This week I returned to The Trail Shop “Nova Scotia’s original outdoor store” in Halifax. I was there, with Ben Cumming, to set-up our new 3×6 foot end isle assortment. Ben laid out the point of purchase signage telling the story of Trail Blazer Products Limited. John Annett, the hard goods buyer with The Trail Shop, suggested the point of purchase signage should also point out that Trail Blazer Products are ideal tools for trail maintenance. Ben is now laying out new point of purchase signage for outdoor stores, to be use with their assortments of trail maintenance tools.
Ben Cumming is doing a fantastic job with Trail Blazer’s point of purchase signage and also some flyers specifically prepared for Home Hardware stores & Ackland’s Grainger branches. He is now laying out signage for convenience & grocery store assortments while preparing packages for 2012, with a Quick Response (QR) Code to allow customers to scan with their smart phones & see a video showing the products features in action. Ben’s confidence & skill level has grown to the point where he is now tackling the very large task of laying out a whole new catalogue for Trail Blazer Products.
The popularity of Trail Blazer’s assortments & point of purchase signage is starting to get distributor’s attention. This week, we were invited to attend Co-op Atlantic’s managers meeting, in Moncton on November 7th. We will be presenting Trail Blazer Products and offering the 4 x 8 foot wall assortments, or 3×6 foot end aisle assortments to all their farm stores in Atlantic Canada and the Magdalen Islands. Co-op Atlantic’s membership includes 99 retail co-ops including grocery stores, convenience stores, country stores and farm stores. We will be offering the 2×4 foot assortment to their grocery stores and RiteSTOP convenience stores.
To end the week, I attended the 4Front Atlantic Conference where I heard 4 panel presentations. They discussed global opportunities, the drivers of success in the new global economy, how universities can contribute to our international teams and some real lessons learned from successful businesses doing business globally. During lunch, I had the pleasure of listening to The Right Honourable David Johnson, Governor General of Canada. He was born in Sudbury, Ontario, and married to Sharon Johnston. They have five adult daughters and eight grandchildren. He was sworn in on October 1, 2025 as the 28th governor general since confederation. Plus in the 60′s, while at Harvard, he was twice selected for the All-American hockey team and is a member of Harvard’s Athletic Hall of Fame.
The speakers provided a lot of information and got me thinking about future goals. Speakers like John Risley the Present and CEO of Clearwater Fine Foods Incorporated, Stewart Beck the High Commissioner to the Republic of India, J.P. Deveau the President of Acadian Seaplants, Guillermo Rishchynski the Canadian Ambassador to Mexico and Permanent Representative to the United Nations, Jo Mark Zurel the President of Stonebridge Capital and Chair of St. John’s Board of Trade. I learned a lot more about our education system from the Presidents of Dalhousie University, University de Moncton and University of Prince Edward Island.
Back at the office, I’m very pleased to see the great improvements continuing to take place in our productivity and inventory management. This is all happening because of Robert Woodman’s dedication to the future growth & success of Trail Blazer Products Limited. The production team reached 87% efficiency this week, a great improvement and I’m sure it will continue as we still have lots of room for even more improvement on the plant floor. After a tough year at Trail Blazer Products Ltd, it is welcoming to see the excitement for improvement & success spreading among the entire staff. Not to mention, If they ain’t happy … I aint happy! I believe this is because we are starting to re-direct our shared passion for money … into actually making money! Thank you Robert and everyone involved with the continuous improvements we are experiencing.
All the Best, Shawn Levangie