Cantrex names Vezina to furniture post
Michael J. Knell -- Furniture Today, April 19, 2004
MISSISSAUGA, Ontario — Pierre Vezina has been named national manager/furniture, bedding and appliances for Cantrex Group. He has been manager of the Canadian buying group's Quebec division.
He reports to Terry Moore, who has been named general manager of Cantrex and remains a vice president of what is now GE Commercial Distribution Finance, the owner of Cantrex.
Moore said it will be at least 90 to 120 days before Cantrex will discuss its strategic direction and priorities.
The future of the fee-for-service buying group has been the source of considerable speculation since Peter Kelley, president of what was then Transamerica Commercial Finance Canada, announced last May a major reorganization of Cantrex senior management.
Since then, TCFC has been acquired by General Electric and is now called GE Commercial Distribution Finance.
The reorganization began with the departure of the four remaining vice president/general managers. They were Derek Penney, furniture and appliances for Ontario, Western and Atlantic Canada; Bernard St. Charles, furniture and appliances for Quebec; Claude Lapierre, floor coverings; and Jacques Lecavalier, electronics and photography.
At the time, Kelley said the parent company wanted to change Cantrex's largely regional corporate structure into three product-based segments managed on a national basis. In addition to furniture, bedding and appliances, the other segments would be electronics, photo and computer, and floor covering.
Cantrex, acquired by TCFC in mid-1998, said it has about 1,300 points of sale across Canada, covering all the product categories it serves.
