Canada's Dollarama hires former Metro executive as new COO

Toronto, Canada - Canada's Dollarama Inc hired a former executive from Canadian grocer Metro Inc to handle the discounter's retail operations, the company said on Monday, eight months after the search for a new chief operating officer began.

Johanne Choinière, who was previously senior vice president of Metro's Ontario Division, will join Dollarama on May 12 and oversee logistics, distribution and supply chain management for the dollar store operator.

Choinière replaces Stephane Gonthier, who announced last August he was leaving the Montreal-based company to become chief executive officer of the California-based 99 Cents Only Stores retail chain.

This is the second notable hire of a former Metro executive by another Canadian retailer in the last year. In March 2013, home-improvement retailer and distributor, Rona Inc, hired Robert Sawyer, who was COO at Metro, as its new CEO.