CHHMA - EYE ON OUR INDUSTRY
Volume 15, Issue 28, August 6, 2015

Inside This Issue:

• Plan to Attend the 14th Annual Industry Memorial Golf Classic on September 30th
• Federal Conservatives Propose Home Renovation Tax Credit
• Sears Holdings Corp. Reports Double-Digit Sales Decline in Second Quarter
• Landlords Call on Target to Release Inter-Company Claims on Information
• Canada’s Economy Shrinks for Fifth Straight Month
• TD Warns of ‘Vulnerability’ in Toronto, Vancouver Housing Markets
• Conference Board of Canada Sees More Disappointment Ahead for Economy
• Canadian Retail Sales Moving Ahead with Mixed Fortunes
• U.S. Economy Accelerates, Boosting Case for Fed Rate Hike this Year

Association News

Plan to Attend the 14th Annual Industry Memorial Golf Classic on September 30th

The 14th Annual Industry Memorial Golf Classic is taking place on Wednesday, September 30th at the Blue Springs Golf Club in Acton, Ontario.
The event is held on behalf of the hardware and housewares industry and it honours stalwarts from the industry who have passed away. CHHMA members and non-members are welcome to attend.

This year’s honourees will be: David Fry (Shop-Vac Canada), Ted Kennedy (Rubbermaid Canada, Past CHHMA Chairman 1975-76) & Geoff Somers (Wentworth Corporation, Somerset House)

Past honourees include: Ray Ceolin, Tom Ross, Bruce Webster, Chris Hrushowy, Mike Pullen, Jim Ypma, Bill Caldwell, Brayl Copp, Ed Hardison, Stuart North, Joseph Kuchar, Shelly Lush, Jack Pountney, Christof Vanooteghem, Ian Hay, Trygve Husebye, Bernie Carpenter, Don McDonald, Les Groves, Bob Hilton, Doug Straus, Mel Boshart, George Giles and Ed Barnes.

The day allows family, friends and colleagues to honour these gentlemen while enjoying a fun day out on the golf course followed by a dinner and silent auction.

The event will start off with registration and lunch at 10:30 a.m. with a shotgun start at noon.Dinner will commence at around 6:00 p.m.  

Money raised from hole sponsorships and a silent auction will go towards the CHHMA Scholarship Program which provides support for children of CHHMA member company employees to attend university or college.

Online registration will commence in a couple of days or you can click here for a: PDF registration form as well as a PDF silent auction pledge form. 


Government & Legislative News

Federal Conservatives Propose Home Renovation Tax Credit

Stephen Harper is promising Canadians some cash in their pocket for home renovations if they re-elect his Conservatives in October.  The Prime Minister used a campaign stop at Toronto’s Olympia Tile on Tuesday morning to pledge that his government would deliver on a permanent tax credit for home renovations.

Taxpayers would be eligible to claim up to 15% of the cost of permanent “substantial” renovations to homes, condos and cottages.  The tax credit would apply to renovation costs between $1,000 and $5,000, allowing a taxpayer to get back up to $750 a year.  Harper said the measure would be phased in starting in the 2016-2017 budget year.  Read More >>    


Industry News

Sears Holdings Corp. Reports Double-Digit Sales Decline in Second Quarter

Sears Holdings Corp., the retailer run by hedge fund manager Edward Lampert, posted a 10.6% drop in same-store sales last quarter, its second consecutive period of double-digit declines.

The company’s sales fell 13.9% at Sears-branded stores and they decreased 6.9% at its Kmart chain, according to a statement on Monday. Sluggish demand for consumer electronics contributed to the decline, which follows an 11% drop in the first quarter. The Hoffman Estates, Illinois-based company said it’s now working to revamp that product category.

The declines are similar to the first quarter but show a marked deterioration compared with a year ago, when sales excluding newly opened or closed stores fell 0.8%, with a 0.1% increase at Sears and a 1.7% decrease at Kmart.  Read More >> 


Landlords Call on Target to Release Inter-Company Claims on Information

Major landlords of failed retailer Target Canada have raised concerns about the U.S. parent’s role in the insolvency process – and whether it jeopardizes creditors’ collecting what could be billions of dollars they are owed.

RioCan Real Estate Investment Trust, the largest landlord of Target Canada, contends the retailer could be holding back on releasing vital information, possibly putting all creditors at a disadvantage, according to the landlord’s submission last week to Ontario Superior Court.

Of particular concern to RioCan and other creditors is more than $1.9-billion of inter-company Target claims and whether that money will stay with U.S.-based Target Corp. or be distributed among other creditors. Last Friday, those inter-company claims were to be submitted to the monitor overseeing the Target case but will not be publicly disclosed until Aug. 31.  Read More >>   


Economic News

Canada’s Economy Shrinks for Fifth Straight Month

The Canadian economy contracted in May, the fifth consecutive monthly decrease, increasing the possibility the country slipped into a recession in the first half of the year.  Statistics Canada said last Friday that real GDP fell 0.2% in May due mostly to weakness in manufacturing, mining, quarrying and oil and gas extraction as well as wholesale trade.  Economists had expected no change for the month, according to Thomson Reuters.  Read More >> 


TD Warns of ‘Vulnerability’ in Toronto, Vancouver Housing Markets

The TD Bank is flashing “cautionary yellow” warning signals about the frothy nature of the Toronto and Vancouver housing markets.  And given that yellow comes in different shades, Toronto is more worrisome than Vancouver, TD economists Derek Burleton and Diana Petramala warned in a new study of the two markets.

To be clear, Mr. Burleton, TD’s deputy chief economist, and Ms. Petramala aren’t forecasting a crash. Rather, the bottom line is to “proceed with caution” as they project a soft landing.

“When we put it all together, key housing indicators on balance continue to highlight the vulnerability of the Toronto and Vancouver housing markets to a significant correction in activity and prices,” they said.  Read More >>


Conference Board of Canada Sees More Disappointment Ahead for Economy

The Canadian economy continues to deliver what Bank of Canada governor Stephen Poloz has described as “serial disappointment.”  The Conference Board of Canada last week forecast economic growth of just 1.6% this year, which the Ottawa-based think-tank said is down from its March estimate of 1.9%. The latest growth outlook is the worst since 2009 — the tail end of the previous downturn — and more disappointment could lie ahead.

Topping the board’s list of suspects dragging down economic activity are the oil-price rout and weak business investment by Canadian companies.  Adding to those worries are plunging stocks and slowing economic growth in China, the yet-to-be-completed debt rescue for Greece.  Read More >>


Canadian Retail Sales Moving Ahead with Mixed Fortunes

Total Canadian retail sales appear to be softening, according to the latest Statistics Canada data. In May 2015, total retail was up a meagre 1.2% year-over-year on a not seasonally adjusted basis. The 3 month growth trend has dropped to just 1.9%, after peaking at around the 5% last fall. The underlying 12 month trend is now heading down.

The overall total is misleading however, and does not well represent what's going on in different sectors of Canadian retail.

The chief culprit is retail sales at gasoline stations, which declined 14.6% in May, while most other retailers had a good to very good month.   Read More >>


U.S. Economy Accelerates, Boosting Case for Fed Rate Hike this Year 

U.S. economic growth accelerated in the second quarter as a pick-up in consumer spending offset the drag from soft business spending on equipment, suggesting a steady momentum that could bring the Federal Reserve closer to hiking interest rates this year.  U.S. GDP expanded at a 2.3% annual rate, the Commerce Department reported last Thursday. First-quarter GDP, previously reported to have shrunk at a 0.2% pace, was revised up to show it rising at a 0.6% rate.  Read More >>

  

 Upcoming CHHMA Events 

Industry Memorial Golf Classic
Wednesday, September 30, 2015
Blue Springs Golf Club, Acton, Ontario

Industry Cocktail
Date TBA, December, 2015
Location TBA, Montreal, Quebec

Canada Night
Held in Conjunction with the International Home+Housewares Show
Sunday, March 6, 2016
InterContinental Hotel, Chicago, Illinois

CHHMA Spring Conference & AGM
Date TBA, April, 2016
International Centre (Conference Facility), Mississauga, Ontario

CHHMA Maple Leaf Night
Held in Conjunction with the National Hardware Show
Tuesday, May 3, 2016
The Mirage Hotel & Casino, Las Vegas, Nevada

CHHMA Quebec Golf Classic
Thursday, May 26, 2016
Club de golf Le Fontainebleau, Blainville, Quebec

CHHMA Ontario Golf Tournament
Tuesday, May 31, 2016
Angus Glen Golf Club, Markham, Ontario        
       

CHHMA Industry Calendar

To register for all events visit our website at www.chhma.ca or call Pam Winter at (416) 282-0022 ext.21.

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"Eye On Our Industry" is published by the CHHMA as an information resource for our members. Member input regarding content and format is welcomed. Please contact Michael Jorgenson by email: mjorgenson@chhma.ca, or call at (416) 282-0022, ext. 34. CHHMA is located at 1335 Morningside Ave., Suite 101, Scarborough, ON, M1B 5M4 www.chhma.ca

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