RONA inc. has launched a new private label, Laflamme & Co, featuring a wide selection of outdoor cooking products.

The private label will be sold exclusively at RONA+ and RONA stores as well as online.

“It is possible to find good quality outdoor cooking items at great value with our new private label,” said Doug Young, chief merchandising officer at RONA inc. “This is a great addition to our outdoor cooking assortment because it allows us to deliver great value when Canadians need it the most.”

Throwback Thursday is a weekly feature in which we dip into the archives of the Hardlines Weekly Report.

On April 17, 2000, we reported that Calgary-based GSD Winroc Corp. had bought up another pro distributor in Salt Lake City, Wasatch Building Materials. It was Winroc’s sixth acquisition in the U.S. It also had 19 GSDs in Canada at that time. In 2004, it was sold to Superior Plus LP, a chemical company on the Toronto Stock Exchange. The company, founded by Wayne Jack in Winnipeg in 1971, is now American-owned. Foundation Building Materials of Santa Ana, California, acquired it in 2016.

Quebec home improvement retailer Canac has partnered with Maxi (Quebec’s counterpart to No Frills) and Yum Yum Chips to create a commemorative line of potato chips in honour of the retailer’s 150th anniversary. The snack’s flavour is humorously named “Plain Gypsum with Pool Salt.”

The launch of the chips was announced April 1, sowing scepticism among consumers given Canac’s history of humorous campaigns, Julia Larivière, of communications firm Alinea, told Le Journal de Montréal.

AD Canada has announced that Clarington Building Supplies in Ontario’s Durham region will join effective May 1.

The business is a specialty gypsum dealer serving the eastern region of the Greater Toronto Area. Its offerings include drywall, plaster, joint compounds, and ceiling materials.

Pictured L to R: Ryan Farrell, Director of Operations, RONA Moncton; Kris Warren, VP, RONA Moncton; Garry Stokes, store manager, RONA Moncton; Alain Ménard, SVP, RONA affiliated dealers, RONA inc.; Bernie Gauthier, VP of Operations, RONA affiliated dealers, RONA inc.; and Scott Wilson, director of business development, RONA affiliated dealers.

RONA inc. has announced the grand opening of a new 50,000-square-foot RONA Moncton store featuring a drive-thru lumber yard. Situated along the Trans-Canada Highway in New Brunswick, the location welcomed leaders from the RONA dealer support team, partners, and store employees on April 23 for the traditional board-cutting ceremony. The latest store opening represents an investment of $10 million from Terraine Capital, which owns four other RONA stores in the Maritime provinces, and created more than 70 local jobs.

“Halifax, Charlottetown, and Moncton are some of the fastest-growing Canadian cities, therefore it’s important to stand out in this highly competitive market. We are now well-established, and I strongly believe our building centre in Moncton will become the destination of choice for local construction and home improvement projects,” says Adam Barrett, owner of Terraine Capital.

“The retail market is constantly changing. Adam and his team have been able to adapt and stand out in a way that benefits their customers. We are impressed by Adam’s great leadership, as well as of his team’s, in ensuring his business expansion from the past year,” added Alain Ménard, senior vice-president, RONA Affiliated Dealers at RONA inc.

Mountain Equipment Company (MEC) has found a new buyer. The Globe and Mail is reporting that MEC has agreed to sell a majority stake to Ontario textile manufacturing executive and real estate investor Tim Gu.

The purchase will bring MEC back under Canadian ownership. The company, which is currently owned by Los Angeles-based private investment firm Kingswood Capital, experienced steady revenue losses over the past two years and debts totalling more than $89 million.

“We can confirm it’s a Canadian buying group,” MEC spokesperson Jo Salamon told the Globe and Mail.

The deal will dissolve the member-owned co-operative structure the company has operated under since 1971.

The latest Hardlines podcast is now live.

In this episode, Peter Turkstra, third-generation owner of 12-store Turkstra Lumber, a pro dealer in Southern Ontario, talks about the ills that, all of a sudden in 2025, afflict the industry.

Most of them are courtesy of the American administration, or more properly the one man who has caused them, Peter says. But he also reflects on municipal development charges, the slowdown in housing starts, and consumers having their confidence shaken.

Watch our interview with Peter Turkstra here.

Check out all our podcasts here!

West Fraser Timber Co. reported Q1 sales of US$1.46 billion, up from $1.40 billion a year earlier. Earnings of $42 million reversed a $62 million loss in the comparable period of 2024. “Demand uncertainty for wood building products … has only been magnified recently by a U.S. administration that has both threatened and imposed higher lumber duties and punitive tariffs on many of the products we export from Canada to the U.S.,” CEO and president Sean Fraser said in a release.

The latest Hardlines podcast goes live this Wednesday. In this episode, Peter Turkstra, third-generation owner of 11-store Turkstra Lumber, a pro dealer in Southern Ontario, talks about the ills that, all of a sudden in 2025, afflict the industry. Most of them are courtesy of the American administration, or more properly the one man who has caused them, Peter says. But he also reflects on municipal development charges, the slowdown in housing starts, and consumers having their confidence shaken.

Check out all our podcasts here!

Castle Building Centres Group recently announced the winners of its 2024 Vendor Excellence Awards. Castle shareholders have the opportunity to nominate Castle vendors for exceptional performance and commitment to building a strong relationship with dealers.

Doman Building Materials and Taiga Building Products (pictured) won in the national awards category. All Weather At Home and Gentek Building Products won in the Western Canada category. Rapid Nail Canada Inc. and Sika won in the Central Canada category. Extreme Windows and Entrance Systems and Global Windows and Doors won in the Atlantic Canada category.