RONA Etobicoke adopts new RONA building centre model

An investment in excess of $3 million to remodel the store

Boucherville, QC – June 14, 2018 — Lowe’s Canada, one of Canada’s leading home improvement company, has set out to make RONA the #1 banner in the building centre market (small to medium stores, also known as “proximity stores”) in the country. This segment currently accounts for close to half of Canada’s home improvement market. Thanks to an investment in excess of $3 million, RONA’s Etobicoke store, located at 1170 Martin Grove Road, underwent a major transformation to the new RONA building centre model. The Etobicoke store is the second RONA location in Ontario to go through such a transformation, following the renovation of RONA Markham, which was completed in May. By the end of 2018, some 10 stores across the country will have made the leap to the new RONA building centre store model.

"The customer was at the centre of our thought process when developing the new RONA building centre model, which was designed with three goals in mind: better meet current needs and trends in home improvement, become a true one-stop-shop destination for our customers’ home improvement projects, and enhance our offering for contractors and pros," said Patrick Lapointe, Divisional Vice-President, RONA Operations. "With a unique offering that caters to retail customers as well as contractors and pros, our building centre model plays a key role in Lowe’s Canada’s growth strategy, and we will keep investing in the RONA banner to reach our goal of becoming Canadians’ No. 1 choice for home improvement projects."

A transformation visible when setting foot into the store, to better meet the needs of today’s consumers

Overall, the new RONA building centre model is designed to better reflect new property trends—open floor plans, brighter rooms, and outside spaces designed to become natural extensions of the interior. These trends are reflected both in the store layout and strategic placement of some departments, as well as in the product selection. The result is a brighter, less compartmentalized store, with entirely redesigned racking that has been lowered, except on the perimeter of the store, to allow customers to have a 360-degree view of the store and find the section they are looking for at a glance. In addition, seasonal products have been moved up near the entrance of the store to renew the shopping experience on a regular basis, and household appliances now have a prime location near the kitchen project section.

RONA, the destination for projects

The new building centre model is also designed to make RONA the go-to destination for turnkey home improvement projects, whether it be remodelling a kitchen or bathroom, repairing a roof, or replacing doors and windows. This means that RONA offers not only the products required for home improvement projects, including products on special order, but also a full range of services to guide and support customers throughout their project. These include design consulting, 3D renderings, as well as installation services. The store layout, incidentally, strategically puts all these services near the appliance section and other products for kitchen remodelling projects. Eventually, all RONA building centres will feature a kitchen section, which will be bigger or smaller depending on the size of the store.

More services for contractors and pros

The new RONA building centre model is designed to provide contractors and other home improvement professionals with an enhanced selection of services. These include a reserved parking area, dedicated entrance and service desk, extended business hours to fit contractors’ schedules, a special fleet of trucks for construction site deliveries, a minimum 15,000-square-foot drive-through lumberyard, and charge-account services to speed up and simplify purchasing.

RONA Etobicoke: A central delivery hub

In addition to reflecting the new RONA building centre model, the Etobicoke location also presents a unique feature: The store is attached to a massive storage area that acts as a central delivery hub for stores in the Greater Toronto Area (GTA). Composed of a 130,000-square-foot warehousing area and a 5-acre paved lumber yard, this hub can house large quantities of products in key contractor categories such as roofing, drywall, and insulation. This gives all 26 GTA RONA stores access to an overall wider product assortment and increased availability, therefore improving the level of service provided to all customers. This is especially effective for, and appreciated by, pro customers who must meet tight timelines when completing their projects. In peak season, the hub has over 30 delivery vehicles covering the GTA market.

About RONA
Created in 1939, RONA is a banner of Lowe’s Canada, one of Canada’s leading home improvement companies headquartered in Boucherville, Quebec. Spanning the entire country, its vast network of more than 430 stores includes both corporate stores and independent affiliated dealers. Known for its large in-store and online product selection as well as for its installation services, RONA also provides expert support and advice to its retail and pro customers for their building and renovation projects. For more information, visit rona.ca or follow us on Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram.

About Lowe's Canada
Lowe’s Companies, Inc. (NYSE: LOW) is a FORTUNE® 50 home improvement company serving more than 18 million customers a week in the United States, Canada and Mexico. With fiscal year 2017 sales of $68.6 billion, Lowe’s and its related businesses operate or service more than 2,390 home improvement and hardware stores and employ over 310,000 people. Based in Boucherville, Quebec, Lowe’s Canadian business, together with its wholly owned subsidiary, RONA inc., operates or services more than 630 corporate and independent affiliate dealer stores in a number of complementary formats under different banners. These include Lowe’s, RONA, Réno-Dépôt, Dick’s Lumber, Contractor First, and Ace. In Canada, the companies have more than 28,000 employees, in addition to nearly 5,000 employees in the stores of RONA’s independent affiliate dealers.