Réno-Dépôt (known as Reno-Depot outside of Quebec) was a Canadian chain of home supply stores owned by Rona, Inc. Primarily operating in Quebec, Réno-Dépôt was a warehouse-styled format with a focus on discounted renovation and household hardware products. The chain briefly expanded into Ontario under the name The Building Box; following Rona's acquisition of Réno-Dépôt, these stores were re-branded as Rona Home & Garden locations in 2004.
In May 1992, Groupe Val Royal with its partner Aikenhead's, both owned by the Molson Companies (the former in part, the latter as a subsidiary), announced the creation of warehouse stores under the name of Réno-Dépôt inspired straight from the Home Depot chain in the United States.[2]
The first location opened in Brossard.[1] After the Brossard store, Montréal welcomed its first branch location in August 1993, in Anjou. In 1994, two other stores opened their doors: Laval and Pointe-Claire, followed by Marché Central (Montréal) and Québec City in 1995. That same year, the company itself changed its name to Réno-Dépôt. In 1996, a new location was established in Saint-Hubert.
Acquisition and expansion outside Quebec
In April 1997, the two majority shareholders of Réno-Dépôt Inc., the Michaud family and Molson Companies Limited, sold their interest in the company to the French group Castorama.[3] In 1998, the British group Kingfisher plc acquired a large block of shares from Castorama to become the majority shareholder. In 1999, Réno-Dépôt opened a location in LaSalle and, the following year, entered the Ontario market under the English-language banner The Building Box.
In September 2003, Rona Inc. acquired Réno-Dépôt; following the merger, the Ontario-based Building Box stores were re-branded as Rona Home & Garden.[4] The purchase was part of a plan to establish more "big box" stores to accompany its smaller specialty outlets and compete with the U.S.-based chain The Home Depot.[5]
In 2013, in the wake of cuts across the company, the Réno-Dépôt chain was re-positioned as a discount wholesale-focused banner with a reduced product selection.[6] In 2015, Rona announced that the brand would expand outside of Quebec with the re-opening of shuttered Rona locations in Calgary and Aurora, Ontario as Reno-Depot.[7] However, both locations were announced for closure in 2018 and 2019 respectively, leaving the chain once again restricted to Quebec.[8][9]
RONA+
On March 21, 2024, Réno-Dépôt Hull was converted to RONA+ Hull.[10]
On April 25, 2024, Réno-Dépôt Charlemagne & Réno-Dépôt Sherbrooke were converted to RONA+ Charlemagne & RONA+ Sherbrooke.[11]
On September 26, 2024, Rona indicated its intentions to rebrand all remaining Réno-Dépôt stores to RONA+ as of October 10, 2024. The renodepot.com website would close and redirect customers to rona.ca.[12]
References
^ ab"Reno-Depot advertisement page". Montreal Gazette. Montreal. March 31, 1993. p. C3.
^"Three Montreal-based companies demonstrate recession can be beaten". Montreal Gazette. Montreal. May 28, 1992. p. F1.
^"Reno-Depot sale closes". Montreal Gazette. Montreal. April 10, 1997. p. D3.
^Mills, Don (May 2004). "RONA re-brands its building box stores". Hardware & Home Centre Magazine. Toronto: Southam Inc. p. 20.
