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midst all the changes at RONA inc., with new ownership (Sycamore Partners) and a new banner strategy for its Lowe’s stores, the company continues to develop its other retail footprints.

One format that has been growing quietly is RONA’s urban store. It’s smaller than RONA’s building centres or big boxes, and the stores are strategically located in urban settings. They can be in a shopping centre or in a downtown area.

Even with their small retail spaces, RONA’s urban stores carry a reduced selection of building materials, but with no lumber yard. The stores also offer a small selection of appliances, supported by online ordering.

“In essence, regular RONA hardware stores are in every market throughout Canada, while an urban RONA store is one in the heart of a major city only,” says a spokesperson from RONA inc. A few of the urban stores already exist in Ontario and Quebec—RONA Bélanger in Montreal’s east-end neighborhood of Rosemont is one example.

Now, the retailer has established its first urban format store in western Canada. Two former RONA employees, Michael Trentalance and Al Tsuchiya, now the owners of the T&T Hardware Group, have joined RONA’s independent dealer network with their store, RONA Walnut Grove, in Langley, B.C. The 5,500-squarefoot location is getting a 2,200-square-foot expansion to offer up to 650 new SKUs of select building materials and plumbing products.

‘‘With the uniqueness of our distribution network and corporate stores within the Canadian markets, we can support this type of store better than anyone in our industry,” says Philippe Element, vice-president, RONA dealer sales and support.

Paul Sharpe, owner of the RONA store in Guelph, Ont., has acquired BFD RONA Building Centre in nearby Kitchener, Ont. Major renovations have already been completed, including a new pro desk and a lumber yard redesign. RONA has also signed Vantage Building Supplies in Vegreville, Alta., as an affiliate dealer. The owners are investing more than $1 million to expand the existing 4,500-square-foot retail space in two phases, adding a total of 5,500 square feet.

Ad Adds Toronto Dealer

Senso Group Building Supplies Inc. is the newest member to join AD, the North American hardware buying group. Senso has joined AD’s Building Supplies - Canada division (formerly TORBSA). Senso has three divisions of its own: building supplies, construction equipment and rentals, and waste management. The building supplies business was established in 2011.