Appointments to Richelieu's Board of Directors - New Chairman and Three New Directors

Management of Richelieu Hardware Ltd. announces that Robert Chevrier was elected Chairman of the Board of Directors at the Company's Annual General Meeting of Shareholders on March 30, 2004. A Richelieu director since 1991, Mr. Chevrier thereby succeeds Jean E. Douville,
who was Chairman of the Board of Richelieu for more than 15 years. Mr. Chevrier sits on the Board of several other companies and is the President of Roche Management Company Inc.

Richelieu's shareholders also approved the appointments of three new directors: Mrs. Denyse Chicoyne, Mr. Jean Douville and Mr. Jocelyn Proteau.

Denyse Chicoyne, holder of an MBA from McGill University and of the designation Chartered Financial Analyst (CFA) from the Association for Investment Management and Research (AIMR), has distinguished herself for over 20 years as a top ranked analyst, having held various senior analyst positions at various Canadian brokerage firms such as BMO Nesbitt Burns, Nesbitt Thomson, McNeil Mantha Inc., Wood Gundy and the Caisse de dépôt et placement
du Québec. Mrs. Chicoyne is a director of several companies, including Provigo, GL&V, Holt Renfrew & Co., Limited and the Montreal Exchange Inc., and sits on the Advisory Board of the Faculty of Management of McGill University.

Jean Douville, a lawyer and a seasoned corporate executive, has held senior management positions with UAP Inc. (United Auto Parts Inc.), where he was President and Chief Executive Officer for several years before being appointed Chairman of the Board of this Group. Over the years, Mr. Douville has been a director of various Canadian and U.S. public companies. Currently, he is Chairman of the Board of National Bank of Canada and also sits on the
Board of Genuine Parts Company, a major multi-business company based in Atlanta.

Jocelyn Proteau has held senior management positions with various financial institutions and has acquired extensive experience as a director of several financial, service and retail companies. Notably, Mr. Proteau is Chairman of the Board of Standard Life Assurance Company of Canada, Standard Life Trust of Canada and 2020 Technologies Inc., and also sits on other boards such as TRITON Electronics, Familiprix Inc., the Ecole des Hautes Etudes
Commerciales (HEC Montréal) and the Société du Vieux-Port de Montréal.

With these appointments, Richelieu's Board of Directors is now comprised of eight members, including Richard Lord, President and Chief Executive Officer, all the other members being independent.

It should be pointed out that in February 2005, Richelieu was awarded the Korn/Ferry-Revue Commerce 2004 Grand Prize which highlights corporate governance excellence.

Profile

Richelieu Hardware Ltd. is Canada's leading distributor, importer and manufacturer of specialty hardware and complementary products. The Company also ranks among the top players in its specialty in North America. Its products are targeted to an extensive customer base of kitchen and bathroom cabinet, home and office furniture and window and door manufacturers plus the
residential and commercial woodworking industry, as well as hardware retailers including renovation superstores. Richelieu offers customers a broad mix of high-end products sourced from manufacturers around the world. Its selection consists of more than 40,000 different items targeted to a base of over 36,000 customers who are served by 34 distribution centres in North America - 26 in Canada and eight in the United States - as well as two manufacturing plants in
Canada. The Company also specializes in the manufacture of a wide variety of veneer sheets and edgebanding products through its subsidiary Cedan Industries Inc., of components for the window and door industry and of mouldings through Menuiserie des Pins Ltée, and of various types of panels, tackboards and whiteboards.

For further information: Richard Lord, President and Chief Executive
Officer, (514) 336-4144, www.richelieu.com

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