Our story
Lee Valley is a family-owned Canadian business serving customers all over the world. From our humble beginnings selling a small selection of woodworking tools, we have endeavored to foster the creative spirit of our customers. While continually expanding our renowned tool lines, we have broadened our scope to include gardening tools, hardware, gifts, and items for every area of the home, offering an array of products that solve everyday problems. With 18 stores across Canada and online presence, we have come a long way since the company’s founding in 1978. As we move forward, we will strive to remain a trusted advisor and the resource of choice to our customers.
Our vision
At Lee Valley, we understand that the journey of creating is just as exciting as the end product. Whether you want to learn something new or develop a skill, or you’re simply looking for project inspiration, we’re here to help you make the most of your creative journey. We’re dedicated to finding and developing some of the best tools in the industry to offer our customers, and to providing engaging project ideas and plans to help turn imagination into reality.
OUR FOUNDER
Founded in 1978 by Leonard and Lorraine Lee, Lee Valley began by selling just one product—a barrel stove kit—before expanding to woodworking tools. The first Lee Valley catalog was cut and pasted together on the Lees’ dining room table. Over the years, we have built an extensive product line backed by service and advice you can trust.
OUR COMMITMENT
CUSTOMER SATISFACTION
Customer service is the keystone of Lee Valley. We want your experience with us to be pleasant as well as productive. We believe in the quality of our products so much that we have a 90-day guarantee on almost everything we sell. If something goes wrong, we will make it right.
INTEGRITY
We treat our customers like friends. None of our employees are on commission and there are no minimum sales targets. We’d rather offer good advice and give you the best value, thereby guaranteeing ourselves a low rate of product returns. It is best for both of us if we get it right the first time.
KNOWLEDGE
Whether in our stores or online, Lee Valley strives to anticipate and understand the various challenges you face when you undertake a project. It’s not only our products that help you solve problems, but the people we employ that help guide you through your journey.
GIVING BACK
From maintaining the local hockey rink and supporting skill-building education for youth to helping the environment through contributions to The Nature Conservancy, we know that being part of a community means helping to take care of it. We encourage our employees to be active locally, with volunteer work that serves the community as well as their personal passions.
HOW WE DO BUSINESS
STORES
With a variety of workshops, seminars, drop-in sessions and in-store demonstrations, Lee Valley offers much more than a traditional retail experience. Our friendly, knowledgeable employees are always available to answer questions or offer advice.
ONLINE
We want our online customer experience to be more than simply adding something to the cart and checking out. Informative articles, how-to videos, project plans, ideas and inspiration await you on our website.
CATALOGS
Lee Valley catalogs offer detailed photography and product descriptions to help you make educated decisions when buying from us. With a distinctive look and feel, our catalogs have remained popular with our customers.
