MAPLE LEAF HARDWARE LTD$.$David House and Elizabeth M$.$ A$.$ Grasby revised this case $($originally written by Steve Foerster under the supervision of R$.$H$.$ Mimick$)$ solely to provide material for class discussion.The authors do not intend to illustrate either effective or ineffective handling of amanagerial situation. The authors may have disguised certain names and other identifying information to protect confidentiality.This publication may not be transmitted, photocopied, digitized, or otherwise reproduced in any form or by any means without the permission of the copyright holder. Reproduction of this material is not covered under authorization by any reproduction rights organization. To order copies or request permission to reproduce materials, contact Ivey Publishing, Ivey Business School, Western University, London, Ontario, Canada, N$6$G ON$1$; $($t$)519\mathrm{.}661\mathrm{.}3208$; $($e$)$ cases@ivey.ca; www$.$iveypublishing.ca$.$ Our goal is to publish materials of the highest quality; submit any errata to publishcases@ivey.ca$.$Copyright $1999,$ Richard Ivey School of Business FoundationVersion: $2015-05-27$On May $29,2013,$ Stuart Foreman, assistant manager of the London, Ontario branch of the Central Canadian Bank, was reviewing information he had received from Robert Patrick, president and manager of Maple Leaf Hardware Ltd$.,$ who had requested an increase in his line of credit with the bank to cover seasonal working capital needs. Foreman, who had just received a transfer and promotion to the London branch, realized he would have to evaluate this request carefully.COMPANY BACKGROUNDPatrick was $32$ years of age. His father had established his own hardware business in Nova Scotia in $1983.$Robert had worked in his father's store since the age of $16,$ gaining valuable sales and management experience. In $2005,$ Patrick accepted a job offer from a large retail department chain. Two years later he was transferred to London, Ontario and eventually became manager of one of the branch stores. In $2010,$ he decided to leave the department chain in order to become his own boss. He opened his own retail hardware store with a personal investment of $$120,000$ and $$80,000$ from a close friend, Les Harrison, and incorporated the company on September $1,2010.$ Patrick was able to arrange a long$-$term loan of $$240,000$ and a line of credit of $$60,000$ with the Central Canadian Bank through Terry Woods $($Foreman$\text{'}$s predecessor, who had recently left the bank$).$ After a detailed analysis, Patrick decided to locate his business on Maple Leaf Street in a growing area of the city. He was able to rent a recently vacated building with $6,500$ square feet of space and adequate parking facilities. Initially, only two full$-$time and three part$-$time employees were hired to assist Patrick. As the business grew, additional part$-$time employees were hired. Sales increased steadily during the first few years, and in $2012,$ Maple Leaf Hardware Ltd$.$ realized its first profit.