Articles

When looking at the history and success of Home Hardware Stores Limited and its Board Chair, Christine Hand, it’s not surprising that Hand’s values and priorities align with the well-know Canadian banner.

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Wilson’s Home Hardware Building Centre shows how innovation and a consistent pursuit of a high standard of retailing led to the retailer receiving the banner’s ‘2023 Walter J. Hachborn Store of the Year’ award.

Ensuring the safety of employees is crucial for any business. If health and safety risks are not addressed, there can be immediate consequences that go beyond employee safety such as legal action, imprisonment, and fines.

Saving space, clean lines, and subtle luxurious elements are hot trends for kitchens this season. Designers are incorporating more eat-in kitchens, enhanced storage space, and marble elements, while blue with bold white accents are the trending colours.

Merchants now have the ability to add surcharge on credit card transactions to offset credit card processing fees, and nearly one in five (19 per cent) small businesses are considering it, says a survey by the Canadian Federation of Independent Business (CFIB).

Although it may be tempting for small business owners to adopt an informal working arrangement, family businesses are ultimately subject to the same employment law considerations as any other business. Planning ahead and formalizing work...

The Canadian government has introduced the ‘Digital Charter Implementation Act, 2022’ to strengthen Canada’s private sector privacy law, create new rules for the responsible development and use of artificial intelligence.

Today’s supply chains are frequently paper-based operations subject to human error and delay. Therefore, some companies are beginning to invest in digital infrastructure, including blockchain tools, to strengthen supply chain efficiency an...

The global pandemic has put truck drivers under pressure like never before. How can AI technology help support road safety and keep supply chains moving? Driving heavy vehicles is a challenging occupation, demanding skill and concentration...

The pandemic has shown how fragile international supply chains can be, says Glen Parkinson, executive member of Canadian Club Toronto (CCT). Speaking at the ‘Navigating The Changing Supply Chain Landscape’ hosted by CCT, he said...

In order to target consumers effectively with product marketing, companies need to accept failure as a win, says Tara Scott, vice-president of commercial growth strategy and execution for Coca-Cola Canada Bottling. Additionally, while speaking...

How can the environmental cost of the eCommerce boom be fairly assessed? David Czupryna, head of ESG client portfolio management at Candriam, says in 2017, they wrote that, depending on the situation, eCommerce could “represent the tip of...

Holiday shopping will commence despite COVID-19, with Canadian consumers planning to shop largely online and many planning to shop last minute, says a survey by RedFlagDeals.com. Nearly half of respondents (43 per cent) already started...

Consumers remain confused about the multiple fuel product offerings in the marketplace, says a study by the Outdoor Power Equipment Institute (OPEI). The U.S. study, which has been conducted annually for seven years, shows lack of education, ina...

A significant number of Canadian business leaders are pessimistic about the prospects of the national economy over the next 12 months, says a survey by the Chartered Professional Accountants of Canada (CPA Canada). Roughly three-in-10 (29 per...

With Parliament back to work and pre-budget season in full swing, the Canadian Federation of Independent Business (CFIB) is urging all parties to put forward policies that make it more affordable to own, operate, and pass on a small business, in...

Despite 2018 bringing new challenges and uncertainties to the Canadian small- and medium-sized business (SMB) community, eBay Canada's annual ‘SMB Optimism Index’ report reveals that optimism among small retailers is on an upward...

As organizations continue to embrace digital transformation, they are finding that digital business is not as simple as buying the latest technology — it requires significant changes to culture and systems, says a survey by Gartner, I...

Research from the Wisconsin School of Business suggests that companies like Amazon, Zappos, and other eCommerce companies looking to control costs and improve productivity, should be doing more to reduce employee turnover and keep experienced wo...

The customer service industry will experience the biggest digital shift yet in 2018 as customer experience (CX) brand leaders seek to expand channels, leverage analytics, adopt automation, and integrate the front office with back office operatio...

An average data breach costs companies around $7 million per year, due to loss of customers, business disruption, the effect on brand reputation, fines, and so on. Small businesses are especially at risk, because many of them do not even have ba...

Entrepreneurs can’t afford to ignore the major changes in Canada’s workforce and digital technology. The impacts of these trends offer opportunities for business owners, finds a survey by BDC. ‘Future-Proof Your Business: Adapt...

Retailer loyalty program membership is nearly universal across Canada, but it appears that participation wanes among the nation's lower income households, finds research by Mintel. In fact, while 98 per cent of those with a household income...

On July 18, 2017, Canada’s Minister of Finance released proposed changes to the Income Tax Act (Canada) that, if implemented, will mark one of the most significant reforms to Canada’s tax system for business income in decad...

Canadian retail leader says product and service, not points and discounts, are what builds true brand loyalty If he could do it again, David Segal would never have offered a loyalty program for DAVIDsTEA, the brand he co-founded and built in...

Supervisors in retail outlets spend almost three hours every week dealing with employees who don’t show up for work. Maybe they’re sick, perhaps there’s a family emergency, or there’s been some kind of scheduling mix up.&...

I have always been something of a technology whiz. My father, who was vice-president of IT at an insurance company, bought me a PC when I was seven and it got into my blood. At 13, I was building computers for clients and running a business. In...

Analyzing your company’s performance data provides insights into changes that humans miss, and helps you make smarter decisions on everything from stock control to store location. It can also help build a business model that will fight dis...

The economy has been limping through its recovery, with the number of unemployed down, but the number of underemployed holding steady. We’re facing potential economic turmoil in light of the recent events in Britain and the EU, as well as...

Although customer service remains the top way to differentiate and compete in the ever-changing world of retail, retailers are adapting to other challenges in the industry and coming out ahead. The following pages feature some of Canada’s...

The paints and coatings category is forecasted to drive growth in the solvent market, says Grand View Research, Inc. It says the global solvent market is expected to reach US$31.63 billion by 2020, driven by increasing demand for industrial solv...

Infonomics is the emerging discipline of managing and accounting for information with the same or similar rigour and formality as other traditional assets (e.g., financial, physical, intangible, human capital). Infonomics posits that information...

Canadians are in danger of paying more taxes than necessary if they put off reviewing their potential tax savings strategies for the 2014 tax year until the spring, says CIBC's tax and estate planning expert Jamie Golombek. "Instead...