Description

Date and Time: Tuesday, May 6, 8:30 - 11:30 AM EST

Location: Headquarters of Global Furniture - 1350 Flint Rd, North York, ON M3J 3M8

The Canadian Home Products Trade Association and the Canadian Office Products Association jointly invites you to attend Repatriation of the Canadian Consumer, our morning symposium sponsored by Global Furniture.

This event will feature conversations with Canadian retailers and retail data experts who will provide an in-depth analysis of regional consumer trends such as the growing rise of "patriotic purchasing" - the Buy Canadian movement. These important discussions will explore how shifting consumer behaviors - driven by tariffs and global trade disputes - are reshaping the Canadian retail landscape. Executives in retail will share their insights on how their business is navigating the impact of these shifts.

Repatriation of the Canadian Consumer will be a deep dive into Canada's Homegrown Consumer Movement. This symposium will examine the current retail climate in Canada; key consumer segments driving the homegrown movement; how this movement is influencing the durables sector, including home appliances, furniture, and other long-lasting consumer packaged goods; the role of marketing and branding in promoting Canadian-made goods; and how the foot traffic impacts and changes customer needs.

SYMPOSIUM AGENDA

8:30 AM - Breakfast & Registration

9:00 AM - Fireside Chat with Global Furniture Group - How a Canadian Company is at the Forefront of Canadian Manufacturing

9:30 AM - Patriotic Purchases: Canada's Homegrown Consumer Movement - an overview of the Canadian Retail Landscape discussing key economic, social, and environmental factors influencing the current retail climate and its impact on consumer decisions. Presented by Environics Analytics.

10:30 AM - Panel Discussion: Canadian Retailers and the Buy Canadian Movement

Alison Fletcher - After a successful 19-year career in sales and marketing, working for some of Canada’s biggest companies including Maple Leaf Foods, Tim Hortons, Weston Bakeries, and Burger King, Alison Fletcher chose to go out on her own. Combining her passions for cooking and retail, she decided it was time to apply her business planning skills to a vision of her own. In 2014, she conceived and launched Cookery with a mission to help passionate home cooks and families find everything they need for function, beauty and inspiration in the kitchen. Whether looking for a beautiful wooden bowl, a new cookbook, a non-stick frying pan that actually doesn’t stick, or a full kitchen makeover – Alison and her team are here to help!   

Chris Saniga as Chief B2B Officer is responsible for leading Staples’ B2B businesses, including Staples Professional and acquisitions Supreme, Denis, Beatties, and Monarch, to drive growth and elevate the digitization of their sales function for their customers. Chris joins Staples with more than 25 years of sales and leadership experience across digital, consulting and software industries. With deep B2B sales experience leading large sales teams and successfully deploying digitally enabled sales strategies, Saniga has helped to drive transformational growth at some of the largest companies in Canada. 

Michael McLarney is the Founder and President of the HARDLINES newsletter, the premier source for information on hardware and home improvement retailing in Canada. With 35 years of experience analyzing and reporting on the retail home improvement industry, Michael is considered the leading retail analyst for Canada’s home improvement sector. He oversees the Hardlines Information Group, which includes the weekly HARDLINES newsletter for retail executives, Hardlines Home Improvement Quarterly magazine for dealers, Hardlines Dealer News, Hardlines HR Advisor, and a range of podcasts and reports that analyze the trends and growth within the industry.

Shawn Ettinger has been recently promoted to the position of Senior National Procurement Manager for Timber Mart. In this new role, Shawn will be responsible for all hardlines buying programs, direct imports and vendor relationships. Shawn has over 30 years of experience in hardlines procurement within our industry which he’s gained by working for a variety of organizations, including big box stores, buying groups and vendor companies alike. He joined Timber Mart in 2019.

Sophie Marai is Vice President, Account Management for Environics Analytics. She brings 15 years of strategic retail leadership to support developing marketing leading initiatives. Her passion for problem solving has resulted in her leading initiatives across multiple areas of retail and CPG, focused on customer strategy, assortment optimization, store format development and marketing. Sophie specializes in market gap analysis, customer growth development and problem solving for End-to-End growth management.  

Tracy Platt is Associate Vice President, Product Development Style & Home, Consumer Brands Division at Canadian Tire and an accomplished creative leader with a true passion for product and the customer experience. She excels at driving brand vision through trend analysis, inspiration, design direction, and merchandise guidance. Experienced with launching collections across multiple product categories, retail channels and price tiers; strong track record of private label creation, strategy, and sourcing, Tracy balances design and merchandise strategy to deliver on business objectives, brand vision and customer needs. 

Note: Speaker lineup may change due to unforeseen circumstances