Rona (company)
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| Rona Inc. | |
 |
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| Type | Public (TSX: RON) |
|---|---|
| Founded | Boucherville, Quebec (1939) |
| Headquarters | Boucherville, Quebec |
| Key people | Robert Dutton - President and CEO André H. Gagnon - Chairman |
| Industry | Home improvement |
| Products | Retail (Home improvement) |
| Revenue |  $3.68 billion CAD |
| Employees | 20,000 (2005) |
- For other meanings of Rona, see Rona (disambiguation)
Rona is one of Canada's leading distributor and retailer in hardware, home improvement and gardening products, founded in 1939. Rona operates a network of some 540 stores of various sizes and types. More than 16,000 employees in all regions of Canada work under the various banners. The Rona network represents over 1 million square metres and annual sales approaching $4 billion. The company holds an 11% share of its nationwide market. The corporate headquarters is located in Boucherville, Quebec. Administration centres are located in Surrey, British Columbia and Etobicoke, Ontario, Canada.
[edit] History
1982 - Ro-Na purchased the assets of Botanix.
1984 - Ro-Na created a purchasing alliance with Ontario-based Home Hardware Stores Ltd. through Alliance RONA Home Inc.
1988 - Ro-Na merged with Dismat, another building materials company, to create Ro-Na Dismat Group Inc.
1990 - Ro-Na 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 Ro-Na Dismat Group Inc. ITM becomes a shareholder and forms a purchasing alliance with Ro-Na.
1998 - Ro-Na 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 Ro-Na 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 and thus owning many more stores in the Greater Toronto Area.
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.
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 a majority (51%) stake in Matériaux Coupal Inc.
[edit] RONA names
- RONA Botanix
- RONA Building Center
- RONA Cashway
- 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
