Home Hardware buys CBS mainstay LeDrew Lumber

By Craig Westcott

The ownership of a longstanding Conception Bay South business was acquired by another longstanding one this month as LeDrew Lumber in Kelligrews transitions to a Home Hardware Building Centre owned by Handyman Hardware, which operates the Home Hardware store in Villanova Plaza, Manuels.
Owner Christine Hand of the Morgan Group of Companies said both stores will remain operating but with the LeDrew’s location in for a spruce up and additional product lines.
LeDrew Lumber has been a staple for lumber and building supplies in CBS since 1953, outlasting over those 72 years other big suppliers such as Chester Dawe Ltd., and Rona.
The deal closed Monday, March 17, but had been in the works for a while, as LeDrew owner Peter LeDrew prepares for retirement.
Hand said adding the lumber store to her company’s operations makes perfect sense. Home Hardware nationally has been moving towards having its franchisee store owners offer “a full home improvement package,” said Hand. “And that includes lumber. That’s a big part of the business and a big part of the growth opportunity. At Villanova Plaza we’ve got a great location from a convenience perspective, but we don’t have the space for lumber. So, this gets us into the growth area of the business, which is the lumber. We’re going to change the store here (LeDrew’s) to be a Home Hardware Building Centre. The other store will be ‘plus lumber.’ We’ll do a renovation here and you’ll be able to get just about anything here as well.”
Hand’s daughter Michelle Thorup will manage the Manuels store, while her son Jonathan will manage the Kelligrews operation.
“The other thing it (the purchase) did was give us a chance to get the family more involved in the business too, which is what dad (Clarence Morgan) always did with us,” said Hand. “All of us siblings are involved somehow in the business.”
Coincidentally, much of the land behind LeDrew Lumber once belonged to Hand’s grandparents, Silas Morgan and his wife ‘Mud,’ as she was affectionately known.
Customers of the Kelligrews store can expect to see changes.
“We’re open now and will remain open but we’re going to start a renovation in the next couple of months,” said Hand. “We’ll be open through the renovation and have a Grand Re-Opening in the fall.”
The sale involves no cutbacks or layoffs, among the 20 or so staff at LeDrew’s.
“There will be additions,” said Hand. “We were really fortunate, because the staff here have been here a long time and the customers love them, they’re very knowledgeable, they give great service and 95 per cent of them decided to stay with us, which is awesome. As we grow now and as the summer comes in, there will be opportunities to hire some extra staff. We’ll definitely need more staff as the season ramps up and as we get the interior store going.”
Despite the timing of the transaction as threats of tariffs and a trade war affect the economy, Hand isn’t worried.
“It is a really uncertain time, and of course when we started negotiations all of that wasn’t in play,” she said. “But generally speaking, the home improvement industry tends to fare better than most during tough times. Because people do what they can; if you can’t go on a vacation you can paint your bathroom and make yourself feel better… The home improvement industry does tend to do well. It did well during Covid. There’ll be ups and downs and the uncertainty is definitely not great starting out, but history shows the home improvement industry does manage to weather the storms. And there’s lots of demand for housing in Newfoundland. We’re going to be a long time before we get to (having in place) enough housing.”
Hand is looking forward to the Kelligrews store adding product lines, such as plumbing and electrical fixtures and even housewares.
And she’s grateful for the opportunity the acquisition provides.
“I’m really delighted to be able to expand in CBS,” said Hand. “Being able to live, work and raise a family, gainfully employ people and give back to the community that you grew up in, is pretty special, and I feel really privileged to be able to take on this business where Peter and his team have had the reputation for great service and community involvement and now we’re going to pick that up and run with it and have our family here. I feel pretty honoured to be able to do this in the community where I grew up.”