CHHMA - EYE ON OUR INDUSTRY
Volume 11, Issue 11, March 17, 2011

Association News

2011 Spring Conference & AGM: "Boom, Bust & Bounce Back"

Registration is now available for this year's CHHMA Spring Conference & AGM taking place on Tuesday, April 5th at the International Centre Conference Facility, 6900 Airport Road, Mississauga, Ontario.

The value-packed one day conference for CHHMA members offers a great line-up of speakers and topics that address current issues and will provide you with helpful information to succeed in the new economy.

Corporate packages are available for $1,000 + HST and include tickets for four attendees plus any additional tickets for a reduced price of $250 + HST.

Individual conference tickets are available for $350 + HST.

For further information or to register for the Spring Conference & AGM, click here.

Included in the conference package is the 2011 Hardware & Housewares Industry Hall of Fame Inductions which will take place during the luncheon portion of the conference.

The Industry Hall of Fame was established in 1984 to recognize the achievements of our industry's leaders and pioneers. Over the past 26 years 50 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, 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 Inc., a 60 year old Canadian success story out of Montreal, will be inducted into the hall.

Mr. Kuchar passed away peacefully at home on March 9, 2011 in Mont Tremblant, Quebec at the age of ninety-four. A highly successful entrepreneur, industrialist and international trader, he epitomized the opportunity that Canada offers to immigrants from across the world. Born in Austria, Joseph brought his family from Europe to Montreal in January of 1951, and began his new life in Canada. With his wife Maria, he founded Record Chemical Co. Inc., which was later renamed Recochem Inc. With a competitive spirit and the energy to win, Joseph worked hard to build connections to international markets by exporting bulk chemicals to Europe and South America, and exporting to the growing Chinese market. Over the following six decades, the Kuchar family and their long-serving team built the company into a respected multinational producer and packager of specialty chemicals.

Anyone who knew Joe knew that his business was his greatest passion, and he brought to it a rare intensity, a steely determination and a restless energy. For Joseph, Recochem staff were more than employees: they were family, and he took care of them and cultivated them with a patrician mixture of toughness and genuine affection. Joseph's boundless energy also found outlets through travelling the world and enjoying Canadian nature - particularly the Mont Tremblant region, where he enjoyed skiing and raising Haflinger horses and tapping maple syrup. Mr. Kuchar was predeceased by his wife Maria and his eldest daughter, Marina. He is survived by his daughter Eva Kuchar, his grandchildren Michael Kovrig and Ariana Botha, and great-grandchildren Sebastian and Kai Botha.

A celebration of life ceremony and reception will be held early April in Montreal and in May at Mont Tremblant. If you wish to be informed, please contact Katherine Scardellato at Recochem Inc. at (514) 341-3550, e-mail kscardellato@recochem.com.

Maple Leaf Night Sponsorship

Maple Leaf Night is taking place this year on the evening of Tuesday, May 10th at the Mirage Hotel & Casino in Las Vegas. This popular social event is open to CHHMA members and Canadian customers in town for the National Hardware Show (May 10-12).

Member companies who would like to be a sponsor of Maple Leaf Night can find the sponsorship request form at: http://www.chhma.ca/Public/CHHMA-Upcoming-Events.

The sponsorship fee is $700 CDN and entitles companies to corporate identification on all tickets, letterheads and event signage. It also entitles your company to one complimentary ticket for the host who will participate in the receiving line and two additional complimentary sponsor tickets. Additional sponsor tickets can also be purchased for a reduced price of $95 CDN. Regular individual tickets are $160 CDN or $200 CDN at the door. Customers can attend complimentary. Registration for the event will be open later this month.

Canada Night 2011 Recap

The 62nd Canada Night reception took place on Sunday, March 6, 2011 at the InterContinental Hotel, Renaissance Ballroom in Chicago. The event was held for Canadian vendors and retailers in town for the International Home+Housewares Show. The venue and food were very well received and the overall atmosphere was upbeat. Attendance was up from last year's Canada Night and included representatives from the following retailers: C.A. Paradis, Canadian Tire, Co-op Atlantic, Costco, FCL, Groupe CDREM, Groupe TVA, Groupe VSRG, Home Hardware, Home Outfitters, Linen Chest, London Drugs, Sears Canada, The Shopping Channel, Stokes and Zellers.

We would once again like to thank the sponsor companies who helped make this event such a success and you can see a full list of the sponsors along with further photos from the evening at: http://www.chhma.ca/Public/Canada-Night-2011.

Industry News

TIM-BR MARTS Ltd. Acquires Distribution Business From IRLY Distributors Ltd.

On March 10th, TIM-BR MARTS Ltd. announced that they entered into an agreement to acquire the distribution business plus the lumber, building material and hardware inventory assets of IRLY Distributors Ltd. IRLY Distributors Ltd. is a co-op wholly-owned by IRLY Building Centre Dealers (formerly known as IRLY BIRD) in British Columbia. "This acquisition gives TIM-BR MARTS Ltd. a powerful coast-to-coast distribution network," said Tim Urquhart, President and CEO of TIM-BR MARTS Ltd. "We knew we needed a distribution presence on the west coast; there was a gap in our infrastructure. This arrangement addresses that need. Plus it will allow our import program to grow since we can land goods and ship to our Dealers and customers quickly and efficiently."

All 46 IRLY Building Centre locations will become Members of TIM-BR MARTS Ltd. Under the terms of the agreement, Dealers may choose to keep the registered name of 'IRLY Building Centres' only, co-brand with 'TIM-BR MART' or convert and become a fully-branded TIM-BR MART location. As Susan Robinson, President and CEO, IRLY Distributors Ltd., explained: "TIM-BR MARTS Ltd. offered the IRLY family the opportunity to keep their independence yet be part of the largest buying group in Canada and a strong brand. It was clearly win-win. The entire IRLY Distributors team will remain in place to ensure there is no interruption to the excellent service our members and customers have come to expect." Urquhart noted that the company is eager to welcome all current IRLY Distributors customers, echoing Robinson's sentiment that the agreement will not disrupt supply or distribution services from the warehouse. Moreover, he commented that "the addition of IRLY Dealers brings a solid network of respected, service-driven entrepreneurs that we will be proud to represent." The IRLY (Independent Retail Lumber Yards) Building Centres were founded in 1963. There are 46 independently owned and operated IRLY stores in BC.

Government & Legislative News

Canada Consumer Product Safety Act New Requirements

As previously advised, Bill C-36, the new Canada Consumer Product Safety Act (CCPSA) became law last December. Effective June 20, 2011, the CCPSA will introduce new requirements for industry that will help protect Canadians from unsafe consumer products. The CCPSA will cover a wide variety of consumer products including children's toys and equipment; children's jewellery; textiles; household products; and sporting goods. Items such as natural health products, food, cosmetics and drugs will not be covered under this new Act.

New key obligations for businesses will include:

Mandatory Reporting
- Businesses will be required to report to Health Canada any incident related to health and safety caused by a consumer product. This will provide the government with timely information about important product safety issues.

Record Retention
- Retailers will be required to keep records that provide enough details to know which suppliers they purchased products from and also where and when (but not to whom) products were sold.

- Other suppliers who manufacture, import, advertise, sell or test consumer products will be required to keep records to indicate from whom they obtained the product and the businesses to whom they sold it.

These records would be kept by businesses as part of any regular bookkeeping practices and will help to trace products throughout the supply chain should the need arise.

To sign up for CCPSA updates and learn more about the new requirements of the Act, visit: http://www.HealthCanada.gc.ca/ProductSafety.


Economic News

Average February for Canadian Home Sales

On Tuesday, the Canadian Real Estate Association (CREA) released data that indicated national resale housing activity in February ran close to the five-year average for the month, continuing a theme that has characterized the past four months.

Actual sales nationally via MLS came in 5.9% below levels reported in February of last year. This marks the smallest year-over-year decline in nine months, and the fourth consecutive month in which sales activity was on par with the five-year average for that month.

Seasonally adjusted home sales activity edged down 1.6% in February compared to January on a national basis. New listings in February were up 1.5% from the previous month on a seasonally adjusted basis, after a 4.3% increase in January. This is consistent with CREA's expectation that many sellers, who shied away from listing their home last summer when the national housing market softened, would list their home in early 2011, having by now observed improved demand and stable prices. With both sales activity and new supply little changed in February, the housing market remained in balanced territory.

The seasonally adjusted number of months of inventory stood at 5.7 months at the end of February, not much higher than 5.5 months in January, when it reached the lowest level since last April.

The national average price for homes sold in February rose 8.8% year-over-year to $365,192. "The average price has been skewed higher nationally and in B.C. recently by a record number of multi-million dollar sales in a couple of areas in Greater Vancouver," said Gregory Klump, CREA's chief economist. "When you take Vancouver out of the equation, the year-over-year increase in the national average price drops to 3.4%," added Klump. "While that's still stronger than in the past six months or so, national average price gains may recede after tighter mortgage regulations take effect in March."

"The February data may be an early sign that existing home sales may be running out of steam," said Pascal Gauthier, senior economist at the TD Bank. "Still, sales should continue to be well supported by a number of factors. These include a favourable backdrop in terms of employment and income gains, as well as the low interest rate environment."

Canada Boosts Productivity, Still Lags U.S.

Labour productivity (economic output per hour worked) in Canadian businesses rose last year at the fastest pace since 2005 but still lagged behind the comparable U.S. rate as the stronger currency pushed up costs, Statistics Canada said on Tuesday.

In the fourth quarter of 2010, productivity rose 0.5%. Service-producing businesses saw their productivity rise 0.8%, while goods-producing firms saw a decline of 0.3%. For the full year, productivity increased 1.4%, up from 0.4% in 2009 but well below the U.S. productivity gain of 3.8% in the same period.

In 2010, average hourly compensation grew at much the same pace in Canadian and American businesses. However, the somewhat stronger productivity performance in the U.S. widened the gap in labour costs per unit of production, which increased 0.6% in Canada and fell 1.5% in the U.S. With the appreciation of the Canadian dollar in 2010, the gap became even wider, as Canadian unit labour costs in U.S. dollars rose 11.1%.

Canada's Job Growth Slows

The Canadian economy created 15,100 jobs in February, less than expected and not enough to budge the unemployment rate of 7.8%, Statistics Canada reported last Friday. Economists had expected employment gains of 25,000 positions.

The stalling of job growth in February comes after employment rose by 115,000 over the past three months and by 322,000 in the past year.

The average hourly wage of permanent employees, which is closely watched by the Bank of Canada for inflation pressures, rose 2.5% from a year ago.

Part-time positions grew by 38,900 in February, while full-time jobs declined by 23,800. The number of self-employed workers increased by 26,000 while the number of private sector employees fell and public sector employment changed little. Total hours worked dipped 0.2%, the third monthly slip in a row.

Among sectors, health care and social assistance along with accommodation and food services boosted employment. Business, building and other support services along with public administration cut jobs. Direct government positions also fell 13,500, perhaps a hint of what's to come as stimulus turns to restraint.

Alberta was the only province with a sizable employment increase in February, with a gain of 14,000.

U.S. Housing Starts Plunge in February

The Commerce Department reported yesterday that home construction plunged to a seasonally adjusted 479,000 homes in February, down 22.5% from January. It was the lowest level since April 2009 and the second lowest on record. The building pace remains far below the 1.2 million units a year that economists consider healthy. Millions of foreclosures have forced home prices down and more are expected this year. In addition, tight credit has made mortgage loans difficult to obtain and some potential buyers are hesitant to enter the market, worried that prices will fall further. The volatile U.S. housing market is weighing on the overall economic recovery. Each new home built creates, on average, the equivalent of three jobs a year and generates about $90,000 in taxes, according to the National Association of Home Builders.

U.S. Retail Sales See Largest Rise in Four Months

Last Friday, the Commerce Department reported that U.S. retail sales rose 1.0% in February to $387.1 billion (U.S.), the largest gain since October and the eighth straight monthly advance. Compared to February 2010, retail sales were up 8.9%. Rising energy prices boosted sales at gasoline stations (+1.4%), but consumers also spent on a range of other goods including cars, clothing and electronics. Excluding autos, sales rose 0.7% in February after gaining 0.6% in January.

Better weather brought shoppers back to department stores where sales rose 1%, a rebound from a 0.4% drop in January when winter storms kept people from shopping. Sales at electronics and appliance stores rose 0.9% in February after falling 0.2% in January. Sales at specialty clothing stores rose 0.8%. Sales at hardware stores bounced back in February, rising 0.6% after having fallen 1.3% in January, a reflection of the severe weather.

CHHMA Events For 2011

Spring Conference & Annual General Meeting
Tuesday, April 5
International Centre, Mississauga, Ontario

Maple Leaf Night
Tuesday, May 10
The Mirage Hotel & Casino, 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.

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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