By : Françoise Stanton (Translation : Guy Côté)

Last fall, notary Karl St-Jacques of Town of Brome Lake and Granby entrepreneur Julien Rodrigue joined forces to take over the reins of RONA Lac-Brome.

This acquisition from American interests has restored the local store to its Quebec roots, echoing the brand created by a Quebec entrepreneur more than 80 years ago.

“RONA Lac-Brome is now an affiliate of the RONA banner, not to be confused with a franchise,” explains Karl St-Jacques.

“In fact, we control everything: purchasing, projects, operations, and 100% of the profits go to us. Our affiliation allows us to offer exclusive RONA products at competitive prices, like IGA with the Compliments brand. But we maintain complete independence in choosing our suppliers.”

Customer Service First

The two young partners, long time friends, have many projects: façade renovation, interior redesign, and product updates.

Thanks to the purchase of a crane truck and flatbed truck, they’ve even managed to set up a delivery service, saving local contractors costly trips.

Their top priority?

“Customer service,” replies Julien, himself from a family of retailers. “Karl or I are almost always in the store.”

And Karl adds, “You know, we’re very approachable. If a customer thinks our price is too high compared to the competition, we can negotiate. Unfortunately, small RONA stores like ours have a reputation for being overpriced. Here, that won’t be the case anymore,” he says with a knowing smile.

Supporting Local Expertise

As champions of Quebec craftsmanship, the two owners prioritize local and regional contractors and locally sourced products.

Finally, an exclusive VIP service for their business clientele is currently in development.

A Promising Change of Guard!