Hardlines Home Improvement Quarterly

5 days ago | hardlines.ca | Geoff McLarney

West Fraser Timber Co. reported Q1 sales of US$1.46 billion, up from $1.40 billion a year earlier. Earnings of $42 million reversed a $62 million loss in the comparable period of 2024. “Demand uncertainty for wood building products … has only been magnified recently by a U.S. administration that has both threatened and imposed higher lumber duties and punitive tariffs on many of the products we export from Canada to the U.S.,” CEO and president Sean Fraser said in a release.

5 days ago | hardlines.ca | Sarah McGoldrick

Mountain Equipment Co., (MEC) has found a new buyer. The Globe and Mail is reporting that MEC has agreed to sell a majority stake to Ontario textile manufacturing executive and real estate investor Tim Gu.The purchase will bring MEC back under Canadian ownership. The company, which is currently owned by Los Angeles-based private investment firm Kingswood Capital experienced steady revenue losses over the past two years and debts totalling more than $89 million.

6 days ago | hardlines.ca | Sarah McGoldrick

The latest Hardline’s podcast goes live this Wednesday. In this episode, Peter Turkstra, third-generation owner of 12-store Turkstra Lumber, a pro dealer in Southern Ontario, talks about solutions to the ills that, all of a sudden in 2025, afflict the industry. Most of them are courtesy of the American administration, or more properly the one man who has caused them, Peter says.

6 days ago | hardlines.ca | Steve Payne

Castle Building Centres Group recently announced the winners of its 2024 Vendor Excellence Awards. Castle shareholders have the opportunity to nominate Castle vendors for exceptional performance and commitment to building a strong relationship with dealers. Doman Building Materials and Taiga Building Products (pictured) won in the national awards category. All Weather At Home and Gentek Building Products won in the Western Canada category. Rapid Nail Canada Inc.

6 days ago | hardlines.ca | Sarah McGoldrick

The Canadian Home Builders’ Association (CHBA) 2025 released its Q1 Housing Market Index (HMI). The index indicates 11 straight quarters of negative sentiment since dropping from the post-pandemic highs in 2021 and early 2022. CHBA’s single-family HMI is 26.4 for Q1 2025 (out of 100). The organization noted in the report that this score remains close to the index’s record low of 24.6 in Q4 2023 and is down 8.5 points from the score from the same time last year.