CHHMA - EYE ON OUR INDUSTRY
Volume 11, Issue 06, February 09, 2011
Industry News
Industry Hall of Fame 2011 Inductees
In this, the 27th year of the Industry Hall of Fame, the CHHMA is honoured to continue to serve as the custodian of the hall which was established in 1984 to recognize the achievements of our industry's leaders and pioneers. Over the past 26 years, fifty industry icons, inventors, business founders and builders from the retail and manufacturing sectors of the industry have been inducted into the Hall of Fame.
This year, we are pleased to announce that Ms. Annette Verschuren, President of The Home Depot Canada for the past 15 years, until her recent retirement, and Mr. Joseph Kuchar, founder of Recochem, a 60 year old Canadian success story out of Montreal, will be inducted into the Industry Hall of Fame on April 5, 2011 at an industry luncheon sponsored by the CHHMA.
The luncheon will be held in conjunction with the annual CHHMA Spring Conference and will be included in the conference package. Individuals interested in obtaining information about attending the luncheon only, should contact Pam Winter at pwinter@chhma.ca.
To view the entire list of those previously inducted into the Hall of Fame, or the criteria to nominate someone for next year's award, visit: http://www.chhma.ca/Public/Hall-of-Fame.
Association News
2011 Spring Conference & AGM: "Boom, Bust & Bounce Back"
We are pleased to announce that Mike Trepanier, Vice President with Ernst & Young Orenda Structured Finance Services Group, will be conducting a break-out session on Foreign Currency, Hedging and Pricing Strategy during the CHHMA Spring Conference & AGM, Tuesday, April 5 at the International Centre Conference Facility in Mississauga, Ontario.
Mr. Trepanier has a broad range of corporate finance experience including roles as Treasurer and Vice President of Finance with TSX listed companies.
The session will briefly review the rationale for a hedging program, the control structure and policy around such a program as well as some of the pitfalls, including exposure measurement. It will then move into a discussion around the drivers for the pricing of the various instruments available. Finally, the session will cover two examples that address some of the alternatives towards both income statement and balance sheet exposures.
A topic for both your finance people and managers responsible for pricing.
Night at the Races Set for June 15th
The 15th Annual CHHMA Night at the Races will take place on Wednesday, June 15th at the Woodbine Racetrack in Toronto. This year's event will be held in the Favourites Dining Room, which offers a great view of the track and an excellent buffet. The evening is always a lot of fun and is an ideal way to get to know others in the industry.
The traditional in-house betting challenge presents the opportunity to win some prizes too.
So mark your calendar and look for further details in the coming months.
Member News
Burlington Merchandising & Fixtures: A Success Story
Burlington Merchandising & Fixtures has developed a strong reputation for designing and renovating retail stores in the Home Improvement industry.
Over the past 8 years it has established itself as a distributor of some of the biggest names in the store fixture industry and has developed numerous products to solve merchandising challenges for home improvement retailers.
BMF recently opened up a new 15,000 square foot warehouse and showroom to support its core business and has now opened a new division (Burlington Store Fixtures) to leverage its state of the art facility.
Burlington Store Fixtures is arguably the most complete source of retail fixtures in the industry today. It supplies products ranging from cantilever racking to label holders, from pallet racking to hooks, gondola shelving, slotwall, gridwall and all the accessories to make merchandising a dream. Their operations include a custom millwork shop capable of creating the most compelling of store environments.
For further information, go to: www.bmfonline.com
Stewardship News
CESA Fees Finalized for BC Portable Appliance and Floor Care Recycling Program
The BC Recycling Regulation requires industry managed and funded product take back and recycling programs for specified product categories, including small appliances. Program costs include the collection system, processing and recycling of the collected material, communications and administration. The program is funded by "eco fees" paid to the Canadian Electrical Stewardship Association (CESA) by its industry members, based on the number of these products sold by the program member in BC.
Please be advised that the reporting fees have now been determined, and are based on the 11 product categories. Go to http://www.cesarecycling.ca/fees for FAQs to understand how fees are determined and a list of the respective fees.
The fee may be shown separately on the product receipt, incorporated directly into the price of the product or absorbed, at the discretion of the program members and their subsequent customers.
For additional information please contact Jenny Gosal at 1-877-670-CESA (2372), memberservices@cesarecycling.ca or CHHMA President, Vaughn Crofford at 416-282-0022 ext. 30, crofford@chhma.ca.
Economic News
Resale Housing Forecast Revised Upward
On Tuesday, the Canadian Real Estate Association (CREA) raised its outlook for home sales this year due to an improving economy and strengthening consumer confidence.
Sales in 2011 are now expected to total 439,900 units, which is still down 1.6% from 2010, but an improvement from CREA's November call for a drop of almost 9%. The national average home price is forecast to rise 1.3% in 2011 to $343,300. For 2012, the sales forecast is for a rise of 3% to 453,300 units, in line with the 10-year average, and for prices to advance by another 1.3% to an average price of $347,900.
Recently announced changes to mortgage rules will likely bring forward some sales into the first quarter that otherwise would occur later in the year. CREA expects the home sales activity will gain traction after dipping in the second quarter as economic recovery and job growth continue, incomes grow, and consumer confidence further improves.
"Even though mortgage interest rates are expected to rise later this year, they will still be within short reach of current levels and remain supportive for housing market activity," CREA chief economist Gregory Klump said. "Strengthening economic fundamentals will keep the housing market in balance, which will keep prices stable."
Building Permits Rise in December
Statistics Canada said on Monday that the value of building permits rose in December for the first time in three months. Permits were up 2.4% to $5.7 billion during the month, following a revised 10.5% drop in November. The increase was mainly attributable to higher construction intentions for multi-family dwellings in Ontario.
In the residential sector, the value of permits rose 21.2% to $3.8 billion, following two consecutive monthly decreases. The advance was mainly due to multiples, which also saw the largest drop in the prior month. Permits issued for multi-family units rose 55.3% to $1.6 billion in December, the highest level since April 2008. Seven provinces contributed to the majority of the advance with Ontario accounting for most of the gain. The value of building permits for single-family units rose 3.6% to $2.1 billion, a second consecutive monthly gain. There were increases in six provinces, led by Ontario and Newfoundland and Labrador. Quebec experienced the largest decline in single-family construction intentions in December.
Meanwhile, the value of non-residential permits fell 22% to $1.9 billion, the lowest level since January 2010. This decline was due primarily to decreases in the commercial and institutional components in almost every province. The value of commercial permits fell 21.7% to $1 billion. This marked a second consecutive month of large declines. In the institutional component, permits totalled $396 million, down 38% from November. After two consecutive monthly gains, industrial construction intentions edged down 0.4% to $450.5 million.
Nationally, municipalities approved the construction of 17,893 new dwellings in December, up 27%. Most were multi-unit projects.
For all of 2010, the value of building permits issued by municipalities was up 19.8% to $73.1 billion. The year-over-year increase was largely driven by a sharp rise in residential construction intentions, which jumped 27.6% from 2009 to $44.3 billion. In the non-residential sector, the value of permits totalled $28.8 billion in 2010, up 9.5% when compared with 2009.
Canadian Economy Adds 69,200 Jobs in January
Last Friday, Statistics Canada reported that the Canadian economy gained 69,200 jobs in January, the second consecutive monthly increase. Despite the gains, the unemployment rate rose to 7.8% in January from 7.6% in December as there was a big jump in the number of people looking for work. Compared with January 2010, employment is up 1.9% or 327,000 positions.
January's employment increase was split between full-time (31,100) and part-time (38,000) jobs. Over the past year, part-time employment grew by 91,000 positions (+2.8%) while higher paying full-time jobs rose by 236,000 (+1.7%). January's gains were also spread fairly evenly among the private sector, public sector and the self-employed. Over the past year, the pubic sector has led growth, with a 3.4% increase, while the private sector has grown 2.5%. Self-employment has fallen 2.3% after a surge during the recession.
Most employment gains in January were among women over the age of 25. And while most demographic groups have seen job gains over the past year, youth (15 to 24 year olds) have not. The youth jobless rate rose to 14.4% last month from 13.8%.
Among sectors, business, building and other support services added 34,000 positions in January, bouncing back from December. Public administration created 20,000 jobs and agriculture rose by 13,000. Manufacturing employment was little changed (+4,000) in January after adding 66,000 jobs in the prior month. Manufacturing employment is up 3.3% or 57,000 positions from a year ago. Employment fell in transportation and warehousing along with accommodation and food services in January. Employment has fallen by 37,000 in the hospitality sector in the past year.
Scotia Capital noted that the public sector might have accounted for two-thirds of the job gains in the month, but those increases are not likely sustainable as governments look to pare back spending in an effort to return to balanced budgets. In addition, the bank said the labour market "still has a significant amount of healing to do," as the number of full-time jobs continues to sit about 100,000 positions short of its pre-recession level.
Canadians Cautious About Economy
A Royal Bank of Canada January survey suggests Canadians kicked off 2011 in a gloomier mood about their own finances and the national economy than last year.
The RBC Canadian Consumer Outlook Index found that 43% of Canadians believe the economy will improve over the next year, down from 56% a year ago. Albertans were the most optimistic (61%) and Quebecers the least optimistic (32%) in January.
Only 38% of Canadians say they feel their personal finances will improve in the next year, down from 45% last year. Again, Albertans were the most optimistic at 48%, while Quebecers (35%) and Ontarians (36%) the least.
Nationally, job anxiety has eased compared to a year ago. In the most recent survey, 20% stated that they are, or someone in their household, is worried about losing their job or being laid off versus 26% from the year prior. Job anxiety was highest in Ontario(23%) and lowest in the Prairies (15%).
The cautious sentiment was reflected in people's spending during the recent holidays, RBC said. The survey showed 67% managed to stay within their holiday budgets, and 46% said they didn't overspend because they didn't want to take on new debt.
The survey of 3,533 Canadians was taken online by Ipso Reid between Jan. 4 and Jan. 10. The results were weighted to reflect national demographics.
CHHMA Events For 2011
|
Canada Night
Sunday, March 6
InterContinental Hotel, Chicago, Illinois
Spring Conference & Annual General Meeting
Tuesday, April 5
International Centre, Mississauga, Ontario
Maple Leaf Night
Tuesday, May 10
The Mirage, Las Vegas, Nevada
Quebec Golf Tournament
Tuesday, May 17
Le Fontainebleau Golf Club, Blainville, Quebec
Ontario Golf Tournament
Wednesday, May 25
Angus Glen Golf Club, Markham, Ontario
Night at the Races
Wednesday, June 15
Woodbine Racetrack, Toronto, Ontario
Industry Memorial Golf Classic
Tuesday, September 27
Blue Springs Golf Club, Acton, Ontario
|
To register for all events visit our website at www.chhma.ca or call Pam Winter at (416) 282-0022 ext.21.
CHHMA Links
Freight Logistics Savings
No Obligation Consultation
Discount Cellular
Phone Rates
Long Distance &
Telecommunications Savings
Discount Gas & Diesel Rates
Logo Apparel &
Promotional Products
"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