The new version of Le Panier Bleu, which became a private enterprise last summer, will be online starting at 1 p.m. today.
• Read also: Le Panier Bleu becomes a private company
• Read also: Le Panier Bleu will have its transactional version
“We have small, medium and larger merchants from all regions of Quebec in all product categories,” says Alain Dumas, general manager of the company.
The new transactional site is intended as a Quebec response to Amazon, even if we candidly admit that the ambition is not to dislodge the giant, but to promote local products.
MARIO BEAUREGARD/QMI AGENCY
Alain Dumas, general manager of Le Panier Bleu.
Le Panier Bleu has managed to attract 125 local traders so far. The goal is to add 15 to 20 per week to reach 400 by the end of November.
We are talking about companies like Au Noir, in clothing, Hugo Girard, in food supplements, or even Papille Urbaine, in food.
“We are in discussion with more well-known companies, but they are not integrated into the platform for the moment”, recognizes Alain Dumas.
Some 40,000 products are offered today, with the objective of multiplying this number by three within a few months.
We promise delivery within three to five business days. Users can create an account on the site and do all their transactions there.
A smooth start
Le Panier Bleu is a government initiative born two years ago, at the height of the pandemic, to boost local purchasing.
Last June, the site and the name were purchased by the Agora platform, a new private company founded with the support of Investissement Québec (IQ).
The financial arm of the government then injected $12 million into the new private company, whose total financing amounts to $22 million.
We also promised the addition of a transport, delivery and marketing system to the operation, which is not done.
“We are going to make ourselves known quietly during the holiday season and we will integrate new features afterwards,” promises the general manager.
Le Panier Bleu is therefore currently a matchmaker for merchants and consumers, since 90% of sellers already have a transactional site in place with a delivery service.
“The only thing we put in place, after we agreed with the merchants, are drop-off points for orders,” explains the business manager.
Local, local, local
We also promise to identify products that are made in Quebec. “We see ourselves as an alternative for the 82% of Quebecers who want to encourage buying local,” he said.
But in this period of inflation, many consumers are in “price-product” mode, adds Mr. Dumas, and not in “local purchase” mode.
“I would say that 20% of Quebec consumers are still inclined to go out of their way to encourage local businesses. We go to them first,” he said.