Retail Insider is streamlining its Canadian retail news from around the web to include a handful of top news stories that can be viewed quickly during the day. Here are the top stories from the past 24 hours.
3 Brasseurs Grande Allée (Image: 3 Brasseurs Canada)
Unique craft brewery concept 3 Brasseurs, based in Quebec, is expanding its footprint with its first two franchise partners and more growth planned for the future.
The brand started in France in 1986. It was one of the first microbreweries and restaurants in one place in France – very new for that market.
The concept arrived in Canada in 2002 with the first restaurant in Montreal on Saint Denis Street.
The brand today has about 80 restaurants in France with 15 in Canada, 11 in Quebec and four in Ontario. There are also two restaurants in Brazil as well as a presence in overseas French territories.
Image: 3 Brasseurs3 Brasseurs La Capitale (Image: 3 Brasseurs)
There are eight restaurants around Montreal and three in Quebec City. There are two in Ottawa, one in Oakville and one in Toronto.
Nathalie Canivet
“What is unique about the brand is that in each location you do have a microbrewery,” said Nathalie Canivet, Marketing & Communication VP. “ You have in each restaurant a brewer who is brewing the beer. So regarding sustainability, it’s the closest way from a brewer’s path to your table because we don’t deliver beer in other restaurants. We really produce our own beer.”
She said the brand’s values are simplicity, generosity and warmth.
Éric Demoncheaux and Mélanie Trudeau are the company’s first franchise partners in Canada.
Éric Demoncheaux and Mélanie Trudeau (Image: 3 Brasseurs)3 Brasseurs Grande Allée (Image: 3 Brasseurs)
Jean-Marc Zerbib, Franchise Development Manager, said the company was initially only corporate locations.
Jean-Marc Zerbib
“We have started the franchise process,” he said. “The first step of the process of the franchisee was to franchise the existing corporate restaurants but also after COVID we have a new development program to open new restaurants which is going to be the second step.
“We have tested in France before here the franchise process and we realized that in terms of development the development is going faster when we have franchisees than to open the restaurant in corporate . . . We now want owners in their own restaurants to operate more fastly, close to the market. It’s a really different process for us but we realized in France it works very, very well.”
The Quebec City franchisee is taking over two existing locations in that city with one store to remain corporate – 3 Brasseurs La Capitale – Québec City and 3 Brasseurs Grande Allée – Québec City are now franchise run.
Richard Tranchant, Director of International Operations, said the company has also found a franchisee for its location on Yonge Street in Toronto, Tej Bhatti.
Tej Bhatti (Image: 3 Brasseurs)
Zerbib said Ontario is a very active province and the brand only has four restaurants there. The potential is great for that market. There is also continued potential for growth in Quebec.
“After that we can think about going outside of those two provinces,” he said. “We have to first continue to develop in Quebec, re-start the development in Ontario and after that think about other provinces. Nova Scotia and New Brunswick. And why not in the future maybe British Columbia.”
3 Brasseurs La Capitale (Image: 3 Brasseurs)
The company on its website says: “Our story began over 100 years ago in Lille, France when three brewers joined forces to create a brewery that would grow to become one of the most important in the country. In 1985, the descendents of the original founders opened their first neighbourhood microbrewery – long before anyone had even heard of a “microbrewery” or “craft beer”.
“The key to our success then, as it is now, is an unrelenting passion for creating the perfect pint. That’s why our beer is brewed in-house, just steps from your table, by brewers who understand that brewing beer is a magical combination of art, science and dedication. They also have a great respect for the history of brewing and the craftsmanship of those who brewed before them.
“Each of our neighbourhood locations truly pays homage to the past – when each village had its own brewer. While our passion for beer remains unchanged, we do embrace change if it elevates your beer experience. We’ve crafted a menu of food that pairs with individual beers to enhance the flavours and to elevate your overall sensory experience. In that case, change is good. And delicious.”
Toronto-based operations consolidation platform Intelocate has partnered with workforce optimization platform Shiftlab. The expanded platform supports the retail industry by enhancing interconnectivity while streamlining operations for frontline staff in stores and company headquarters.
The partnership comes at a time when retailers are economizing while seeking integrated solutions for efficient operations management to save money. Intelocate already has proven to be tremendously useful to retailers by consolidating operations in a platform that delivers a single dashboard. The dashboard helps empower and engage frontline staff in stores through simple issue reporting, task management, and centralized communications. It also provides head office departments with real-time data needed to make informed decisions, ensuring seamless operations across multiple locations.
Shiftlab’s AI-powered scheduling software is being integrated into Intelocate’s platform as part of the partnership. And the partnership with US-based Shiftlab only enhances Intelocate’s robust platform, by providing an expanded workforce optimization tool that helps retailers and other businesses maximize performance and employee engagement while reducing labour costs. Shiftlab’s automated scheduling solution enables retailers to create sales-optimized and compliant schedules with one click. The company is growing quickly as retailers have found time and cost savings using the platform.
Yulia Vasilyeva, Founder & CEO of Intelocate
Retailers also want to hold onto their best employees, and a unified engagement platform can help retain them by making their jobs easier and more fun. The built-in efficiencies of scheduling software also means that head offices can operate with less staff. As many retailers watch their finances during this challenging time, achieving more with less is becoming paramount.
“This collaboration with Shiftlab is a testament to our commitment to enhancing the overall retail experience,” said Yulia Vasilyeva, Founder & CEO of Intelocate. “By integrating Shiftlab’s exceptional employee scheduling software with Intelocate’s powerful operations consolidation tools, we are elevating efficiency and staff communication to unprecedented levels,” she went on to say.
“Our mission is to transform workforce management, and this partnership with Intelocate aligns perfectly with our goals,” said Devin Shrake, CEO of Shiftlab. “Together, we bring major improvements to day-to-day retail operations, creating sales-optimized schedules and ensuring that employees receive clear instructions and guidance only when they are on shift. It’s about making every moment at work count.”
Image: Shiftlab
“The combined capabilities of Shiftlab and Intelocate provide a holistic solution for retailers.” added Ryan Esteb, VP of Sales at Shiftlab. “Intelocate is all about creating clear lines of communication with staff throughout the entire organization, and Shiftlab ensures that those communications are optimized to be delivered only when the staff member is at work. Together, our aim is to respect the work/life balance and create optimal delivery of communications – what staff members need to know, when they need to know it.”
Mad Radish at 4 King West in Toronto (Image: Dustin Fuhs)
Healthy fast-food chain Mad Radish has opened its first Toronto franchise location as it continues to expand its footprint.
The latest opening is at 4 King Street West and is the company’s fourth Toronto location but first as a franchise.
Adam Tomczyk
Mad Radish was founded in 2017 in Ottawa on Albert Street in the downtown and today has a total of nine locations. Five stores are in Ottawa.
“We’re at King and Yonge and it’s a really prime location. We are in between Starbucks and Chipotle so we couldn’t ask for a better location. It’s an absolutely outstanding store,” said Adam Tomczyk, CEO and co-founder of Mad Radish, of the company’s latest store.
“In Toronto we’re dominating in the downtown right now.”
Mad Radish at 4 King West in Toronto (Image: Dustin Fuhs)Mad Radish at 4 King West in Toronto (Image: Dustin Fuhs)
Other Toronto locations are the Bay Adelaide Centre, the Exchange Tower and Bloor Street.
“In Ottawa we’re kind of covering the whole city. We’re trying to find more locations in Ottawa because there’s a lot of interest from franchising as well. We have three downtown and we opened our first franchise in Kanata at the beginning of last year. And we also have one in Barrhaven.”
Image: Mad Radish
“It’s been a phenomenal story of ups and downs, and obstacles and triumphs,” said David Segal, Founder and Owner.
David Segal
Segal said the concept has evolved dramatically since its inception.
“The vision hasn’t changed. Our north star remains the same. We really want to bring healthy, fast food to everyone in Canada. Really high quality food that makes you feel great after you eat it, that doesn’t cost too much and make it accessible to all the neighbourhoods across the country,” he said.
“That’s what hasn’t changed for us. What we stand for as a brand has remained a constant and that vision and that north star is still there. I think now we’re much closer to realizing that vision. Between COVID and the opening, it’s easier said than done and we’ve focused a lot over time on perfecting some of the most important things in healthy fast food.
Image: Mad Radish
“For example, chicken. We have the best chicken you’re ever going to have in a fast food restaurant. We cook it fresh every single day from scratch, marinated, in an oven. It’s outstanding. That matters. That’s your key protein. To be able to find hot ingredients with cold ingredients.
“Adam and the team through painstaking effort figuring it out, we’re healthy bowls and by bowls we mean something more hardy. You’re not going to feel like it’s rabbit food, like you’re hungry two hours after you eat it.”
The brand is known for its bowls and burritos and salads.
Mad Radish Franchising Image: Mad Radish
Mad Radish began franchising in 2021, with their first franchise location opening in Kanata, a fast-growing suburb of Ottawa.
Tomczyk said the company is in negotiations currently for a few more leases with four more locations to open this year. He couldn’t reveal those locations as they have not been finalized yet.
“Right now the focus is in Ontario because we really believe in responsible growth,” he said. “But we do have conversations with master franchisees across the country. So we’re trying to find the right partners that we can build this together.
“It’s a mainstream brand. We put so much effort, so much money to bring this together and bring it to the point where we can proudly take it anywhere.”
“I’m incredibly proud of what we’ve achieved as a brand,” said co-founder Stephanie Howarth. “Our commitment to compostable packaging, responsible sourcing and inclusivity has always set Mad Radish apart. We realized that we were doing something really special and the best way to reach new communities was by engaging owner-operators who are as passionate about our values as we are.”
Image: Mad Radish
Segal, who was co-founder of DAVIDsTEA, said he’s never been more excited about a concept as he is about Mad Radish right now.
“It’s because of the focus Adam and the team has on the most important thing which is delivery of this incredible food quickly for customers on the go at a very, very fair price,” he said.
“I think we’ve nailed the model and we’re now ready to expand it. But we’re not just going to sell franchises. We’re going to award them. We’re going to be very careful on who we bring on as partners. They need to share our vision for quality and that’s really, really critical. We want to of course bring this everywhere in Canada. We think Canadians are going to love it. We have proof of concept in Toronto and in Ottawa. But we need the right people who are going to really love what they do and bring the same level of passion to this as we have right now.’
During his time at DAVIDsTEA, Segal grew the company from a single store on Toronto’s Queen Street West to a $200 million retail giant. In June 2015, DAVIDsTEA became a publicly-traded company on the NASDAQ, and since launch, the brand has been featured in the Wall Street Journal, Women’s Wear Daily, The Globe and Mail, and Fast Company.
Segal left DAVIDsTEA in 2016 and started Mad Radish – a quick service restaurant concept.
In 2017, David was named one of Canada’s Top 40 under 40.
In 2021, Segal also started Firebelly tea to create exceptional loose leaf teas tailored to modern living, and gorgeous tea accessories to shake up the category.
Retail Insider is streamlining its Canadian retail news from around the web to include a handful of top news stories that can be viewed quickly during the day. Here are the top stories from the past three days.
The report said Toronto’s retail leasing market is stabilizing with a deceleration of rental growth. Limited leasing options and economic uncertainty are challenges for retailers, but demand for retail space exceeds supply. Overall retail sales have plateaued, but food services and certain retail sectors show growth, including shoes, health and personal care, and sporting goods.
Toronto Retail Insight (Image: JLL)Toronto Retail Insight, Spring 2024 (Image: JLL)
Also, the report said Downtown Toronto is experiencing a gradual return to the office, increased pedestrian activity, and a rebound in visitor spending.
“The retail leasing market in Toronto is currently experiencing a period of stabilization, following a decline in leasing volume since its peak in the second half of 2022. Hurdles for expanding retailers include economic uncertainty and stalling sales, compounded by the historically low availability of retail space and limited leasing options in premium spaces,” said JLL.
“Despite these challenges, demand for retail space exceeds supply, as indicated by an increase in net absorption in 2023. Over the past six months, several national and international retailers, including Earls, Eataly, Club Studio, and Burberry, have announced store expansions in the Toronto market.
“While rents in Toronto are still on an upward trend, the rate of growth has slowed compared with the previous year. It is expected that inflation and rising property taxes will contribute to further rent increases as landlords pass on costs to tenants.”
The Well (Image: Dustin Fuhs)Toronto Retail Insight, Spring 2024 (Image: JLL)
In terms of construction activity, there is currently limited development taking place in Toronto, despite the completion of 320,000 square feet of retail space in The Well, said the report.
“The majority of the space has already been pre-leased, resulting in minimal new vacant retail space expected to come to the market in 2024,” it said. “Leasing activity in Toronto has focused on general retail, neighborhood centres, and malls. Malls, in particular, have seen a significant increase in interest, even with the departure of Nordstrom from major centres.
“In summary, leasing momentum continues to slow after its peak in late 2022, accompanied by limited new supply and premium leasing options, but some rent growth is anticipated. The absence of new supply should help maintain stability in the market.”
Future Louis BonBon at Royal Bank Plaza (Image: Dustin Fuhs)Future Wendy’s at Peter & King Street (Image: Dustin Fuhs)
JLL said the outlook for retail in Toronto has weakened due to reduced spending on retail goods, particularly in the home-related category, and to the decline of key economic sectors such as banking. However, there should be growth in food services, fashion, and sporting goods. Also, the long-term prospects for Toronto’s retail real estate market remain strong, driven by the city’s high number of immigrants and its role as a hub for international retail concepts.
Retail sales in Toronto have experienced a significant deceleration, with little or no growth anticipated for the current year, despite a spending revival during the 2023 holiday season. There has been a shift in consumer spending from home goods to services, leading to a notable decrease in spending on home improvement and furnishings. However, health and personal care, shoes, and sporting goods have seen a surge in sales.
The economic outlook for Toronto in 2024 has softened, primarily due to declining sectors such as finance and business services, which play a significant role in the city’s economy. The long-term fundamentals nonetheless remain strong, driven by an influx of immigrants and positive prospects for GDP and employment growth.
Blue Bovine Steak + Sushi House at Toronto Union Station (Image: Dustin Fuhs)Future Earls at 603 King St. W (Image: Dustin Fuhs)
In the food services sector, both full-service and limited-service restaurants performed better than retail goods in 2023 and are expected to continue growing at a decelerated rate in the single digits, said the report.
“Public transit ridership in Toronto has made significant strides in recovery, in both local transit (TTC) and regional commuter rail (Go Transit). In Q3-23, GO Transit recovered 91 per cent of its 2019 trips, while TTC recovered about 70 per cent,” added JLL.
“Union Station, the region’s primary transportation hub, continues to open new retail and dining options, including Nespresso and Blue Bovine Steak + Sushi House, as part of its ongoing revitalization process. The downtown core remains a magnet for shoppers, resulting in increasing pedestrian flow on Yonge Street between College and Front.
“Tourism in Toronto is recovering quickly, with visitor numbers approaching pre-pandemic levels. While Canadian visitors have returned, international visitors − and especially from China, Japan, and South Korea − still lag. Despite this, overall visitor spending now matches pre-pandemic numbers.”
CF Toronto Eaton Centre (Image: Dustin Fuhs)Spanish luxury brand Loewe will open its first standalone store in Canada at Yorkdale. Photo: Craig Patterson
Casdin Parr, Executive Vice President, Retail Advisory Services, JLL, said there is a flight to quality in the Toronto market. That includes the best enclosed shopping centres and high streets.
Casdin Parr
“That is where the retail tenants are investing their capital, investing their time in finding the best real estate and we’re finding a lot of momentum across multiple assets and asset classes in the GTA in the best spaces,” said Parr.
“Really, we’re seeing the shopping habits of the consumer being much more discretionary with their time. Whether they are going to a high street store or they’re going to Yorkdale or Toronto Eaton Centre, they’re going on a mission for specific product or service and being discretionary with their time more so than ever before.
“Gone are the days of just going to the mall for three or four hours in the afternoon. They’re going shopping for a specific store or a tenant, a specific restaurant and carry on with their day.”
Church Street at King Street (Image: Dustin Fuhs)Neo Coffee Bar at Exchange Tower (Image: Dustin Fuhs)
He said the return to office in Toronto has been significant, particularly in the last half of 2023 and at the beginning of this year.
“There’s a great buzz and feel in the city,” said Parr. “We’re seeing some of that reflected in the key parts of the downtown core.
“2024 is going to be a really exciting year for Toronto in particular. A lot of new doors to open in the marketplace and some new projects coming on and new announcements to come as well. Be another good year ahead.”
Ali Baker Discusses the Evolution and Future of Canadian Retail with Avison Young [Video Interview]
Craig and Ali Baker, Vice President at Avison Young in Toronto, discuss the dynamic landscape of Canadian retail, focusing on the transformative effects of the pandemic and the shift towards suburban markets.
In the conversation, Baker highlights the resurgence of suburban strip plazas and the competitive nature of these markets, driven by the pandemic’s influence on consumer mobility and retail preferences. Quick service restaurants, service retail, and boutique fitness studios are identified as areas of significant activity, indicating a move towards experiential and service-based retail offerings. The discussion also touches on challenges and opportunities in urban retail, emphasizing the importance of traffic generation and a diverse tenant mix for landlords.
Looking forward, Baker shares insights on emerging trends and the continued importance of physical retail spaces. Despite the challenges posed by inflation and changing consumer habits, she remains optimistic about the retail sector’s resilience and potential for growth. Baker’s experiences and observations offer a comprehensive overview of the current state and future prospects of Canadian retail, highlighting the industry’s adaptability and the critical role of strategic leasing and market understanding.
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Loblaw Maple Leaf Gardens Security Gates (Image: Dustin Fuhs)
Buckingham Palace certainly had a rough week in the public eye, but so did Loblaw, once again finding itself at the center of a social media storm due to unflattering digitally altered images. It’s fair to say that Loblaw is currently facing some of the most intense criticism of any grocer in the country, if not in North America. Reporters from around the globe are now turning to Canadian experts to better understand what has been termed the “Loblaw phenomenon.” Despite Galen Weston’s disappearance from the airwaves almost a year ago, in April 2023, animosity toward the company and him remains palpable.
On social media, numerous websites are dedicated to criticizing Canada’s leading grocer, and this criticism has been ongoing for several months, showing no signs of slowing down. Nevertheless, Loblaw’s stock price remains remarkably strong, making it one of the best-performing stocks on Bay Street. At over $150 a share, it is 30% higher than 12 months ago and nearly 130% more than 5 years ago. Loblaw is undeniably a well-managed company, boasting a highly efficient food innovation supercluster called President’s Choice. In addition to its success in the food sector, Loblaw generates revenue from real estate, financial services, and Shoppers Drug Mart, which serves as a key component of its portfolio. Its breadth and diversification are truly impressive. Whether or not Loblaw’s critics like to admit it, the company, which is also the largest private employer in Canada, is thriving financially. However, from a public relations standpoint, the company is struggling.
Over the past three months, both Loblaw and Galen Weston have made several missteps. One notable incident involved Loblaw and Galen Weston apologizing for providing inaccurate information to members of Parliament when Mr. Weston spoke about Australia’s code of conduct. His opposition to the proposed code in Canada led him to mislead parliamentarians about how the code operated in Australia.
Galen Weston ( PHOTO BY SPENCER COLBY /The Canadian Press)Discounted Produce at Loblaw (Image: Dustin Fuhs)
Additionally, the company had to backtrack on its decision to end the 50% discount on expiring food, a move that did not sit well with Canadians. CTV News’ Hafsa Arif had to inform the public that the policy was ending across the country and that Loblaw’s discounting policy was to be aligned with the competition. Loblaw reversed its decision a few days after CTV News broke the story.
Loblaw also faced public outcry over its deal with Manulife, which it had to end. This incident once again made the company appear non-transparent, as backroom deals are often perceived as being against the public interest, particularly in sensitive areas such as health care.
Most recently, CBC News’ Sophia Harris reported—not Loblaw itself—that the company was implementing new anti-theft measures that might make shoppers feel guilty. Loblaw came under fire for introducing receipt scanners in four of its southern Ontario stores as a trial initiative. Positioned at the exit of the self-checkout area, shoppers must scan their receipts to unlock the gate and leave the store, with failure to do so triggering an alarm. This measure raises legal rights concerns, as well as fire and public safety issues. The news CBC broke was another public relations disaster for Loblaw.
Receipt Scanning at Loblaw (Image: u/blt4dtuf)
In response to these incidents, Loblaw has reacted to the news since it never bothered to announce any of the things they were doing. In the case of the latest measure, if shoplifting is indeed an issue, Loblaw should provide quantifiable numbers to the public to demonstrate the extent of losses incurred through shoplifting or organized crime, if applicable. This would allow consumers to better understand the company’s perspective. Instead, Loblaw appears to be a company that is only remotely interested in the well-established but fragile moral contract it has with the public, which is based on trust and compassion.
What is most troubling in recent months is the unsympathetic and corporate feel of the messages conveyed by Loblaw to the public. The approach seems to equate the relationship between shareholders and the public, when it should be fundamentally different. The public deserves a friendlier, more human approach, which other grocers seem to do much better.
In conclusion, if someone dislikes Loblaw for any reason, they can always shop elsewhere. However, in Canada, grocers tend to copy each other, so practices from a dominant player like Loblaw often become the norm. Therefore, complaints against Loblaw are not in vain, as they can have a broader impact on the industry as a whole.
Retail Insider is streamlining its Canadian retail news from around the web to include a handful of top news stories that can be viewed quickly during the day. Here are the top stories from the past 24 hours.
Anatomy of a Leader: Walter Lamothe, CEO of Bentley
Veteran retail executive Walter Lamothe has run several multi-million dollar national businesses during his career in the industry.
Growing up on the family farm, just outside of Ottawa, gave him some strong roots to establish himself and thrive in the business world.
To this day, Lamothe, the President and CEO of Bentley, still spends time at the farm where he can think about the business and where it’s going.
The family farm is part of the Ottawa Valley on Calumet Island on the Ottawa River. One side of the river is Ontario, the other side is Quebec. A very Irish, French and English community where he grew up on the Quebec side.
Image: Bentley
He initially grew up on the dairy farm but his father decided to pivot because of the rising costs in the industry and the farm began growing and selling vegetables .
“There was always a huge influence on the positivity of hard work. The biggest lessons I’ve carried through is when we went into the market gardens it was a direct contact with the consumer. If I look at what we were doing in dairy, we were a cog in the wheel . . . You don’t know where the end product is. You don’t know who the end consumer is,” said Lamothe, who owns the property today with his brother.
“But when we became a market garden we had to actually prepare, grow and deliver produce that the customers were looking for. I joke around because I say we did product development, we did merchandising, we did home delivery – Amazon wasn’t the first to do home delivery, we were way before them.
“And customers gave you instant feedback. I hate this. I love this. They bought it or they didn’t. They could rely on us. Every Tuesday it was at a town called Campbell’s Bay and we would deliver our vegetables and we would stop in the middle of the street. Women were home at that time. As a kid, I would knock on all the doors, they would come out and they would come out to the truck and we sold our goods. And on the way home we would find a place where we would go and sell the last of what we couldn’t sell during the day with somebody who wanted to bargain over the last bag of potatoes or something like that.”
Image: Walter Lamothe
Hard work and paying attention to what the customer wants were key lessons he learned at an early age.
At the age of 17, Lamothe became a welder and moved out to Alberta where he lived for two and a half years.
“I loved the province but hated the job,” he said. “So one time after about two years of trying to figure out what I’m doing wrong I decided to kind of flush everything and kind of start anew in Edmonton. I probably picked the wrong month. It was January. Minus 20 degrees. And probably not the best work market either. I didn’t even know what to do. I’m actually one of the few guys that got refused by the army. The reason why they refused me is they asked me what my home address was. I told them I didn’t have one. They asked me what my job was. I told them I didn’t have one. They said when I had both they would take me in a minute.”
He then started his journey in the retail sector as a stock boy in a Jack Fraser store.
“It was a strange world for me. I didn’t own a suit. Didn’t wear a tie. I broke in doing 15 hours a week at $3 an hour. I said I like the prospect of this and stuck around. Did a few other things in between and sometimes worked three jobs to make ends meet including selling life insurance at the time,” said Lamothe.
When he moved back East, he took on a job with Tip Top Tailors as manager of a store at 21 years old in Hull, Quebec. After 12 years there in various roles and places, he went to work for Shirmax, a specialty retailer of fashion apparel.
“I learned a whole new set of lessons as to how to adapt and what a big corporation was doing to a small business,” he said.
Image: BentleyImage: Walter Lamothe
That led to executive jobs at Mexx Canada, Reitmans Canada and now Bentley, which has 158 locations across the country.
“You don’t have to be crazy to work in retail but it helps,” laughed Lamothe.
“The biggest thing has always been the customer. It has always been what is it that you can do. I’ve been a turnaround guy from store manager days. Just going in and seeing what the potential of the business could be, who the customer is, who the customer should be. Sometimes that’s not the same answer. And what is the white space that you can develop towards. And also managing towards the changing times.
“This whole COVID and post COVID and whatever the heck we’re in now. All of this is really just basically understanding how the consumer behaviours are changing. Never a dull moment. Then you have technology and everything to do with social media and how the consumers consume video and how that’s just a different delivery system.
“So when I look at retail today, I look back and say what’s different. Well back in the day when I was selling vegetables door to door it was still produce the best product, deliver to the customer, it was still get your feedback from the customers and get paid what you deserve. And you improved yourself year after year. It’s no different today. The only difference is how the delivery system is working. So instead of somebody showing up at your door selling the vegetables, you’re getting Walmart delivering it by ecom.”
Walter LamotheWalter Lamothe
There have been some tough times as well for him in the industry. But he said two things motivate people and himself. “Is what we’re doing worth it?” That’s the first thing. If it’s worth it, it’s a question of time, energy and finances. “If it’s worth it, who do you bring along for the ride?” Not just the employees who are important but anyone associated with the business. That’s when people pull together.
Everyone has their own philosophy of being a manager but to Lamothe it’s being open and “telling it as it is.”
“I often say I don’t have two agendas, I’m not smart enough,” quipped Lamothe. “Just be honest. Be forward. For me, don’t take anybody for granted. Tell it as it is. People are pretty mature and grown up and they appreciate that a lot better than saying everything’s fine when it isn’t.”
Lamothe continues to enjoy being on the farm. A place to fish and do other outdoor activities. It is his refuge.
“It’s a 150 yard driveway. You go into another universe . . . I do too big a garden and I cut too much grass and I like to have fires . . . When you’re in the job day to day, thinking about the item you just developed, or you’re thinking about the minutiae of the business, as soon as you’re away you’re thinking more about the three-year run of this thing. And there’s nothing better than gardening to do that. I like to control my thinking and say I want to think about this, there’s something I need to think about. So that’s what I will think about while I’m doing this task. I can actually control what I’m going to be thinking about.”
