Mega Group holds conference
By Michael J. Knell -- Furniture Today, May 26, 2008
Orlando, Florida — Mega Group will seek to leverage its strengths as this year unfolds, building on seven years of almost continuous growth, its new president and CEO told shareholder members attending its annual general meeting and conference here.
In his inaugural address as CEO, Benoit Simard acknowledged that the retail environment across Canada is beginning to soften. But he reassured members that the group is making the investments needed to ensure their ability to compete, especially against the big-box retailers.
"We have evolved from being a traditional buying group to becoming a provider of retail system solutions," he said.
Simard grew up in the furniture business. He took over his family's store in Rivière-du-Loop, Quebec, while still in his early 20s and has stayed in the industry ever since.
Mega has been on a fast track as group sales jumped from C$384 million in 2001 to C$740 million last year. They are projected to reach $850 million this year.
"Very shortly, we will hit the C$1 billion mark," Simard said.
The group's central billing operation at its headquarters in Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, has gone from processing 19,000 supplier invoices annually in 2001 to more than 150,000 invoices this year.
The group now has 358 approved suppliers and 93 employees in three offices — Saskatoon, Mississauga, Ontario, and Boucherville, Quebec.
In addition to rolling out its Brand Source campaign (see story at top of page), Mega will launch several other initiatives during the coming months, including its first private-label case goods collection
"We are investing a lot of money and energy into retail systems with an eye to improving operations," Simard said. "Our mission is to provide you with the tools that will make you better retailers."
Logistics will be a major focus of the group's efforts, he added.
The increasing costs of freight and transportation are squeezing retail profit margins, he said, and Mega is developing programs to assist members in coping with these pressures.
"This year, you'll being learning about some serious proposals about logistics from us," Simard said, adding that these new ideas will be based on improving GMROI — gross margin return on investment. "We really believe that this will be one of the best tools Mega has ever offered to its members."
Simard also announced that Michael Vancura has been promoted to vice president of retail operations at Mega Group.
