BOUCHERVILLE, Que. — Robert Sawyer kept a low profile while with Metro, but he’s unlikely to maintain it at RONA. Since he took up the helm in April after 34 years with Metro, he has made a name for himself as a master of the corporate turnaround, closing underperforming stores, shuffling the executive team, and selling off the company’s professional services division. Unlike many of his peers, he skipped university, working his way up the retail ladder since he started making deliveries on his bike for a Montreal corner store. Sawyer’s familiarity with the idiom of the local store has given him an edge in negotiating with owner-operators frustrated by what they see as the high cost of RONA merchandise and corporate inefficiency. Report on Business magazine profiled Sawyer in The Globe and Mail.
With Sawyer at the helm, a turnaround for RONA
Most Recent
Most Read
RONA shares strategy, new look for its dealers, at Montreal buying show
Mon, December 04th, 2023
Gawtrey announces retirement from Home Hardware
Mon, December 04th, 2023
Vista Railing expands sales team in Ontario and U.S.
Mon, December 04th, 2023
French home improvement supplier Alpagroup sets up in North America
Fri, December 01st, 2023
LBMAO’s AGM and gala brings Ontario industry members together
Fri, December 01st, 2023
Canadian shoppers to spend 15 percent more this holiday season: Retail Council of Canada
Fri, December 01st, 2023
Rainbow Bridge car explosion was a lumber dealer, not a terrorist
Thu, November 30th, 2023
Giant Tiger opens Toronto-area location
Thu, November 30th, 2023
Regal ideas makes changes to its sales force
Thu, November 30th, 2023
Throwback Thursday: 20 years ago, Castle hired dealer recruitment specialist Mike Frame
Thu, November 30th, 2023