The news that Lowe’s Cos., based in Mooresville, N.C., is selling off its Canadian division to New York City-based Sycamore Partners, a private equity firm, has rocked the retail home improvement industry—and lit up the news feeds.
The news has also sparked sarcasm from some journalists and business analysts in Quebec, where RONA, acquired by Lowe’s in 2016, had been a legacy brand in the province for decades. The business was sold to Sycamore yesterday for a mere US$400 million cash—plus unspecified performance payments—only six years after Lowe’s had paid US$2.4 billion (CDN$3.2 billion) for RONA inc. The new deal is expected to close early in 2023.
In a letter to vendors, Lowe’s Canada president Tony Cioffi (shown here) stated, “Under our new ownership, we will maintain a strong commitment to our Canadian- and Quebec-based vendors, including through our ongoing involvement in the ‘Well Made Here’ initiative, meant to encourage the purchase of domestically manufactured quality products.”
Cioffi also shared that the Lowe’s big box stores will change names eventually. “There are no significant changes planned for the stores. We will eventually move away from the Lowe’s banner in Canada in favour of the RONA banner in a manner that ensures the least possible disruption to our business. Otherwise, you will see minimal change.”
(More on this deal in Monday’s brain-searing edition of our weekly Hardlines newsletter! Make sure yo’re getting the full story. Click here for more about Hardlines!)
