Part 4/12:

• Inflation and rising operational costs: Both squeezed margins and made maintaining competitive prices difficult.

• Supply chain disruptions: Post-pandemic supply issues caused delays, shortages, and increased costs for goods and transportation.

• Intensifying competition: Retail giants like Home Depot, Canadian Tire, and Lowe’s expanded aggressively, leveraging massive supply networks allowing them to price more competitively and absorb costs better than smaller chains like PV Mart.