Rona (company)
Encyclopedia
Rona Inc. is a Canadian
distributor and retailer of hardware, home improvement and gardening products. Rona was founded in 1939. Rona operates a network of some 700 stores and is the leading distributor and retailer in its market with approximately 51,594 employees. The Rona network represents over 16 million square metres and annual retail sales of almost $6.0 billion
. The company holds an 25% share of its nationwide market. The corporate
headquarters are located in Boucherville, Quebec
. Administration centres are located in Surrey, British Columbia
and Toronto
, Ontario
.
-area hardware retailers who sought the buying power to bypass wholesalers and deal directly with manufacturers.
1950s - Ro-Na name adopted, after ROlland Dansereau and NApoleon Piotte, two of the founders of Les Marchands en Quincaillerie. Ro-Na member stores begin adding the Ro-Na logo to identify themselves as members of the buying co-operative.
1982 - Rona purchased the assets of Botanix.
1984 - Rona created a purchasing alliance with Ontario-based Home Hardware
Stores Ltd. through Alliance Rona Home Inc.
1988 - Rona merged with Dismat, another building materials company, to create Rona Dismat Group Inc.
1990 - Rona formed an alliance with Hardware Wholesalers, Inc.
of Fort Wayne, Indiana
.
1997 - ITM Entreprises S.A., a France-based group, invests $30 million in the Rona Dismat Group Inc. ITM becomes a shareholder and forms a purchasing alliance with Rona.
1998 - Rona eliminates the Le Quincailleur and Dismat names and introduces Rona L'express, Rona L'express Matériaux and Rona Le Rénovateur Régional. It also changes its name from Rona Dismat Group Inc. to Rona Inc.
1999 - Rona opens a new warehouse adjacent to its headquarters, measuring 654,000 square feet (61,000 m²), doubling its warehousing capacity and achieving considerable cost savings.
2000 - Rona acquires Cashway Building Centres, with 66 stores. It permanently opens its online store on the rona.ca website.
2001 - Rona acquires 51 Revy, Revelstoke and Lansing stores, thus owning many more stores in the Greater Toronto Area. Revy was a BC-based company.
2002 - Rona closes a public offering consisting of a total offering of $150.1 million of Common Shares. Rona's Common Shares are then traded on the Toronto Stock Exchange under the symbol "RON".
2003 - Rona acquires Réno-Dépôt Inc. from British Kingfisher plc
, including The Building Box stores. Rona also opens its third large distribution center in Calgary, Alberta.
2004 - Rona acquires Totem Building Supplies Ltd., an Alberta company.
Rona Dream Home airs on Global
. Rona also joins the AIR MILES Reward Program.
2005 - Rona Dream Home 2 airs on Global.
2006 - Rona acquires Stephens Home Centre/ Castle Inc., Sydney N.S
2006 - Rona acquires a majority (51%) stake in Matériaux Coupal Inc.
2006 - Rona acquires Curtis Lumber Building Supplies
2006 - Rona acquires St. John's, NL based Chester Dawe Limited
2007 - Rona acquires Burnaby, BC based Dick's Lumber
2007 - Rona acquires Concord, ON based Noble Trade
2010 - Rona acquires Pierceys, based in Nova Scotia
and, through Noble Trade, Plomberie Payette & Perreault based at Boucherville, QC as well as Don Park Canada and TruServ
and other big box retailers, Rona established the Rona Home & Garden stores.
Rona Home & Garden stores are large, ranging from 85,000 to 150000 square feet (13,935.5 m²), with a warehouse-style similar to The Home Depot
and Lowe's
.
While The Home Depot and Lowe's stores are all company owned, Rona Home & Garden stores are a combination of corporately owned and franchised, despite the massive investment required to build such a store. As big box home improvement stores entered the market, Rona countered by bringing together successful owners of small Rona affiliate stores in Quebec to invest in one or more big box format stores. Many Rona Home & Garden locations in that province thus have local ownership, a tradition of the family hardware store, and a great deal of flexibility to adapt to the market at store level. Most of Rona's big-box format stores in the rest of Canada are entirely corporate-owned.
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
distributor and retailer of hardware, home improvement and gardening products. Rona was founded in 1939. Rona operates a network of some 700 stores and is the leading distributor and retailer in its market with approximately 51,594 employees. The Rona network represents over 16 million square metres and annual retail sales of almost $6.0 billion
Canadian dollar
The Canadian dollar is the currency of Canada. As of 2007, the Canadian dollar is the 7th most traded currency in the world. It is abbreviated with the dollar sign $, or C$ to distinguish it from other dollar-denominated currencies...
. The company holds an 25% share of its nationwide market. The corporate
Corporation
A corporation is created under the laws of a state as a separate legal entity that has privileges and liabilities that are distinct from those of its members. There are many different forms of corporations, most of which are used to conduct business. Early corporations were established by charter...
headquarters are located in Boucherville, Quebec
Quebec
Quebec or is a province in east-central Canada. It is the only Canadian province with a predominantly French-speaking population and the only one whose sole official language is French at the provincial level....
. Administration centres are located in Surrey, British Columbia
Surrey, British Columbia
Surrey is a city in the province of British Columbia, Canada. It is a member municipality of Metro Vancouver, the governing body of the Greater Vancouver Regional District...
and Toronto
Toronto
Toronto is the provincial capital of Ontario and the largest city in Canada. It is located in Southern Ontario on the northwestern shore of Lake Ontario. A relatively modern city, Toronto's history dates back to the late-18th century, when its land was first purchased by the British monarchy from...
, Ontario
Ontario
Ontario is a province of Canada, located in east-central Canada. It is Canada's most populous province and second largest in total area. It is home to the nation's most populous city, Toronto, and the nation's capital, Ottawa....
.
History
1939 - Rona is founded in September as "Les Marchands en Quincaillerie" (The Merchants of Hardware), an alliance of independent MontrealMontreal
Montreal is a city in Canada. It is the largest city in the province of Quebec, the second-largest city in Canada and the seventh largest in North America...
-area hardware retailers who sought the buying power to bypass wholesalers and deal directly with manufacturers.
1950s - Ro-Na name adopted, after ROlland Dansereau and NApoleon Piotte, two of the founders of Les Marchands en Quincaillerie. Ro-Na member stores begin adding the Ro-Na logo to identify themselves as members of the buying co-operative.
1982 - Rona purchased the assets of Botanix.
1984 - Rona created a purchasing alliance with Ontario-based Home Hardware
Home Hardware
Home Hardware is a privately held Canadian home improvement, construction materials, and furniture retailer. Co-founded in 1964 by Walter Hachborn and headquartered in St...
Stores Ltd. through Alliance Rona Home Inc.
1988 - Rona merged with Dismat, another building materials company, to create Rona Dismat Group Inc.
1990 - Rona formed an alliance with Hardware Wholesalers, Inc.
Do It Best
Do It Best Corp. is a hardware store retailers' cooperative. It was founded as Hardware Wholesalers, Inc in 1945 in Fort Wayne, Indiana by Arnold H. Gerberding along with 75 dealers who would become members and invest $1,000 in exchange for shares of stock in the company. Donald Wolf was CEO...
of Fort Wayne, Indiana
Fort Wayne, Indiana
Fort Wayne is a city in the US state of Indiana and the county seat of Allen County. The population was 253,691 at the 2010 Census making it the 74th largest city in the United States and the second largest in Indiana...
.
1997 - ITM Entreprises S.A., a France-based group, invests $30 million in the Rona Dismat Group Inc. ITM becomes a shareholder and forms a purchasing alliance with Rona.
1998 - Rona eliminates the Le Quincailleur and Dismat names and introduces Rona L'express, Rona L'express Matériaux and Rona Le Rénovateur Régional. It also changes its name from Rona Dismat Group Inc. to Rona Inc.
1999 - Rona opens a new warehouse adjacent to its headquarters, measuring 654,000 square feet (61,000 m²), doubling its warehousing capacity and achieving considerable cost savings.
2000 - Rona acquires Cashway Building Centres, with 66 stores. It permanently opens its online store on the rona.ca website.
2001 - Rona acquires 51 Revy, Revelstoke and Lansing stores, thus owning many more stores in the Greater Toronto Area. Revy was a BC-based company.
2002 - Rona closes a public offering consisting of a total offering of $150.1 million of Common Shares. Rona's Common Shares are then traded on the Toronto Stock Exchange under the symbol "RON".
2003 - Rona acquires Réno-Dépôt Inc. from British Kingfisher plc
Kingfisher plc
Kingfisher plc is a multinational retailing company headquartered in London, United Kingdom. It is the largest home improvement retailer in Europe and the third-largest in the world...
, including The Building Box stores. Rona also opens its third large distribution center in Calgary, Alberta.
2004 - Rona acquires Totem Building Supplies Ltd., an Alberta company.
Rona Dream Home airs on Global
Global Television Network
Global Television Network is an English language privately owned television network in Canada, owned by Calgary-based Shaw Communications, as part of its Shaw Media division...
. Rona also joins the AIR MILES Reward Program.
2005 - Rona Dream Home 2 airs on Global.
2006 - Rona acquires Stephens Home Centre/ Castle Inc., Sydney N.S
2006 - Rona acquires a majority (51%) stake in Matériaux Coupal Inc.
2006 - Rona acquires Curtis Lumber Building Supplies
2006 - Rona acquires St. John's, NL based Chester Dawe Limited
2007 - Rona acquires Burnaby, BC based Dick's Lumber
2007 - Rona acquires Concord, ON based Noble Trade
2010 - Rona acquires Pierceys, based in Nova Scotia
Nova Scotia
Nova Scotia is one of Canada's three Maritime provinces and is the most populous province in Atlantic Canada. The name of the province is Latin for "New Scotland," but "Nova Scotia" is the recognized, English-language name of the province. The provincial capital is Halifax. Nova Scotia is the...
and, through Noble Trade, Plomberie Payette & Perreault based at Boucherville, QC as well as Don Park Canada and TruServ
Rona "big box" stores
In the 1990s, under competitive pressure from The Home DepotThe Home Depot
The Home Depot is an American retailer of home improvement and construction products and services.The Home Depot operates 2,248 big-box format stores across the United States , Canada , Mexico and China, with a 12-store chain...
and other big box retailers, Rona established the Rona Home & Garden stores.
Rona Home & Garden stores are large, ranging from 85,000 to 150000 square feet (13,935.5 m²), with a warehouse-style similar to The Home Depot
The Home Depot
The Home Depot is an American retailer of home improvement and construction products and services.The Home Depot operates 2,248 big-box format stores across the United States , Canada , Mexico and China, with a 12-store chain...
and Lowe's
Lowe's
Lowe's Companies, Inc. is a U.S.-based chain of retail home improvement and appliance stores. Founded in 1946 in North Wilkesboro, North Carolina, the chain now serves more than 14 million customers a week in its 1,710 stores in the United States and 20 in Canada. Expansion into Canada began in...
.
While The Home Depot and Lowe's stores are all company owned, Rona Home & Garden stores are a combination of corporately owned and franchised, despite the massive investment required to build such a store. As big box home improvement stores entered the market, Rona countered by bringing together successful owners of small Rona affiliate stores in Quebec to invest in one or more big box format stores. Many Rona Home & Garden locations in that province thus have local ownership, a tradition of the family hardware store, and a great deal of flexibility to adapt to the market at store level. Most of Rona's big-box format stores in the rest of Canada are entirely corporate-owned.
Companies operating under the Rona banner
- Curtis Lumber
- Rona Botanix
- Rona Building Center
- Rona Cashway
- Rona Cash & Carry
- Rona Hardware
- Rona Home & Garden
- Rona Home Centre
- Rona L'entrepôt
- Rona L'express
- Rona matériaux
- Rona Lansing
- Rona Le Quincailler
- Rona Rénovateur
- Rona Rénovateur régional
- Réno-Dépôt
- Studio par RONA
- The Building Box
- Totem Building Supplies