BOUCHERVILLE, Que. ― Lowe’s Canada has announced it is stepping up its investment in the Ace independent business that it owns through its acquisition of RONA. Lowe’s will bring the management and support of the Ace program into the Lowe’s Canada regional service centre in Toronto, while moving distribution for Ace to Lowe’s existing distribution centres in Boucherville, Que., and Calgary.
The move will result in the closing of the Ace head office and warehouse in Winnipeg, and the closing of Ace’s distribution centre in Kitchener, Ont., and leveraging of the Calgary and Boucherville locations to continue serving Ace dealers.
Winnipeg is scheduled to close by August, while Kitchener is expected to shut its doors by late fall.
While industry observers have speculated about Lowe’s long-term interest in Ace―and the independent network it serves―but with this move the company is affirming its willingness to invest resources to support and grow the entire independent retailer network and leverage the Ace dealer support program. The company plans on enhancing dealer growth by fostering marketing support, growing the Ace product offering, and providing better product pricing.
“Our goal is to support Ace dealer sales growth and profitability by establishing a dynamic dealer support program that offers our dealers a better share in their markets,” said Alain Brisebois, executive vice president of affiliated dealers. “We strongly believe in independent retailers, a key vector for our growth. Within this context, investing in Ace programs will ensure a successful longer-term outcome.”
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