Hardware Retailing The Industry's Source for Insights and Information
The 26th Hardlines Conference will take place Oct. 18-19 and feature keynotes by leaders from major players in the retail home improvement industry. Canada’s retail home improvement leaders will gather at the Queen’s Landing Hotel in Niagara-on-the-Lake, Ontario. Those unable to attend in person will have the opportunity to join the conference virtually.
Keynote presenters will include Tony Cioffi, president of Lowe’s Canada; Jonathan Gendreau, vice president for business development, marketing and customer experience at BMR Group; and Eric Palmer, vice president and general manager of Sexton Group. They will share their insights with an audience of top retailers and buying group executives, as well as leading wholesalers and manufacturers from across the country.
Dan Tratensek, COO and publisher at the North American Paint and Hardware Association, will share the latest data on trends among hardware retailers in North America as they cope with the vagaries of an unpredictable marketplace and an ever-more demanding customer.
Peter Norman, chief economist and vice president of Altus Group, will provide the latest updates on the direction of the economy, along with trends in the housing and renovation markets in Canada. There will also be a retail case study presented by Joanne and Rob Lawrie, owners of eight Home Hardware stores in Nova Scotia.
Other speakers include Zaida Fazlic, vice president, people and culture, for Taiga Building Products; Alison Fletcher, owner of Cookery, a chain of specialty kitchenware stores and cooking class studios in Toronto and Montreal; and Doug Stephens, who is considered one of the world’s leading retail and consumer futurists.
The Home Hardware Industry Reception and the 30th Annual Outstanding Retailer Awards Gala will also take place as part of the Hardlines Conference on Oct. 18. Read more about past Outstanding Retailer Award winners here.
