Canadian Hardware Companies Completing Impacful Acquisitions
Bringing smaller hardware businesses into the fold has been the objective of several Canadian woodwork and hardware chains over the past few years. Acquisitions can increase the market share of a business more quickly and although it can prompt competition with other companies, an acquisition can allow for a competitive edge in the marketplace. Supporting a struggling, smaller company in the industry can help it thrive and prevent it from failing. Independent hardware chains including Home Hardware and Richelieu Hardware are market leaders with various locations across North America. Both chains have finalized monumental acquisitions in the past few years of SMEs in the hardware industry to strengthen those businesses.
Richelieu’s Four Canadian Acquisitions
Richelieu, Québec specialty hardware distributor, and manufacturer completed four new acquisitions of Canadian businesses this past January. The manufacturer purchased Rabel Hardware, the Québec specialty hardware distributor, Trans-World Distributing, the Nova-Scotia distributor of industrial fasteners, Unigrav, the Québec CNC cutting and machining company, and another Québec business, USIMM, specializing in 3D scanning and printing.
Richelieu’s products include kitchen and bathroom, storage, home furnishing, office furnishing, products for residential and commercial woodworkers, and doors and windows. The chain serves manufacturers from across the world with over 130,000 items, 50 distribution centres in Canada, and three manufacturing plants in the country.
The acquisitions led Richelieu towards substantial growth by the end of February. Their Q1 2023 earned the chain $22.6 million. “We are satisfied with our first quarter results and our five new acquisitions completed during and after this period as well as our new developments in the United States. We achieved sales of $403.0M, up 4.8%. For purposes of fair comparison with the first quarter of 2022, it should be noted that the market environment resulting from the pandemic contributed to generate exceptional growth in our results, particularly in the first quarter of 2022 when EBITDA increased by 40.8% and net earnings by 43.4%,” said Richard Lord, president and CEO of Richelieu.
Home Hardware Acquires Québec-Based Patrick Morin
In 2021, Home Hardware Stores Limited and Groupe Turcotte purchased the Québec home improvement retailer, Patrick Morin Inc. The deal involved 21 Patrick Morin stores and one distribution centre. The acquisition was made in an effort to support Québec’s home improvement market and strengthen the province’s economy. Upon the purchase, Kevin Macnab, president, and CEO of Home Hardware stated “We recognize that Quebec is a unique market and we believe that partnering with such a strong, made-in-Quebec brand will continue to give us a competitive edge as we work with Groupe Turcotte and the Patrick Morin team to strengthen our Merchandise programs. This Dealer-focused transaction strengthens the program for all home Dealers and Patrick Morin by leveraging Home’s national scale with Patrick Morin’s position and expertise in Quebec.”
Patrick Morin is a family-owned business originally established in 1960 that operates solely in Québec and employs over 1,700 employees. The business is recognized as a leader in the renovation, home improvement, and construction industry in the province providing high-quality services and products.