How a family legacy evolved into Canada's largest discount retail empire
In short: What began as a single Montreal shop in 1910 has transformed into a massive retail force. From its roots under Salim Rassy to the modern dominance of Dollarama, the company has mastered the art of the low-price point, expanding across borders and through decades of strategic shifts.
The origins of the Dollarama empire trace back to 1910, when Lebanese immigrant Salim Rassy established Montreal's first all-dollar store. The business remained within the family for generations, passed from Salim to his son George, before Larry Rossy took the helm in 1973. At that time, the family-run S.Rossy Inc. operated just 20 locations. By 1992, the business had expanded to 44 stores, but it was the launch of the Dollarama brand in Matane that fundamentally changed the company's trajectory.
The Dollarama division eventually became the primary revenue driver for the Rossy family, leading to the gradual disappearance of the original S.Rossy brand. By the turn of the millennium, most S.Rossy locations had either closed or been rebranded as Dollarama. This rapid growth was fueled by strategic moves, including the sale of an 80 percent stake to Bain Capital for US$850 million in November 2004, and a successful initial public offering in October 2009.
Today, Dollarama's influence extends far beyond Canada. The company has achieved significant international reach, holding a majority stake in the Latin American chain Dollarcity and recently moving to acquire Australia's The Reject Shop for CA$233 million in 2025. While the stores were once strictly cash-only, they have modernized to include debit and credit cards. Crucially, the business model has also evolved its pricing; while once strictly limited to one-dollar items, the retailer now offers products up to $5.00 to tap into a wider variety of sourcing opportunities.
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Sources
- Summary by Intellect · source: Dollarama
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