Home Hardware Stores Limited has opened its first Winnipeg location, Winnipeg South Home Hardware, expanding its presence in Western Canada.
The store, located at 2860 Pembina Hwy, Unit 30.
“As a proudly born and raised Winnipegger, I’m especially pleased to see Home Hardware join this great city,” said John Pierce, Chief Retail Operations Officer, Home Hardware Stores Limited. “This opening marks an exciting opportunity to grow our genuinely Canadian presence in Western Canada while reinforcing our commitment to investing in local communities and supporting the people who call them home.”
The owners of Winnipeg South Home Hardware are no strangers to the Home Hardware brand, already operating two stores in Nunavut: EPLS Home Hardware Building Centre in Arviat and EPLS Home Hardware Building Centre – Rankin Inlet.
Recognizing a need for expanded home improvement services in Winnipeg, Ryan St. John, Dealer-Owner, brought the Home Hardware banner to the south end of the city to better serve the community.
“Opening Winnipeg’s first Home Hardware store is an exciting milestone for the city,” said St. John. “As our third Home location, we’re proud to continue delivering friendly, knowledgeable service and everything needed to make home improvement projects easier and more enjoyable.”
Founded over 60 years ago in St. Jacobs, Ontario, Home Hardware Stores Limited is Canadian and the country’s largest Dealer-owned and operated home improvement retailer with more than 1,000 stores serving communities across the country.
Mark Colley, President of EPLS Group of Companies, said it had been difficult to get a Home Hardware into Winnipeg and the brand is known for being in rural communities.
He said the Winnipeg location is about 30,000 square feet of retail space.
“The founder, Don St. John, opened the first retail store in 1978 in Eskimo Point, which later became Arviat once the Nunavut Act was signed and Nunavut split from the Northwest Territories. The family started the retail store to service the community because it was underserved. From there, they added other operations—maintenance services, cargo and heavy equipment, hotels, and real estate holdings in Rankin and Arviat,” explained Colley.
“We had two retail stores, which later became Home Hardware stores about 10 years ago because we felt Home Hardware gave us a differentiating point in the communities: great products, Canadian owned and operated, the right brand to serve the community.
“We opened a Winnipeg office in the ’90s because Ryan St. John—who now owns the company and is Don’s son—had a vision to service Nunavut through Winnipeg. Winnipeg had better access to labour and services. That office grew to support our Nunavut operations, and we now have about 75 staff there.
“We were looking at ways to expand further into Winnipeg. Our mission, vision, and values focus on supporting community, and with such a large employee base in the city, we wanted an opportunity to open a store. When Peavey Mart closed earlier in the year, it provided that opportunity. We were able to put our Home Hardware in the building that Peavey Mart previously occupied.”
Colley said the retail climate is very focused on “buy Canadian, buy local.” Having a Home Hardware in Winnipeg gives Winnipeggers an opportunity to spend their money at a Canadian-owned and operated business that has been in Canada for over 50 years.
“Our business has been here that long, and Home Hardware even longer.
We felt this was a great time to introduce that to Winnipeg, especially since most hardware providers in the city are U.S.-owned,” noted Colley.
Winnipeg is a big market and the company is always looking for new opportunities.
“We want to use the synergies of having businesses in the south to help our northern businesses. Having a Winnipeg store helps with our buying power, staffing, and overall costs of running three stores instead of two. So yes, adding another store could potentially be in our future,” he said.
“I really think the climate right now is geared toward having a Canadian offering for hardware retail in Winnipeg and in our southern stores. I hope customers enjoy the experience and know that we’ve been in Canada for 50 years. Our mission, vision, and values don’t change just because we started in Winnipeg. Everything we stand for—passion, respect, integrity, and community—applies to our Winnipeg store as well.”
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