RONA CELEBRATES ITS 75TH ANNIVERSARY

"RONA enjoys a tremendous legacy. In honour, we want to work even harder to continue to merit the trust of our customers", said RONA President and CEO, Robert Sawyer. "In the world of retail, there is no status quo. We have to constantly reinvent ourselves to stay relevant, to improve our offering and adjust our strategies. For 75 years, RONA has been doing this successfully and today, more than ever, we are committed to offering a distinctive and complementary customer experience in all of our stores, that is, in RONA big boxes, Réno-Dépôt stores, RONA renovation centers and proximity stores as well in our specialized stores for contractors. I want to take this opportunity to thank the more than 24,000 employees who contribute to RONA's success every day."

In 1939, half a dozen dealer-owners created Les Marchands en Quincaillerie ltée to get around a monopoly that was threatening their supply chain. Their mission at the time is still relevant today: to combine orders to obtain the best prices. A few years later, Rolland Dansereau and Napoléon Piotte took control of the company, and in 1960 they created Ro-Na, a new entity that took its name from the first syllables of their first names. In 1988, Ro-Na merged with Dismat, another group that was working mainly in construction materials, and became Ro-Na Dismat. The 1990s was the era of big box stores, ushering in RONA L’entrepôt. The first decade of 2000 saw meteoric growth for RONA, as it made acquisitions, built new stores and recruited new dealer-owners. In 2002, RONA went public, marking an important milestone when its shares began trading on the TSX. In 2013, to improve the Corporation’s profitability, the Corporation replaced its Board of Directors and made several changes to its senior management. 

This year, with the transformation of all Réno-Dépôt stores complete, a better banner positioning, and as the master licencee for the Ace Hardware brand in Canada, RONA continues to consolidate its restructuring efforts. Today, RONA has a Canada-wide network of over 500 corporate, franchise and affiliate stores of varied and complementary formats. With eight distribution centres, RONA serves its network as well as many independent dealer-owners operating under other banners. The Corporation generates consolidated annual sales of $4.2 billion and has some 24,000 employees who are motivated by the pride of working with Canada's largest distributor and retailer of hardware, building materials and home renovation products. Throughout the month of October, special promotions and activities are planned to celebrate RONA's 75th anniversary in all its stores from coast to coast. 

Over the years, RONA has been a leading partner in its sustainable development efforts. In 1997, the Corporation was the first retailer to pioneer in Quebec the first paint recovery and recycling program in Canada. In 2012, RONA became the first national retailer to recover paint nationwide by offering the service in all its corporate, franchise and affiliate stores. RONA also offers its customers over 2,000 ecoresponsible products, including those of its own private brand, RONA ÉCO. RONA was a partner in the development of the product life cycle approach in 2007, in collaboration with the Montréal Polytechnique's International Product Life Cycle Chair. Since 2011, RONA has been on the Maclean's Sustainalytics list, which recognizes the 50 most socially responsible companies in Canada. In 2013, RONA was again distinguished by selecting lumber suppliers using responsible forest management practices.