A dozen years ago, the Canadian retail landscape was pretty sleepy when it came to the home improvement sector. Small hardware stores and lumber yards served both rural and urban do-it-yourselfers and renovation contractors, while major department stores and specialty shops took care of the home decor market.

Then, along came a big-box home improvement store in Toronto called Aikenhead's, which was soon purchased by Home Depot, and the big-box era was born. Now, while the small hardware stores have retained their own niche in the marketplace, competition for the big retail dollars rages between market leader Home Depot and several other large and medium-format players.

The most recent players are Rona Home Solutions, a new big-box home improvement store, and HomeSense, a home fashions chain that promises name-brand products at 20 per cent to 60 per cent off.

The first Rona Home Solutions opened in Brampton, Ontario in March, taking on existing big-box retailers Home Depot, Revy Home and Garden Centres and The Building Box.

Many retail experts doubt that all four chains will be able to survive in the marketplace, but so far they are all taking a run at it with aggressive advertising and expansion plans.

Rona is attempting to differentiate itself by marketing to women.

"We recognize the growing importance and influence that women are having on the renovations market, and have developed our new store differently than any of our big box competitors," says Rick Blickstead, president and chief operating officer of Rona Retail Canada Inc. "While women may not be doing the work themselves, they are making key design and contracting decisions."

Rona says its stores focus on an "incredible sense of decor -- rather than being overwhelmed by hard-core hardware." It includes a paint boutique and Paint 'n Clix Cafe, where customers can sit down and have coffee while browsing through decorating magazines for inspiration. The store also carries home fashion items such as candles, linens and bath accessories.

Rona and Rona dealer-owners operate a network of 500 stores of varying sizes in Eastern Canada.

There are plans to expand to between 60 and 80 HomeSense stores across the country. The store is being launched by Winners Merchants, a division of the TJC Companies, Inc., which operates 117 Winners stores in Canada. HomeSense is similar to the HomeGoods chain in the U.S. that is owned by the same company. It offers a variety of home products, ranging from cookware to linens, rugs, accent furniture and seasonal items.

"HomeSense fills a void in the home decor marketplace," says David Margolis, president of Winners Merchants Inc. "We offer a huge selection of merchandise that allows our customers to update their home environment without it costing a fortune."

Not to be forgotten in the mix is retailing veteran Canadian Tire, which has been around for almost 80 years. During the last several years, the hardware, automotive parts and sports chain has been reinventing itself, opening large-format stores that carry many cross-over items that Home Depot, Rona, HomeSense and the rest also carry.

Canadian Tire says a staggering 90 per cent of Canadians shop at its stores, and recently the company introduced both catalogue and online shopping. In March, 10 million Canadian Tire catalogues were distributed across the country. About half of the products in the catalogue, 4,000 of them, are featured at www.canadiantire.ca or are available by phone.

Published: April 12, 2001

Use of this article without permission is a violation of federal copyright laws.

Jim Adair is editor of REM: Canada's Real Estate Magazine, a business publication for real estate agents and brokers. He has been writing about Canadian real estate, home building and renovation issues for more than 30 years. You can contact Jim at .