[Thanos]

The walk-in experience for a casual customer seems to be better at Home Depot right now while the general quality at Rona has declined greatly over the last couple of years. As mentioned somewhere above I've also had better luck at finding what I want at Canadian Tire than I've had at Rona recently.

[OnTheIce]

Here's why Canadian retailers like Rona & Zellers have fallen flat.

When Lowes came into Canada, Home Depot made changes to compete. More staff, cleaner stores, more helpful.

Canadian Tire's in the process of re-branding itself, changing their stores.

When Wal-Mart came into Canada, Zellers did nothing but try the "Truly Canadian" angle. Even came out with the brand "Truly". So lame.

When Home Depot came to Canada, Rona did nothing but buy out Lansing and have a new logo on the stores.

It seems like a disease with Canadian business that we sit back on our hands all smug and egotistic with this great business and think we're too good and don't need to adapt.

Now we're seeing the downfall of Rona and we've already seen giants like Nortel, RIM and HBC suffer the same fate.

Keep up or get left behind.

[Unsound]

OnTheIce OnTheIce:

Here's why Canadian retailers like Rona & Zellers have fallen flat.

When Lowes came into Canada, Home Depot made changes to compete. More staff, cleaner stores, more helpful.

Canadian Tire's in the process of re-branding itself, changing their stores.

When Wal-Mart came into Canada, Zellers did nothing but try the "Truly Canadian" angle. Even came out with the brand "Truly". So lame.

When Home Depot came to Canada, Rona did nothing but buy out Lansing and have a new logo on the stores.

It seems like a disease with Canadian business that we sit back on our hands all smug and egotistic with this great business and think we're too good and don't need to adapt.

Now we're seeing the downfall of Rona and we've already seen giants like Nortel, RIM and HBC suffer the same fate.

Keep up or get left behind.

Nailed it! Wish I could rep ya.

[BartSimpson]

Unsound Unsound:

OnTheIce OnTheIce:

Here's why Canadian retailers like Rona & Zellers have fallen flat.

When Lowes came into Canada, Home Depot made changes to compete. More staff, cleaner stores, more helpful.

Canadian Tire's in the process of re-branding itself, changing their stores.

When Wal-Mart came into Canada, Zellers did nothing but try the "Truly Canadian" angle. Even came out with the brand "Truly". So lame.

When Home Depot came to Canada, Rona did nothing but buy out Lansing and have a new logo on the stores.

It seems like a disease with Canadian business that we sit back on our hands all smug and egotistic with this great business and think we're too good and don't need to adapt.

Now we're seeing the downfall of Rona and we've already seen giants like Nortel, RIM and HBC suffer the same fate.

Keep up or get left behind.

Nailed it! Wish I could rep ya.

Ditto that.

[andyt]

That fits with what I've been hearing since the 1980's about productivity. The average Canadian worker is more productive, or could be, but management in Canada is so much worse than its US counterpart.

[2Cdo]

martin14 martin14:

Notice no one even thinks of Canadian Tire anymore ?

When they stopped being a handyman type store and started selling groceries they lost my business.

$1:

Geez, it was bad, surfing around, everything at Home Depot 10 - 15% cheaper
than anywhere else, and better service imo.

Of the big 3 Home Depot offers the best combination of price, service and availability.

[2Cdo]

OnTheIce OnTheIce:

Here's why Canadian retailers like Rona & Zellers have fallen flat.

When Lowes came into Canada, Home Depot made changes to compete. More staff, cleaner stores, more helpful.

Canadian Tire's in the process of re-branding itself, changing their stores.

When Wal-Mart came into Canada, Zellers did nothing but try the "Truly Canadian" angle. Even came out with the brand "Truly". So lame.

When Home Depot came to Canada, Rona did nothing but buy out Lansing and have a new logo on the stores.

It seems like a disease with Canadian business that we sit back on our hands all smug and egotistic with this great business and think we're too good and don't need to adapt.

Now we're seeing the downfall of Rona and we've already seen giants like Nortel, RIM and HBC suffer the same fate.

Keep up or get left behind.

Don't agree with you too often but that says it all.

[BeaverFever]

QBall QBall:

Why is the Quebec government interfering with the actions of private businesses? Don't they realize it's this kind of shit that's driving businesses out of Quebec? If I was Lowe's I'd be suing the Quebec government for illegal interference.

Foreign takeovers of domestic businesses require government approval. After all, corporations are not above the law, they are non-persons given special privelages of a person by goverment, such as the right to own property, incur debts, own bank accounts, etc.

Supposedly, it's meant to prevent events like Caterpillar plundering the Electro-Motive plant in London Ontario but as that case proved, the government picks and chooses when to intervene and when to just rubber-stamp a transaction.

[BartSimpson]

BeaverFever BeaverFever:

QBall QBall:

Why is the Quebec government interfering with the actions of private businesses? Don't they realize it's this kind of shit that's driving businesses out of Quebec? If I was Lowe's I'd be suing the Quebec government for illegal interference.

Foreign takeovers of domestic businesses require government approval. After all, corporations are not above the law, they are non-persons given special privelages of a person by goverment, such as the right to own property, incur debts, own bank accounts, etc.

Supposedly, it's meant to prevent events like Caterpillar plundering the Electro-Motive plant in London Ontario but as that case proved, the government picks and chooses when to intervene and when to just rubber-stamp a transaction.

The Canadian government would have a right to stop a takeover if there were a compelling national interest that was being protected. Like if a US firm tried to buy Bombardier I'd totally understand the MoD opposing that. But what compelling national interest is represented in a retail outlet? None.

[bootlegga]

OnTheIce OnTheIce:

Here's why Canadian retailers like Rona & Zellers have fallen flat.

When Lowes came into Canada, Home Depot made changes to compete. More staff, cleaner stores, more helpful.

Canadian Tire's in the process of re-branding itself, changing their stores.

When Wal-Mart came into Canada, Zellers did nothing but try the "Truly Canadian" angle. Even came out with the brand "Truly". So lame.

When Home Depot came to Canada, Rona did nothing but buy out Lansing and have a new logo on the stores.

It seems like a disease with Canadian business that we sit back on our hands all smug and egotistic with this great business and think we're too good and don't need to adapt.

Now we're seeing the downfall of Rona and we've already seen giants like Nortel, RIM and HBC suffer the same fate.

Keep up or get left behind.

That's not true - Zeller's introduced Club Z!

Seriously though, for the most part, I agree - adapt or die.

For the most part, Wal-Mart doesn't sell anything that Zellers or Canadian Tire can't, they just do it more efficiently (and thus cheaper) than other do.

However, Wal-Mart's huge size and buying power gives them an advantage most of its competitors simply can't match. Wal-mart can buy 10 million widgets at 10 cents each from a factory in China for its thousands of stores across North America, while Zellers can only afford to buy 10,000 of the exact same widget for a $2 each for its 300 stores. That huge size also allows Wal-Mart to open 25 stores a year, while Zellers is able to open one or two a year.

If you look at recent retail history in Canada, this is SOP for large multi-nationals and enables them to develop a huge footprint in a short time. Wal-Mart bought out Woolco and converted them, Home Despot bought out Aikenhead's, and now Target is buying out Zellers.

When they don't do it, foreign multi-nationals usually get killed by entrenched competition - like Sam's Clubs did at the hands of Costco.

[OnTheIce]

2Cdo 2Cdo:

martin14 martin14:

Notice no one even thinks of Canadian Tire anymore ?

When they stopped being a handyman type store and started selling groceries they lost my business.

$1:

Geez, it was bad, surfing around, everything at Home Depot 10 - 15% cheaper
than anywhere else, and better service imo.

Of the big 3 Home Depot offers the best combination of price, service and availability.

The new people at Canadian Tire have started to get it and are moving away from that business model and back to their "core".

They opened a new concept store last fall in Bowmanville, Ontario with a big focus on what made them great. Sporting goods, automotive service and auto parts.

[raydan]

Wal-Mart!!! We call them Wal-Merde around here.

You can figure out what that means.

[DrCaleb]

martin14 martin14:

Strutz Strutz:

Good.

Bad.

Rona sucks.

And since everything now comes from China, the products won't change anyway.

I prefer Rona. Most things in it are "Made In Canada". Not so for other stores, who may stock items from non sustainable rainforest logging, or that wonderful drywall from China.

If I want Canadian (Albertan!) lumber, I go to Rona. If I want Canadian made Rocksol or drywall, I go to Rona. Canadian made tools - Rona (or Lee Valley). . .

I don't agree that governments should block public companies taking over other public companies that are not 'vital' to Canada, but there you have it.

[OnTheIce]

bootlegga bootlegga:

That's not true - Zeller's introduced Club Z!

Seriously though, for the most part, I agree - adapt or die.

For the most part, Wal-Mart doesn't sell anything that Zellers or Canadian Tire can't, they just do it more efficiently (and thus cheaper) than other do.

However, Wal-Mart's huge size and buying power gives them an advantage most of its competitors simply can't match. Wal-mart can buy 10 million widgets at 10 cents each from a factory in China for its thousands of stores across North America, while Zellers can only afford to buy 10,000 of the exact same widget for a $2 each for its 300 stores. That huge size also allows Wal-Mart to open 25 stores a year, while Zellers is able to open one or two a year.

If you look at recent retail history in Canada, this is SOP for large multi-nationals and enables them to develop a huge footprint in a short time. Wal-Mart bought out Woolco and converted them, Home Despot bought out Aikenhead's, and now Target is buying out Zellers.

When they don't do it, foreign multi-nationals usually get killed by entrenched competition - like Sam's Clubs did at the hands of Costco.

It's no so much about price and I'll explain why. I worked with both Wal-Mart and Zellers so I know how their system works.

Like the majority of retailers, Wal-Mart runs a perpetual inventory system. That means, when an item runs low to a desired count, the system generates an order or a notification to order.

This is where Zeller's falls flat on it's face.

Each department in Zeller's has a budget. So if an item is out of stock, the system must first check the budget then order the item. If there's no room in the budget, the shelf sits empty.

When you visit a store for an item and it's not in stock, that impression stays with you and when it happens over and over again compounded with long lines & bad service, you don't go back.

Rexall/Pharmaplus is in the same boat now. They're trying to compete with Shoppers but they're trying to squeeze piss out of a buffalo nickel. You can't cut back on products and labour when trying to compete.

[bootlegga]

OnTheIce OnTheIce:

bootlegga bootlegga:

That's not true - Zeller's introduced Club Z!

Seriously though, for the most part, I agree - adapt or die.

For the most part, Wal-Mart doesn't sell anything that Zellers or Canadian Tire can't, they just do it more efficiently (and thus cheaper) than other do.

However, Wal-Mart's huge size and buying power gives them an advantage most of its competitors simply can't match. Wal-mart can buy 10 million widgets at 10 cents each from a factory in China for its thousands of stores across North America, while Zellers can only afford to buy 10,000 of the exact same widget for a $2 each for its 300 stores. That huge size also allows Wal-Mart to open 25 stores a year, while Zellers is able to open one or two a year.

If you look at recent retail history in Canada, this is SOP for large multi-nationals and enables them to develop a huge footprint in a short time. Wal-Mart bought out Woolco and converted them, Home Despot bought out Aikenhead's, and now Target is buying out Zellers.

When they don't do it, foreign multi-nationals usually get killed by entrenched competition - like Sam's Clubs did at the hands of Costco.

It's no so much about price and I'll explain why. I worked with both Wal-Mart and Zellers so I know how their system works.

Like the majority of retailers, Wal-Mart runs a perpetual inventory system. That means, when an item runs low to a desired count, the system generates an order or a notification to order.

This is where Zeller's falls flat on it's face.

Each department in Zeller's has a budget. So if an item is out of stock, the system must first check the budget then order the item. If there's no room in the budget, the shelf sits empty.

When you visit a store for an item and it's not in stock, that impression stays with you and when it happens over and over again compounded with long lines & bad service, you don't go back.

Rexall/Pharmaplus is in the same boat now. They're trying to compete with Shoppers but they're trying to squeeze piss out of a buffalo nickel. You can't cut back on products and labour when trying to compete.

I know how Wal-Mart operates too - that's why I said more efficiently.