RONA unveils its new building centre store model
Longueuil RONA first to adopt new model
Boucherville, QC – November 2, 2017 – 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. RONA’s Longueuil store located on Roland-Therrien Boulevard is the first of many to undergo this major transformation, thanks to an investment of more than $2.6 million. By the end of 2018, some 15 stores will have made the leap to the new RONA store model.
"As we clearly stated a year ago, we are committed to RONA and the building centre model as one of Lowe’s Canada’s pillars of growth," said Serge Éthier, Executive Vice-President of RONA Proximity. "Our new RONA store prototype was developed with three goals in mind: better meet current needs and trends in renovation, establish ourselves as our customers' go-to destination for projects, and enhance our offering for contractors and pros, who account for a larger portion of building centres' client base than it is the case for big box stores."
A transformation visible when setting foot into the store, to better meet the needs of today’s consumers
Overall, the new RONA store model is designed to better reflect new trends in the residential housing market—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 racking entirely redesigned and not as tall, except on the perimeter of the store, which allows customers to have a 360-degree view of the store and thereby find the section they are looking for at a glance. In addition, seasonal products have been moved up near the entrance so the shopping experience is renewed 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 renovation projects, whether it is 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 orders, 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 centers 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 store model is designed to provide contractors and other home improvement professionals with an enhanced selection of services. These include a reserved parking area, a dedicated entrance and service counter, 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.
About RONA
Created in 1939, RONA is a banner of Lowe’s Canada, one of Canada’s leading home improvement company. 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 17 million customers a week in the United States, Canada and Mexico. With fiscal year 2016 sales of $65.0 billion, Lowe’s and its related businesses operate or service more than 2,370 home improvement and hardware stores and employ over 290,000 people. Based in Boucherville, Quebec, Lowe’s Canadian business, together with its wholly owned subsidiary, RONA inc., operates or services more than 600 corporate and independent affiliate dealer stores in a number of complementary formats under different banners. These include Lowe’s, RONA, Réno-Dépôt, Marcil, Dick’s Lumber and Ace. In Canada, the companies have more than 25,000 employees, in addition to nearly 5,000 employees in the stores of RONA’s independent affiliate dealers.