Le Panier bleu aiming to take on Amazon by Christmas


Managed by a non-profit organization, the site features products and services with a Quebec link to promote buying local.

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Two years after its creation, Le Panier bleu has found partners to help it take on Amazon on its own turf, with an online site that will be accessible for the holiday shopping season.

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Quebec Economy Minister Pierre Fitzgibbon made the announcement on Monday in Anjou, at a Mondou pet supplies store. The minister was accompanied by his partners from him from the Fonds de solidarité FTQ, Mouvement Desjardins and Lightspeed.

Managed by a non-profit organization, Le Panier bleu’s online site becomes a private enterprise. The new shareholders are providing $22 million in financing, including $12 million from the government through Investissement Québec, in the form of debt and equity. None of the partners holds a controlling interest in the company.

Panier bleu general manager Alain Dumas says the new platform will be an alternative to web giants like Amazon. “What we guarantee is that any purchase on our platform will have a direct link with the Quebec economy. … We’re an alternative for people for whom buying local is important.”

To sell on Panier bleu, merchants must have their head office in Quebec. For foreign retailers, at least 75 per cent of their stores in Quebec must be owned by local franchisees to have access to the platform. The items sold must also be stored in Quebec at the time of the sale to avoid mirror sites that sell directly from foreign suppliers.

Only 14 per cent of Quebecers have used Le Panier bleu, according to a NETendances survey released in March. Just under half of respondents said they would use the tool once it has a transactional component.


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