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Home Improvement (Lowe's, Rona, Home Depot)

lenaitch said:
Lowe's are huge stores with massive inventories and need a large steady stream of wallets through the door to keep them viable. Neither Big Blue or Big Orange have great relationships with contractors and depend on homeowners. Their main strength is the sheer scope of inventory they carry and, to some homeowners, their installation services (wouldn't touch them). Places like Thunder Bay and Brockville both have HD as well and I'm guessing they simply weren't big enough for both. I vaguely recall the last round of closings also included a number of 'smaller market' communities.
Most Ronas are more suited for smaller markets and are more amenable to contractors, but if my local store is an indication there seems to be a lot of stock drift lately and enlarging inventory - like trying to compete with Canadian Tire or something.
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Had Lowe's not bought RONA, I could see the former slowly disappear on its own. Unlike Home Hardware, which stayed out of the big-box market (its biggest stores are more a more traditional large hardware store + lumberyard), while RONA, basically Quebec's Home Hardware, expanded into that market, buying up Reno-Depot, and Build-All/Revy in the process. They expanded very quickly to keep up with Home Depot and they were having trouble.
 
Johnny Au said:
@SunriseChampion

The power tools purchased in Europe have plugs that don't work with North American sockets. I bet that you have many adaptors.
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Plugs are the least of the problem. They run at different voltages and frequencies. Most European manufacturers produce for the North American market - just not usually available at big box stores.
 
Towered said:
Thanks, I've never even heard of those brands. If we go by the old stereotype, I'd assume that German-made tools are very high quality. Are we talking power tools?
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I think Germans know how to engineer things better. See for example, automobiles.
Stubai and Wuko are actually Austrian, Freund is German. I prefer Stubai to Freund actually. They're metal working hand tools, though Wuko do make power seamers which I also have. Kinda boring though, hand working is much more satisfying. Basically sculpture work as I see it. Whyen I'm not being snarky on the internet, I'm creating art.
I also get Czech and Italian tools.

You can't even get a sheet metal hammer of any sort at one of these big box wastes of space.
 
A complete pullout of Lowe’s /Rona would be bad for me. I don’t use them very frequently but choice is best and I’m a contrarian in many things including shopping. The more empty the store the better. The best kind of store is a non-preforming but well stocked location.

Actually fundamentally that is the strength of big box building supplies. You can get superior product lines at sometimes contractor or loyalty discount at specialty supply stores but they are insular dens of snarky sub trade elitism that I think regular folk find it intimidating to penetrate. So they are great for particular purchases and commercial grade supplies but I don’t go regularly because unless you are a particular trade specialist it wastes too much time.

Speaking to my own elitism time is far more important to me than money so I could care less if I pay 40% more so long as the product is ok and I can get a bunch of stuff at one location without running around the city. That’s why the more empty the store the better
 
AlbertC said:
The Home Depot hiring for more than 5,500 jobs before spring

Daily Hive Staff | Feb 18 2020, 6:23 am

The Home Depot is looking to bring on more than 5,500 new hires across Canada in advance of the busy spring season.

dailyhive.com

The Home Depot hiring for more than 5,500 jobs before spring | Venture

According to the company, in preparation for the busy spring season, The Home Depot is looking to hire 5,500 people across Canada.
dailyhive.com dailyhive.com
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Oh goody - more people who know nothing about what they are talking about. I can't think of the number of times I've overhead conversations in Big Orange or Big Blue stores where the staffer is giving advice that is unsafe or illegal. Rare is the staffer who has actual knowledge and/or experience (other that sales) in the department they are assigned to.
 
lenaitch said:
Oh goody - more people who know nothing about what they are talking about. I can't think of the number of times I've overhead conversations in Big Orange or Big Blue stores where the staffer is giving advice that is unsafe or illegal. Rare is the staffer who has actual knowledge and/or experience (other that sales) in the department they are assigned to.
Click to expand...

No comment. ?
 
lenaitch said:
Oh goody - more people who know nothing about what they are talking about. I can't think of the number of times I've overhead conversations in Big Orange or Big Blue stores where the staffer is giving advice that is unsafe or illegal. Rare is the staffer who has actual knowledge and/or experience (other that sales) in the department they are assigned to.
Click to expand...

So basically like every other retail chain!
 
AlbertC said:
Hardware stores will be allowed to reopen beginning this Saturday, May 9th:

globalnews.ca

Ontario announces curbside pickup for storefront retail, full reopening of garden and hardware shops | Globalnews.ca

Premier Doug Ford has announced that more businesses can reopen and offer curbside pickup in the coming days as Ontario heads into Mother's Day weekend.
globalnews.ca globalnews.ca
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Not a moment too soon either.

I ordered 1 pack of batteries from Canadian Tire on Monday at 3 pm. By Tuesday at 10 am it was still in the queue, noting how long it was taking I called them and was told it could take 48 hours to upwards of 4 days to process the order. I decided to cancel the order and went to shoppers drug mart.

I know the dealer at the Lawrence and Allen location who stated they are swamped with orders to the point where they are on a hiring spree. They have more orders than they can handle much like most of the other Canadian Tire stores according to what I was told.
 
We needed a couple of small items. We went to our local Home Hardware. Staff found out what we needed, went in the store and got it; we were done in about 10 minutes. Excellent service.
 
I ordered some batteries on Amazon last week and got it promptly.

The Home Hardware near me has come in handy. I wanted to avoid the chaos of lining up outside Canadian Tire, so I ordered some household and maintenance items online instead from HH. The pick up was quick and easy.
 
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