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NEWSROUNDUP
OF THE HOME IMPROVEMENT INDUSTRY
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R
ichelieu Hardware is celebrating a
number of milestones this year. It’s
been a quarter of a century since the
hardware and fastener company went public.
Its president and CEO, Richard Lord,
has been with Richelieu for three decades.
And the company itself is celebrating its
50th year.
Not bad for a fastener and cabinet hardware
maker that was doing $30 million in
sales when Lord took the helm in 1988. By
the end of this year, Richelieu will be a $1
billion company with 110,000 SKUs and
80,000 customers.
But more important than the growth,
the market dominance, and the national
presence of Richelieu is perhaps the fact
that it remains a Canadian company. In
an era that sees more and more Canadian
companies being swallowed up by larger
players, most of them from south of the
border, Richelieu has set itself apart as the
one doing the acquisitions, many of them
in the U.S.
Lord talks of these accomplishments with
the enthusiasm of an entrepreneur. And in
many ways, Lord is an entrepreneur at heart.
A former EVP with RONA, with experience
in manufacturing in Asia, he says, “My
dream was to be an entrepreneur.”
When he joined Richelieu, he saw the
potential and wanted the company to operate
in a way that would maximize that potential
and be a leader in hardware production
in Canada. “Richelieu was very small, and it
fit my dream,” he adds. “I took the responsibility
to change the market in Canada.”
Today, Richelieu works hard to be a market
leader, and its range of products reflects
the company’s adherence to innovation. And
much of that is aimed at the commercial market
that comprises 85 percent of its business.
Walking through the company’s showroom
at its head office in Saint-Laurent, on
the northwest side of Montreal, one can see
firsthand the range of unique space-saving
and convenience-driven products for cabinet
manufacture, as well as for homeowners
Richelieu, the fastener and cabinet hardware maker based
in Montreal, is marking a number of milestones this year.
WITH THE HEART OF AN ENTREPRENEUR,
RICHELIEU CEO STAKES GROWTH ON INNOVATION
Richard Lord, president and CEO, has
taken Richelieu to a $1 billion company
in his 30 years at the helm.
looking to create a shelf, closet, or kitchen
cupboard that works best for their home.
“Richelieu’s strength is that we have access
to anything around the world,” says Lord.
That has enabled the company to stay on
top of, and lead, product trends. “For example,
when we started, we sold plastic cabinet
knobs for 15 cents. Now the world has
changed, with knobs that now sell for $10.”
12 THIRD QUARTER / 2018
Hardlines Home Improvement Quarterly
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