Lowe’s is continuing to expand in Canada with Lowe’s stores, as well as with locations branded with Canadian retailer RONA’s name.
Lowe’s confirmed this month that it has opened two new RONA stores in Quebec. The stores are located in the cities of Saint-Felix-de-Valois and Rouyn-Noranda. Both home improvement stores have lumberyards.
“We are proud to continue the expansion of RONA, a banner that has clearly been identified as a strategic growth driver for Lowe’s Canada,” says Sylvain Prud’homme, president and CEO of Lowe’s Canada.
The U.S. retailer operates 55 Lowe’s-branded stores and about 436 RONA locations in Canada. The company began its Canadian retail business in 2007, but didn’t start expanding quickly until acquiring Canadian company RONA in a $2.3 billion deal in 2016.
“The acquisition enables the company to accelerate its growth strategy in the Canadian home improvement market,” the retailer states in its 2016 annual report.
Lowe’s is growing its own brand in Canada by planning conversions of some RONA stores into Lowe’s locations.
As of March, Lowe’s operated 2,365 home improvement and hardware stores in the U.S., Canada and Mexico. Lowe’s also owns the licensing rights to the Ace Canada brand.