BMR & Société Laurentide partner to create the Splendi brand of paints – 100% made in Québec

Boucherville, April 29, 2021 – Groupe BMR is proud to partner with Société Laurentide, a local family business firmly established in Québec for the last 70 years, and a pioneer in sustainable development, to launch its new house brand of paints: Splendi and Splendi Supreme. Available exclusively in all BMR stores, Splendi paints are affordable, high-quality products designed to fully meet the expectations of local consumers and contractors. This partnership has created about thirty jobs at the Quebec manufacturer and generated significant investments to modernize its Shawinigan plant.

Strengthening our commitment to buy local

Splendi products, entirely designed and manufactured in Quebec, were custom developed by Société Laurentide’s R&D laboratory, one of the largest facilities east of Toronto. The objective of the Splendi brand is to offer a superior quality product, on par with national brands, at a more advantageous price. Splendi offers consumers 100% acrylic paints that are washable, durable and easy to apply so they can complete their interior and exterior renovation projects with confidence.

Greener paints – no matter what the colour

Groupe BMR and Société Laurentide share a common vision and values that contribute to promoting sustainable development. This is why a partnership with the Quebec manufacturer was a natural fit given that they have been recognized as a pioneer and world leader in paint recycling and reclamation for over 25 years. Laurentide was instrumental in setting up the recycling program managed by Éco-Peinture, now cited worldwide for having diverted more than 100 million kg of post-consumer paint from Quebec landfills since 1994. Thanks to the collection points offered in its network of stores, Groupe BMR has been able to recover more than 200,000 kg of paint by allowing consumers to bring back their empty or partially empty containers.

Quotes

“This partnership represents the union of two local flagships with deep roots in our communities and allows us to continue to increase BMR’s impact in the local economy. Splendi is a warm, reassuring, inspiring and local brand. It therefore presents a real value for consumers who will be able to both beautify and protect their living space with a quality product, while doing their part, in a concrete way, for our local economy.“

    -Jonathan Gendreau, Vice-president, Strategy & Network Development, Groupe BMR

“For Société Corporation, being associated with BMR, the Quebec leader in hardware, is a source of great pride, especially for our employees. It is an exceptional opportunity to showcase our know-how and demonstrate the industry’s ability to do things in a more sustainable way, in addition to laying a solid foundation for the growth of a local family business.“

         -André Buisson, President & CEO, Société Laurentide

About BMR

Groupe BMR is a subsidiary of Sollio Cooperative Group, which includes nearly 300 renovation centres and hardware stores in Quebec, Ontario and the Maritime provinces. Retail sales for Groupe BMR and its members are estimated at more than $1.3 billion per year and some 8,000 people work within the network. Groupe BMR is the leading Quebec player in the hardware industry and operates under the BMR, La Shop BMR, Agrizone and Potvin & Bouchard banners.

About Société Laurentide

Masters in paint since 1950, Laurentide is a family-owned and operated manufacturing company that proudly designs and manufactures its products in Quebec. From its head office in Shawinigan, Laurentide employs over 200 people in four plants located in Shawinigan and Victoriaville, Quebec, and Richibucto, New Brunswick. The company’s operations include Laurentide Paint, which manufactures private label architectural paints such as BMR’s SPLENDI, and national brands such as YÙ®, Laurentide Paint®, MIX & Match® and Boomerang® 100%-responsible paint. Its activities also include Laurentide Re/sources, which ensures the logistical management and eco-responsible processing of surplus post-consumer paints and hazardous household waste throughout Quebec and eastern Canadian provinces.