Page 6 - Sep-Oct 2024 - REPORTER - web optimized2

MESSAGE FROM THE PRESIDENT

GET YOUR HOUSE IN ORDER

THIS FALL

TREVOR SMALL
LBMAO President

he nights are getting cooler, the leaves are starting to change colour, Retailers and suppliers alike need to be sure that they are
Tit is getting darker earlier – we must face reality that summer is prepared for this winter. Things like watching your inventories, closely
finished, and fall is upon us. I love fall. While I am not a pumpkin spice monitoring your business hours, and really watching your accounts
anything person. I do like some of the classic things that fall brings but receivable are always important but are especially critical now.
it always a precursor that winter is coming. We are entering a challenging season for business this fall and this
For me, fall is one step closer to hockey season. Around this time winter may be slower than we have experienced in a while.
every year for the past 20 years we had kids in hockey practice and Is it all doom and gloom? No. This is a chance to get your house in
back to school. My wife, who works in a school, is headed back to work. order!
This year is different. We downsized over the summer and moved The craziness of the past few years may have made it a challenge to
to a new area. We are still getting settled. Our kids have grown up and train and educate your staff. Slow times can be used to make sure that
moved onto their own homes. We will not be driving to watch them staff is trained and knowledgeable, ready to make sales when business
play and our two grandchildren are still too young to start sports. picks up. A well-trained staff will make your business more money.
For us this is a season of change. This is also a season of change in This may be a perfect time to look at your product assortment and
the sale of lumber and building materials. refine it. Do you need the C and D class skus? If those items have had a
The COVID years have been good for everyone in the building few birthdays at your location – they are costing you money and taking
materials industry. Customers were anxious to renovate and away space that another more successful product could use.
upgrade their homes. Blocked from travel, they fixed fences, finished Now would be a great opportunity for you to go through your
basements, installed new flooring, painted, or remodelled kitchens customer base. Look at the customers you spend high amounts of
and bathrooms. We know lots of people who built new decks or resources on with little return. Would your sales and marketing efforts
upgraded their backyards. A lot of us in the industry did not do these be better spent on other targets? It may be hard to say but customers
things because we were too busy looking after those customers who that you are not making a profit from are not good customers.
were ready and willing to spend their money fixing and improving their This is a different fall, and you need to plan for the coming winter.
homes. The store may be less busy than you would like but it is a great time
Flash forward to fall of 2024. Those customers who were so willing to prepare. Bundle up, take in some kids' hockey games, and enjoy a
to spend have now jumped off the renovation/remodel train because pumpkin spiced beverage!
their mortgage payments have doubled or in some cases tripled. While
there is some hope in the future that interest rates are moving down,
the current interest situation has forced a lot of homeowners into
uncomfortable financial situations. New construction has tanked in
most markets in Ontario. Projects are being finished but new projects
are being put on hold – particularly projects that were to be built on
spec.

6 LBMAO Reporter - September-October 2024 www.lbmao.on.ca