“Well Made Here” products in larger quantities and more prominently featured please

Consumption of goods remains in our industry despite the pandemic. Turnover for hardware stores and home improvement centers is much less affected than that of other retail industries, except for the food industry, of course. Consumer expectations are becoming more specific. Local products are being sought as is a quality ratio that justifies the expense. Buyers want a certain assurance of quality and durability and they want to be able to determine the origin of the products.

Even if products from China do not arrive in time for summer or fall and the United States, which has already put up barriers, will make trade between our countries difficult, store shelves will not be empty in 2020. The production capacity of local manufacturers is more than enough to furnish in variety and quantity.

It is not possible to predict today whether large gatherings will be allowed in late fall, and if so, whether there will be wide attendance. This may cause quite a headache for banner headquarters.

As a result, marketing and procurement strategies will not be carried out as usual. Other avenues will need to be explored.

To address the potential shortage of merchandise, banners will likely be forced to revise their supplier lists in order to identify a greater number of manufacturing companies based in Canada. This will be true as much for fueling major institutional construction projects ordered by governments as for operating sanitary job sites and to support a renewal for amateur DIY projects in light of confinement and spending dollars otherwise allocated to the now weakened pursuits of travel and recreational leisure groups.