Founding of Les Marchands en Quincaillerie Ltée. The objective: pool orders for various product lines in order to secure better prices.

1960

Incorporation of Quincaillerie Ro-Na Inc. The goal of the new company was to increase business through collective advertising and sales promotion of all types. According to the popular legend, the name Ro-Na comes from the first two letters of the first names of Rolland Dansereau, then President, and Napoléon Piotte, then External Relations.

1962

Acquisition of Les Marchands en Quincaillerie by a group of hardware store operators led by Napoléon Piotte. This transaction represents a major event in the organization's history as it marks the beginning of the cooperative system.

1968

Death of Napoléon Piotte and appointment of Charles Morency, hardware operator from Quebec City, as President of both companies.

Implementation of a first self-financing program based on guaranteed deposits derived from the holdback of a portion of the monthly rebates and annual volume discounts earned by the merchants. 

1970

Dissolution of Quincaillerie Ro-Na Ltée and adoption of the Marchands Ro-Na Inc. name in replacement of the Marchands en Quincaillerie Ltée name.

1974

Move to the new building in Boucherville which allowed the use of new technology to create efficiencies. Replacement of order catalogue by a microfiche system with microreader in all stores to facilitate access to information and reduce head-office operating costs and expansion of the delivery radius in Quebec through the installation of a mini-rail system in the warehouse and the use of new containers for shipping.

1983

Ro-Na begins selling interior decorating products through specialized boutiques operating under the Ambiance Boutique name.

1984

Ro-Na and Ontario-based Home Hardware Stores Ltd. merge their purchasing power to create an affiliated company called Alliance RONA Home I

1988

Merger with Dismat, another group operating in the building materials field. This confirms the company's coming of age and gives birth to the Ro-Na Dismat name. 

The Ro-Na Dismat Group decides to increase its purchasing power. Already associated to Home Hardware Stores Ltd., a group of over 1,000 merchants in Canada, the Group pursues a further alliance with Hardware Wholesalers Inc. of Fort Wayne, Indiana, with over 3,000 retailers in the United States.

1994

The year 1994 heralds the arrival of large-surface stores in the Ro-Na Dismat Group, which launches its RONA L'entrepôt big boxes. The warehouse stores differentiate themselves from the competition by offering the same quality service as traditional stores.

1998

The company refurbished its banners and eliminated the Le Quincailleur and Dismat names. At the same time, two new banners, RONA L'express and RONA L'express Matériaux, were introduced. The Ro-Na Dismat Group Inc. changed its name to RONA Inc.

2000's marked a new period of incredible expansion for RONA. Our growth strategy relied on four components: internal growth, acquisitions, new stores and recruiting new dealer-owners under our banner. Already the clear market leader in Quebec, we set our sights on Ontario and Western Canada to expand the RONA network.

2000 - 2005

From 2000 to 2005, RONA was in acquisition mode. We acquired the 66 Cashway Building Centre stores, the third largest industry player in Ontario. Then, we acquired the distribution infrastructure and 51 stores of Revy Home Centres, Lansing Buildall and Revelstoke, with 5,000 employees from Ontario to British Columbia and Réno-Dépôt/The Building Box with its 20 big-box stores in Quebec and Ontario. And finally, we acquired 16 Totem Building Supplies stores in Alberta. All these acquisitions were supported by a new distribution infrastructure in the West adding 320,000-square-foot distribution centre in Calgary

2002

In November 2002, RONA (TSX: RON) hit another big milestone when we were listed on the stock exchange, with an initial public offering of $150.1 million in common shares. The following year another $149.6 million in common shares were issued.

2006 - 2007

Becoming the Canadian leader in our industry was still a top priority. In 2006, RONA acquired Matériaux Coupal, six Curtis Lumber stores and three Mountain Building Center stores in British Columbia. The same year, RONA looked east to Newfoundland and Labrador, acquiring all eight Chester Dawe stores. In 2007, RONA added three more stores when we acquired the Vancouver area lumber, building material and hardware specialist Dick’s Lumber.

To reduce the cyclic nature of the business, RONA decided to add a commercial and professional sector to it line of business. In 2007, RONA acquired Noble Trade Inc., one of the biggest plumbing and heating wholesalers in Ontario, with an impressive commercial and professional customer base. In 2008, three Best-MAR plumbing, heating and air-conditioning specialty stores in the Ottawa/Gatineau region joined our list of acquisitions. 

2010

In 2010, RONA acquired an important distributor to it’s portfolio of brands when adding TRU Serve Canada to the list of acquisition. This addition was allowing RONA to sell to a greater number of independent dealers in Canada. 

announcement of RONA as 2010 Winter Olympic partner

2010

65th edition of the RONA spring show regrouping 2,500 dealers
The Sponsorship Marketing Council of Canada honoured RONA Vancouver 2010 FabShop with an Award of distinction in the philanthropy category

2011

The Sponsorship Marketing Council of Canada honoured RONA with a Best of Show Award and a Gold Award for its 2010 Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games sponsorship marketing program.