Exhibitor Contracts and Booth Invoices have been sent out!

 

 

Have you booked your hotel rooms yet?  
You can do so by following this link www.wrla.org/hotels-and-travel

 NexGEN is excited to partner with Can-Cell Industries and King Marketing for our first event in Edmonton!  All WRLA members are welcome to participate in a member tour, private presentation and Networking night.


NexGEN Event  - Thursday, October 8th, 2015

3:30pm
Operation Tour of Can-Cell Industries
Hosted by Jim Roach

4:30pm
 Presentation: "Your Entrance is Your Exit" - How to leave a lasting Impression
by Paul Crawford of King Marketing

6:00pm
Networking & Cocktails at Shanks Sports Grill

IT'S FREE - You just need to register by contacting Krista at kristas@wrla.org
Reserve a seat while you still can!

The WRLA is proud to offer seven $1,500 Bursaries and seven $3,000 Scholarships each academic year. To learn more about eligibility and for full program details visit www.wrla.org or contact Krista at kristas@wrla.org 

Interlake Glass located North of Winnipeg is a new Castle Specialty store location specializing in windows, doors and glass as well as additional products such as custom cladding, roofing and mouldings. The retail store will service contractors and consumers from the surrounding trade area and owner, Chris Eyolfson is looking forward to this new venture. Chris purchased the existing retail store and warehouse back in 2012 and now plans to add an additional 2000 sq. ft. of retail and 1000 sq.ft. warehouse space as his business grows with the help of Castle. Chris joined the Castle group because he knew it was time to expand his product offering to better serve the people of Arborg and surrounding area.

"Castle gives me the freedom to sell the products that make sense for my business while still enjoying the buying power of their supplier network." Chris Eyolfson, Owner, Interlake Glass

VONR Hardware is located Northwest of Edmonton, AB in the industrial town of High Prairie. Trever Sekulich and Debra Wales have been owner operators for over 11 years, specializing in a full assortment of hardware products. They chose Castle when they made the decision to expand their offering to lumber and building materials.

"We chose Castle because we needed a group that could really help us to build a profitable building materials category. Castle’s business model, product assortment and supplier channel was the ideal fit. We look forward to growing with Castle." Trever

Sekulich, Co-founder, VONR Hardware

Trever and Debra’s business mantra is "customer experience" and pride themselves on ensuring that each and every customer that walks in their door is greeted courteously and assisted by their experienced team in a timely manner. An official Grand Opening celebration is planned for next Spring.

In Ontario cottage country, Castle welcomes Mike Argue and Neil Tucker who acquired South Parry Lumber in August and are now part of the Castle group. Mike and Neil are looking forward to their Grand Re-Opening in Parry Sound, later this Fall.

 

 

Staff interaction is still vital in customers’ purchasing decisions, so make sure your sales associates are knowledgeable and friendly. And ensure that customers receive a truly unique in-store experience that they can’t get online.

One way to live up to customers’ service expectations is to take advantage of industry training programs, such as the North American Retail Hardware Association’s online training. These programs will equip your employees with the necessary tools to become product and project experts.

The NetWorld data shows that in-store experiences are still important to the retail industry, but it doesn’t lessen the significance of websites to retailers. A growing number of customers often opt to buy home improvement products online, so you can’t ignore e-commerce. You also can’t build a robust e-commerce presence overnight, so develop a long-term plan for how to implement your website and e-commerce platform. E-commerce resources such as Shopify and WooThemes are great places to start. Your co-op or distributor can also help get you started.

Visit wrla.org/membership/membership-benefits or Click Here for more information about NRHA.

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