, using renewable materials in the furniture it produces.
[15:08] Smaller products can be delivered by parcel starting at $7.99. Larger items can be delivered by truck starting at $39.00. Click & Collect is available at the store for $5.00. IKEA also works with the 15 Penguin Pickup points across the Toronto downtown area as well as a collection point on the basement floor of the store downtown.
[17:06] Eri says the key to going the last mile is to work with partners outside of IKEA to find the best affordable and sustainable option for the customers to get beautiful furniture inside their homes.
[17:53] Customers can bring their pre-loved items to an IKEA store. The customer first fills out an application online and the items are evaluated as to whether IKEA can take it back. If IKEA accepts it, the customer brings the item to the store, and IKEA issues an in-store credit.
[19:17] It takes all of us to create a climate-positive future. IKEA is a home furnishing company. IKEA supports customers to live a more healthy and more sustainable life at home through its product offerings. In every home furnishing area, you will find products that will help you reduce your energy consumption: LED bulbs, water-saving taps, and solutions to reduce waste.
[20:06] In the food area there are healthier menu options, such as IKEA’s new plant balls and veggie dogs and such. It’s not just home furniture but promoting sustainable options for the whole life in the home.
[20:43] IKEA has a mattress and sofa removal service in partnership with a furniture bank to donate them to families experiencing furniture poverty or recycled, depending on their condition. It’s a solution to prevent furniture from going to landfills that could be of value to someone else. This is in the Toronto area now; IKEA wants to scale it to other areas of Canada.
[22:28] Ingvar Kamprad, IKEA’s founder, said, “You cannot shop when you’re hungry.” So the restaurant is a very important part of the total IKEA experience. This is where IKEA can also show its Swedish heritage in its menu. They blend in the diverse dishes of the countries where the store is located. Canada has very diverse dishes. Last year, food sales increase by 160%.
[23:52] The food side of IKEA is affordable in the restaurants, bistros, and Swedish food markets to enjoy the food at home. It’s an entry into experiencing IKEA. Start with the fabulous frozen yogurts. Then, maybe you go on to buy an IKEA kitchen!
[24:56] Eri describes the Christmas Swedish buffet meal that introduces the culture of Sweden, affordably. It has been very popular.
[26:08] During the pandemic, the health and safety of IKEA employees were the most important issues. The co-workers came into the store every day when IKEA re-opened and it was important to meet the customers safely. Mental health was also important and IKEA found ways to support the workers. IKEA has paid wellness days and Employee Family Assistance support.
[27:35] After the pandemic, IKEA continues to provide appropriate and relevant support to its co-workers.
[28:16] The needs of individual IKEA co-workers are very different and they require different health treatments. The co-workers choose what is relevant for them. IKEA is constantly evolving its health support program for the needs of co-workers.
[29:20] Eri worked at IKEA Japan in a very urban area in central Tokyo before coming to Canada. She says the experience is quite different between the two situations. Both in Tokyo and Toronto, the focus is on furnishings for smaller urban spaces and developing the offer for the customers.
[30:05] IKEA is about being diverse and inclusive. There are IKEA Canada co-workers from around the world, so there is a lot of diversity. Diversity brings innovative thinking.
[31:28] Eri says it has been an incredible journey in the past two-plus years through the pandemic. IKEA continues to learn. Eri gives a big “Thank you” to IKEA’s 7,400 co-workers working across the country. Through them, IKEA understands its customers better. The co-workers improve the IKEA offer. IKEA seeks to attract more co-workers to serve customers.
About Us:
What’s in Store is a podcast series of the Hardlines Information Network, brought to you by RDTS: Innovative strategies to maximize your ROI.
Resources:
Sponsor: Jeld-Wen
Quotes:
“We have been quite successful with the support of our customers for almost 80 years now, and operating across the globe, but we were really disrupted, and we said, how can we really stay relevant to the customer of today, and also tomorrow?” — Eri
“The pandemic hit over two years ago and we were all disrupted in our everyday lives. And home became more important for many people and the meaning of home, the usage of home, and also how customers were behaving and furnishing their homes and making their homes better.” — Eri
“Since the pandemic, we grew to 171% in online. So that’s where we learned that customers still want to make their homes better; come to us, but we need to get much better at how do we really make it easier?” — Eri
“If you’re purpose-driven and you’ve got a destination, being able to know exactly where in the store to find the product you’re looking for is very handy.” — Michael
“We believe that it takes all of us to create a climate-positive future. We are a home furnishing company. How do we really support customers to live a more healthy and sustainable life at home through our product offering?” — Eri
“In every home furnishing area — living room, bedroom, kitchen — you will find products that will help you reduce your energy consumption. All of our light bulbs are LED bulbs. … In our kitchen area, water-saving taps. We have solutions to reduce waste.” — Eri
“Ingvar Kamprad, our founder, has always said, ‘You cannot shop when you’re hungry.’” So, we believe [the restaurant] is a very important part of the total IKEA experience. This is where we can also show our Swedish heritage in our menu..” — Eri
“I believe that diversity brings innovation.” — Eri
Tuesday Jan 24, 2023
Tuesday Jan 24, 2023
Michael McLarney, Hardlines President and podcast host, interviews Frances Sologuk, owner of Osoyoos Home Hardware, in Southern British Columbia.
Key Takeaways:
[:56] Michael welcomes Frances to the podcast and introduces the topic, Osoyoos Home Hardware.
[1:20] Frances thanks Michael and Hardlines for giving Osoyoos Home Hardware a voice.
[1:57] Frances was born in Northern Ontario into a retail family. She first became a schoolteacher. In 1973 her family moved to British Columbia to the Okanagan Valley, discovered the small town of Osoyoos, and fell in love. She loves the weather. Osoyoos has a population of 5,000. Osoyoos Home Hardware serves a rural area of around 7,000 people.
[3:50] Frances refers to her hardware store as part store and part museum. When her family bought Osoyoos Home Hardware in 1985, they knew they wanted to keep the tradition. The store has been on the same corner since 1942 and has been owned by only two families.
[4:19] The Sologuk family wanted to honor the Fairweather family who started the store. They started “un-renovating” and discovering the history and connection that the store had to the community.
[6:07] When the Sologuk family tore down the “modern” suspended ceiling and siding, they discovered beautiful lumber and doors added in from a former ski shop on a ski hill at Camp McKinney. The Fairweathers originally had a store on a 30 ft. by 100 ft. lot. The store now is 90 ft. by 100 ft. with a big warehouse in the back.
[8:08] The Sologuks started doing some homework. Mrs. Fairweather was still living and shared with them pictures and the history of how they hauled everything down from the gold mine at Camp McKinney on Mount Baldy. There is a photograph of some of the timbers in the gold mine that are now seen in the store. The mining camp is about 45 minutes away from Osoyoos.
[9:18] The Fairweathers were instrumental in starting the ski hill. A ski shop was part of the original store, although when the Sologuks bought it, it was covered with suspended ceilings. When the ceiling was taken down, they discovered a beautiful peaked roof with a tree trunk through it. They wanted to keep that on display.
[10:58] The Fairweathers trucked up to the mountain and hauled back everything they found, including a holding cell door made of tin and a beautiful thick wood door with a wrought iron handle. They built rooms around these doors.
[12:31] The store has five sets of stairs. Merchandising teaches that customers avoid stairs, but the Sologuks felt that if they made it intriguing enough, people would be afraid of missing something if they go downstairs. The stairs work well for the store.
[13:55] Osoyoos Home Hardware has become a destination store and the local community members play a part in its success. Anybody who visits Osoyoos comes to Osoyoos Home Hardware.
[14:53] The original hardware store is still the hardware section of the store. Two joining lots were purchased in 1955 and the division between the old and the new is clear. The Sologuks put a train around inside the store on a suspended track. The track goes from the checkout through windows made in the dividing wall. In December, it’s a Santa train, playing carols.
[16:36] Joining the two sides of the basement took some engineering. The cement wall was about 16 inches thick. The cement piece they cut out for the door was too heavy to lift out of the store. So they pushed it over and built a display case on it, exposing the workmanship of the cut wall with its petrified wood and square rebar.
[20:16] Osoyoos Home Hardware caters to the needs of its community. Those needs change with the seasons. Osoyoos Lake is the warmest freshwater lake in Canada. In the summer, they sell a lot of inflatables. The inflatables with the best-looking girl on the package sell out first!
[22:10] Osoyoos Home Hardware is a good hardware store with amazing people working for them. They couldn’t do it without the modern technology and the relationships with their supplier and head office, Home Hardware. But when the customers walk in, … what they experience is a nostalgic, old-fashioned shopping experience.
[23:36] Frances, over 70, has discovered that young people appreciate the old-fashioned shopping experience just as much as she does. If you can be a good brick-and-mortar store that becomes such an integral part of your community that people would dearly miss if you weren’t there, then you’ve done something right. That satisfaction can’t be bought.
[25:08] Osoyoos Home Hardware is a business. They employ 24 people. It’s a family business that values hard work, commitment, dedication, and caring about its customers, employees, and its community. Frances feels fortunate to be able to work in her community, have her business be respected, and be such a part of her community. It is a business, not just a museum.
[27:00] Michael tips his hat to Frances and Oyosoos Home Hardware and thanks Frances for being on What’s in Store and sharing her story. Frances thanks Michael for highlighting all the independents.
About Us:
What’s in Store is a podcast series of the Hardlines Information Network, brought to you by RDTS: Innovative strategies to maximize your ROI.
Resources:
Sponsor: Jeld-Wen
Welcome to Osoyoos Home Hardware
Quotes:
“When we bought the store in 1985, we knew that we wanted to keep the tradition. The store has been on the same corner since 1942. It has been a hardware store since 1942 and there have only been two families that have owned it.” — Frances
“When people ask us what our plan was, we just started in one corner and we started “un-renovating” and discovering all the wonderful history and connection … that that building had to the community.” — Frances
“As a business owner, I really think that the culture of a business, the history of the business, and what your employees become part of is probably some of the best training you can do.” — Frances
“It really has become a destination store. I think the biggest compliment or the biggest thing for us is when we see our local community members bring everybody to the store. Whoever comes to visit comes to Osoyoos Home Hardware. … The locals are part of the store.” — Frances
“My favorite words in life are ‘We will make it work.’” — Frances
“We are a good hardware store. We have amazing people. … We couldn’t do it without … modern technology; … without our relationship with … Home Hardware. But the customer, when they walk in, … what they experience is a nostalgic, old-fashioned shopping experience.” — Frances
“If you can be a really good brick-and-mortar store, and if you can give a shopping experience that no one else [does], … and … become such an integral part of your community that people would dearly miss if you weren't there, … then you’ve done something right.” — Frances
Saturday Dec 17, 2022
Saturday Dec 17, 2022
Michael McLarney, Hardlines President and podcast host, interviews Derek Smith, Vice President of Ace Canada.
Key Takeaways:
[:38] Michael welcomes Derek to the podcast and introduces the topic, Ace Canada.
[1:01] Derek has been with Peavey for 15 years. Peavey acquired Ace Canada three years ago and Derek has been with Ace Canada since then.
[1:18] Ace Canada had been the wholesale operation of RONA Lowe’s Canada, serving ACE dealers, before Lowe’s divested itself of Ace.
[1:56] Derek explains why Peavey acquired Ace Canada. Peavey had been considering growing their hardware store presence in the country.
[2:14] Peavey had integrated Ontario’s TSC farm and hardware stores into their line a couple of years earlier. Adding the over 100 Ace stores to their line was the next step. They fit into Peavey’s roots of smaller communities in the prairies in the West.
[3:31] Peavey is based in Red Deer, Alberta. TSC Stores were based in London, Ontario. Peavey maintains both offices. Red Deer is the HQ and London is a regional office.
[3:58] Peavey and TSC are corporate stores. The Ace locations are wholesalers, which is a pivot for Peavey. Derek says the background functions are not that different. The same teams are doing the same work, making it an easy transition for Peavey. Everything Peavey does is to try to improve its relationship with all customers, retail and wholesale.
[5:38] Derek talks about the Ace customers’ responses to the transition to Peavey. For some, it has worked out well, and for some, it has been a challenge. Ace Canada had gone through several hands in the past. Peavey wanted to bring stability to the banner. The Ace brand tests very well in surveys in Canada, even where people don’t know there’s an Ace store near them.
[7:25] In the transition, some Ace dealers didn’t sign on with Peavey, and some closed or sold to other interests. Peavey dropped some dealers that didn’t align with their business. Peavey acquired some dealers, as well. Peavey is focused on building that brand and giving a good, compelling reason for dealers to want to be with Peavey.
[8:45] Derek discusses the marketing strategy for Ace. Not every solution works for every dealer. They don’t force a model on dealers. There are three variants of Ace Canada stores: building centers, farm & ranch, and hardware stores. Peavey has added some products to accommodate different stores.
[10:55] Derek talks about having Ace private label products in the stores to set them apart from other stores.
[11:30] Derek explains how Peavey works with Sexton Group for building materials and lumber for home centers.
[12:36] Dealers move between banners depending on the market, their business, and even the family ownership. Sexton gives Peavey robust experience with building supply.
[14:11] With the right opportunity, Peavey sometimes acquires small-town privately owned stores and converts them to corporate stores. They are not looking for numbers but for productive stores that generate revenue.
[18:15] After the amalgamation with the Ace Canada banner, Peavey’s focus was on the existing dealers and making sure they were looked after. Derek says that will always be the focus. Peavey likes to remember where they come from. They won’t ignore the current dealers to bring on someone new.
[19:26] The growth is going to come from right across the country. They will work where the interest lies. Over the last three years, a dozen more dealers have joined. The Ace name recognition has a lot of people thinking about coming on.
[20:28] There is interest in Eastern Canada. A cluster of four dealers in Nova Scotia has come on board. There is now also a Peavey Mart in Bedford, Nova Scotia.
[22:28] Ace U.S. is known for training programs and customer service. Having the Canada license gives Ace Canada access to pretty much everything Ace does. Ace is a sophisticated organization. Derek visited the headquarters near Chicago to see how they approach business. Training is big, with online learning from the Ace Learning Place, which is exciting for dealers.
[25:04] Dealers see inflation as a huge concern, including the cost of transportation with fuel surcharges. Dealers face the challenge of trying to sell to their customers for a fair price without appearing to be gouging when the cost of goods is so high.j Peavey faces the same pressure.
[26:31] Peavey at first did not have an online ordering portal for dealers. They built one from scratch in under six months. They have recently had the dealers vote on what improvements they would like to see in the system. Peavey is working on those improvements now.
[27:44] Derek explains how Peavey provides bilingual support for their Ace dealers in Quebec. Their dealer support team is 100% bilingual in French and English without an accent as far as Derek can tell. There are translators in the offices and all material is sent to the dealers in both languages.
[29:14] Derek sees really good potential for growth for Ace Canada. There is an appetite for options and Ace can be one of those options for a lot of dealers. There is considerable interest in the Ace Canada banner. They would like to serve communities that don’t have much now. Queries are coming from everywhere in Canada from the Arctic to the U.S. border.
[31:11] Peavey is becoming a national company. They have most regions of the country represented. They continue to grow and push where it makes sense and the moves are beneficial to everyone. Ace Canada considers the dealers to be their partners in business and value the relationship. They want to get to know their dealers and for the dealers to know them.
[32:12] Michael thanks Derek for being on What’s in Store.
About Us:
What’s in Store is a podcast series of the Hardlines Information Network, brought to you by RDTS: Innovative strategies to maximize your ROI.
Resources:
Quotes:
“We’ve always aspired to want our customers to love us, so everything we do is designed to try and improve the relationship we have with any customer, whether it’s a retail customer or a wholesale customer.” — Derek
“Every dealer’s business is different and unique. We recognize that. We know that they’re all different. We’re not trying to force a model down anyone’s throat.” — Derek
“We’ve actually added … a number of SKUs back in that had sort of fallen off previously. We believe strongly in having private-label product in those stores. You have to have something that makes you different and unique and that’s one of the ways to do that.” — Derek
“Tracking those movements amongst banners through the years at Hardlines, we realize that there’s no one size fits all for everybody. It’s a very personal choice, depending on the market, the business, and the family ownership.” — Michael
“We run corporate stores quite well. We’re successful at it. We’ve got stores right across the country. … We’re not interested in numbers. … The number of stores you have is irrelevant if they’re not productive and they’re not generating income and revenue.” — Derek
Friday Oct 14, 2022
Friday Oct 14, 2022
Michael McLarney, Hardlines Editor and podcast host, interviews Geneviève Gagnon, President of Groupe Gagnon, and CEO of Évolution Structures and Évolution Distribution. Joining the discussion is Geoffrey McLarney, Quebec Hardlines Assistant Editor and representative of all things francophone.
Key Takeaways:
[1:07] Michael welcomes Geneviève to the podcast.
[1:25] There was no fence between the house where Geneviève was born and the lumber yard. When she was five, she would climb on the bundles, so her parents put up a fence. Geneviève has always been involved in the family business.
[2:47] Geneviève went abroad for her education. She studied international finance in Copenhagen, then worked in South Africa and Tunisia.
[4:14] Geneviève found it challenging to work in Tunisia. She came back home and soon told her father she wanted to work for him in the family business.
[5:01] Geneviève’s father gave her the mandate to evaluate a store. After a week, she reported that they needed to close that store. They relocated the employees and closed the store. Geneviève went to work at the head office in Chénéville. Groupe Gagnon is somewhat decentralized, with different functions at different offices, based on where the employees live.
[7:33] This is Groupe Gagnon’s 49th year in business. Geneviève attributes its longevity to its people. Geneviève’s father started the business by buying his parent’s small general store in Chénéville in May of 1973, turning it into a hardware store and lumber yard.
[9:03] Geneviève credits the people of Groupe Gagnon with its growth. The employees treat it as if it were their company. Geneviève also notes the relationships Groupe Gagnon has with its vendors, thanks to her father. The supply chain vendors have stuck with Groupe Gagnon through the COVID-19 pandemic.
[10:52] Since January 2020, Groupe Gagnon has been independent of any buying group.
[11:20] In May 2012, Michael visited the opening of the Groupe Gagnon store at Saint-André-Avellin. He was struck by how bright and innovative it was, with its interior wood, geothermal heating and cooling, and living plant wall. Groupe Gagnon was ahead of its time in the environmental movement. Geneviève does what she can to make the future brighter.
[14:22] Groupe Gagnon has built other stores after the same green model. Ten years ago they adopted all-electronic pricing, saving trees.
[16:07] Part of Geneviève’s education was in tax law. She always had an interest in law, relating to selling and buying companies.
[17:32] Geneviève has three businesses. She discusses some of her ideas for growth. There are a lot of opportunities. She talks about business succession in retail. It is a challenge to attract young people to work in an industry that is not very technological.
[20:51] Michael mentions how much of an industry giant Geneviève’s father is, and how good he was to Hardlines through the years. Michael is glad Geneviève is applying her intellect and intuition to follow in the footsteps of her father. Geneviève talks of her father’s encyclopedic knowledge and experience that she still uses. Her father’s first love, with his wife, is the farm!
[22:59] Évolution Distribution started in 2010, manufacturing roof trusses. Geneviève wanted to be in that business to serve her customers more fully. In 2015 she purchased Cott Lumber company and that business has exploded. Besides roof trusses, they manufacture floor trusses and wall panels in three manufacturing sites and distribute lumber and building materials.
[25:17] Évolution Distribution started as independents in 2020. All the members in Évolution Distribution have a volume large enough to buy direct. Évolution Distribution is a member of the OCTO hardware purchasing group and serves 17 locations for hardware.
[26:59] Geneviève explains the business model of Évolution Distribution as a regional distributor. The 17 locations share buying power and business knowledge and handle all importation for the group from one distribution center.
[28:33] Geoffrey and Geneviève discuss the health foundations Groupe Gagnon donates to as a major partner in the area. Geneviève’s sister is a doctor and her sister’s husband is a doctor in palliative care in a region where there was great need. That touched Geneviève and her father to the point where they wanted to help people in their last days be close to home and family.
[31:35] Geneviève hopes for future improvements and changes in what Groupe Gagnon can offer to its employees and customers without losing their human touch.
[33:39] Geneviève sees the possibility of new sides to the business but not making for major changes. The stores will add some new services. She won’t neglect the stores she has now to expand or grow. The base must be solid.
[34:49] Michael thanks Geneviève for being on What’s in Store.
About Us:
What’s in Store is a podcast series of the Hardlines Information Network, brought to you by RDTS: Innovative strategies to maximize your ROI.
Resources:
Quotes:
“Most of the administrative tasks at Groupe Gagnon come out of our office at Chénéville but we have a decentralized way of doing things at Gagnon, and that’s because we’re based on our people. … We do not limit ourselves to a store or a region.” — Geneviève
“Wanting to make a difference for us is at several levels. Yes, into our community, in being involved in supporting our community but also environmentally speaking. I do strongly feel that we have to try to make a difference. We have to do what we can do.” — Geneviève
“We didn’t want to have a certification; we didn’t want to have the title of being green. We wanted to be green. That’s how it was developed.” — Geneviève
“It’s volume, and in LBM, volume speaks.” — Geneviève
Thursday Aug 25, 2022
Thursday Aug 25, 2022
The latest episode of Hardlines’ podcast series What’s In Store. In this instalment, we hear from Rebecca Gravelle, winner of the 2019 Outstanding Retailer Award for Young Retailer. She talks about the many hats she wears, including managing HR, as VP of operations for two Castle stores in eastern Ontario.