RONA inc. confirmed on Feb. 3 the finalization of its sale to a New York City-based private equity firm. Sycamore Partners announced last November its intention to take over the Canadian business from Lowe’s Cos., a publicly traded company based in Mooresville, N.C. All of Lowe’s Canada’s retail brands, including RONA, Lowe’s, Réno-Dépôt, and Dick’s Lumber, are now owned by Sycamore.

The deal returns RONA to its roots as a private company for the first time since it went public in 2002. Sycamore, which owns other major retail brands such as Loft/Ann Taylor, Nine West, Talbots, Aeropostale, and Staples, has the means to make significant investments in its newest Canadian home improvement brands.

Founded in Quebec in 1939, RONA will maintain its head office in Boucherville, on the South Shore of Montreal, and will continue to operate and service a network of some 450 corporate and affiliated dealer stores across Canada.

Meanwhile, the 61 Lowe’s-bannered big boxes within the RONA organization will remain open, but eventually all of those Lowe’s stores in Canada will be converted to the RONA banner. All RONA banners will still offer Lowe’s private brands, provide customer financing, and honour warranties and gift cards issued by Lowe’s stores in Canada.

In addition, the company says it will maintain “a strong commitment to its RONA affiliated dealer network and to its Canadian- and Quebec-based vendors, including through its ongoing involvement with the ‘Well Made Here’ initiative, intended to encourage the purchase of domestically manufactured quality products.”

“The senior leadership team and I are very excited to begin this new chapter in the history of RONA, a brand that is valued by DIYers and contractors across the country,” said Tony Cioffi, president of RONA (shown here).

Cioffi believes the new iteration of the company, unencumbered by direction from Lowe’s in the U.S., will enable the Canadian business to focus on its own brands.

“Now that the transaction with Sycamore Partners has been completed, RONA will continue to develop and expand its network of affiliated dealers, who are very excited about this transition,” Cioffi told Hardlines. “There will be more investments in the RONA banner, which will help create an even stronger brand that will benefit the network—and is likely to attract new dealers.”

Mayfair Lumber to add new distribution centre in Edmonton

Mayfair Lumber, the Calgary-based distributor of lumber and commodities, is preparing for further growth as it completes a new distribution centre in Edmonton.

Randy Aikens is the president of the 47-year-old firm, having joined the family-owned business almost two years ago. Mayfair sells throughout the west and into northwestern Ontario. Aikens says that maintaining meaningful connections with customers has been an important part of coming through the past three years of Covid.

“It’s been a slow changeover” back to more normal interactions, Aikens told Hardlines. “People weren’t trusting the market because of the swings in commodity and lumber pricing … Through Covid, the relationships [have] become so much more important. We stayed focused on our best customers.”

The new DC in Edmonton supports that focus. The 33,000-square-foot facility sits on four acres. “It’s almost a duplicate of our Calgary yard,” Aikens says, though the Calgary site has 11 acres of land.

He adds that each DC will go to market on its own rather than being restricted to a delineated territory. “It’s more about the connection with the customer than dealing with just one place.” Aikens also hints at further possible expansion for Mayfair. “We’re looking at other locations in the future.”

Alberta town divided over incentives offered to Canadian Tire for new store

The city of Lacombe, Alta., (2021 population: 13,396) will not be getting a Canadian Tire store after all—at least, not yet. About two weeks ago, Canadian Tire Real Estate Ltd. returned a $750,000 deposit that Lacombe’s council had voted to give the giant retailer in 2018.

The city, 25 kilometres north of Red Deer, had to borrow money to pay what was meant to be an inducement to encourage Canadian Tire to build a store there. But after missing a number of deadlines, the Tire, which posted $16.3 billion in revenues last year, decided to return the inducement—with accrued interest.

There were arguments on both side of the issue, with some residents and councillors—and notably the mayor, Grant Creasey—arguing for the benefits of a new Canadian Tire store. Those benefits would include construction, jobs, increased money coming into the community, and a big-league anchor for a planned retail development on the east side of town, Lacombe Market Square.

But not everyone saw the merits of the handout.

“I do my best not to let things get under my skin,” Tyler Nowochin, proprietor of Nowco Hardware, a Home Hardware dealer, told Hardlines. “I pick my battles—but that one was infuriating. The community got involved and we got so much social media value [out of the opposition to the new store]. Residents were just ripping the city apart.”

Two municipal councillors voted against the deal, arguing that the taxpayers of Lacombe should not be subsidizing a Canadian Tire—especially one that could, theoretically, put independent stores like Nowochin’s out of business. Tyler and his wife Deanna represent the third generation of their family business, which is 37 years old.

Nowochin said that the original developer pulled out of the retailer development many years ago, and the value of the land subsequently plummeted. Canadian Tire still owns the land, for which it paid $2.5 million of its own money. The retailer already has at least three stores within a half an hour of Lacombe. One is in Sylvan Lake to the southwest, and two are in Red Deer to the south.

Mayor Creasey was quoted in local media after Canadian Tire pulled out and returned the money. He thanked Canadian Tire “for honouring the original agreement and returning the deposit to our citizens.”

What better way to attract the next generation of customers than to host birthday parties for them?

That’s just what Lowe’s in the U.S. has done. It’s introduced an in-store birthday party program that aims to inspire the next generation of builders—and give their parents (the paying customers) an option for entertaining their kids.

The so-called “Build a Birthday” parties add a new dimension to the retailer’s long-standing monthly kids’ workshops. So far, parents can book a paid, private party in 10 Lowe’s stores across the U.S.

Designed for children five years and up, the Build a Birthday package includes safety goggles, aprons, and party construction hats. The two-hour events are led by a Lowe’s employee, allowing parents to get a break from their kids while giving their kids some “hands-on knowledge in a fun, in-store environment,” according to a release from Lowe’s.

Quebec building centre chain Gagnon La Grande Quincaillerie has appointed Robert Rozon to the role of general manager. Rozon has been involved in the hardware and building materials industry for more than 30 years, including spending the last decade as general manager of AFA Forest Products (which is now part of Gillfor).

Thierry Lachapelle has been confirmed to succeed Jean Piuze as president of Etalex. Lachapelle came aboard in June as managing director of the company, which majority owner Desjardins Capital formed in 2019 as the fusion of three manufacturers (the eponymous Etalex, plus Équipement Boni and Forma Fil). Lachapelle was previously a member of its board of directors.

Jeld-Wen of Canada has announced the promotion of Doug Nowlin to the role of provincial sales manager for western Canada. He reports directly to Adrienne Burgess, VP of sales, Canada. Nowlin joined Jeld-Wen in January 2022 as leader of the direct sales team and has been instrumental in the growth of the business in Manitoba. In his new role, he is responsible for all sales in western Canada across both the dealer and direct channels.

DID YOU KNOW...?

Canadian Tire Corp. is reportedly seeking to relocate its store in Kelowna, B.C. In an email to local news outlet Castanet, the retailer wrote: “The proposed store will be a new building that will replace the existing building on the property” at Highway 97 and Highway 33 in the central-east part of Kelowna. That building was a Costco before it was relocated. The new building will represent an estimated $25 million investment, and will be 108,000 square feet in size.

Renfrew Home Hardware Building Centre in Renfrew, Ont., is changing hands effective March 1, according to current owners Karen and Steve Maxwell. The store will be sold to Adam and Jasmine Moulton, who currently own four Home Hardware Building Centre locations in Barrie, Ingersoll, Strathroy, and Woodstock, Ont. The store has a 25,000-square-foot retail space and an 18,000-square-foot drive-through lumberyard on 5.2 acres.

Hudson’s Bay Co. is reimagining the beloved Zellers Family Restaurant as a fleet of food trucks. As the first store-within-a-store locations open this spring, the trucks will pull up to greet customers. The retailer is soliciting feedback on the menu through an Instagram poll. If the food trucks get a positive response from customers, they will then hit the road for a cross-Canada tour, with dates and locations to be announced.

Grainger has turned in fourth-quarter and full-year results for 2022. Sales of $3.8 billion in Q4 increased 13.2 percent. Earnings reached $544 million, up 30.4 percent. For the full year, sales of $15.2 billion increased 16.9 percent and earnings climbed 43.2 percent to $2.22 billion.

ECONOMIC INDICATORS

The seasonally adjusted value of building permits decreased 7.3 percent in December to $10.3 billion. Declines were posted in both the residential and the non-residential sectors, with residential permits down 8.4 percent to $6.5 billion. Construction intentions in the single-family homes component decreased 3.9 percent. (StatCan)