ShonTron
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- Joined
- Apr 24, 2007
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- 12,494
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- Ward 13 - Toronto Centre
Lowe's are huge stores with massive inventories and need a large steady stream of wallets through the door to keep them viable. Neither Big Blue or Big Orange have great relationships with contractors and depend on homeowners. Their main strength is the sheer scope of inventory they carry and, to some homeowners, their installation services (wouldn't touch them). Places like Thunder Bay and Brockville both have HD as well and I'm guessing they simply weren't big enough for both. I vaguely recall the last round of closings also included a number of 'smaller market' communities.
Most Ronas are more suited for smaller markets and are more amenable to contractors, but if my local store is an indication there seems to be a lot of stock drift lately and enlarging inventory - like trying to compete with Canadian Tire or something.
Had Lowe's not bought RONA, I could see the former slowly disappear on its own. Unlike Home Hardware, which stayed out of the big-box market (its biggest stores are more a more traditional large hardware store + lumberyard), while RONA, basically Quebec's Home Hardware, expanded into that market, buying up Reno-Depot, and Build-All/Revy in the process. They expanded very quickly to keep up with Home Depot and they were having trouble.