How to win in Quebec
A new study suggests that retailers based outside the province that want to get the nod from Quebeckers don't actually have to do anything different with their products or operations. Instead, they must come up with a spin that makes a connection with residents of la belle province, the study indicates.
The findings even surprised author Eric Blais, whose Headspace Marketing Inc. firm in Toronto commissioned the study and produced the report, which will be issued soon. "There doesn't seem to be a need to fundamentally adjust your offerings to Quebeckers," Mr. Blais said in an interview. "But there is a need to present it in a manner that speaks to Quebeckers."
Marketing experts tend to encourage retailers to vary their product selections if they want to succeed in Quebec, in a bid to respond to Quebeckers' unique tastes.
But the latest study suggests that any adjustments aren't worth the effort, Mr. Blais said.
For example, Tim Hortons got the No. 1 spot in the survey as the retailer that had best adapted to the Quebecmarket.
However, the coffee and donut chain serves up essentially the same menu and restaurant environment in Quebec as anywhere else, the survey found. It didn't even bother to change its name in Quebec; it just dropped the apostrophe from Tim Horton's at the same time it entered the Quebec market.
Despite that, "Tim Hortons has definitely struck a chord with Quebeckers," Mr. Blais said.
What Tim Hortons does right is get involved in community charities and activities, a strategy that appears to bring it closer to local residents, he said. Tim Hortons ran an ad campaign for years featuring two well-known Quebecactors - dubbed Minou and Pitou - who became synonymous with the chain.
In contrast, Starbucks Corp., which entered Quebec in 2001 - just a few years after Tim Hortons - got the lowest score among the 12 retailers evaluated.
And yet, Starbucks has gone to great lengths to adapt to Quebec's "unique" environment, Mr. Blais said. It changed its name to Cafe Starbucks Coffee and had a franchise operator, Vision Cafe Inc., run the Quebec stores. It even has an intense Quebec-only coffee blend called Melange Mont-Royal.
Nevertheless, Michael Aronovici, president of Vision Cafe, said it is still early days for Starbucks in Quebec. It only has 14 stores, and they're all in Montreal. He said he would like to have expanded faster, but couldn't find the right sites.
As for marketing, Starbucks has focused on pitching its products in billboard ads to raise awareness of its Quebec offerings. This summer it ran ads for its frappucino, while the rest of Canada had more general "lifestyle" ads. Sales have been rising at a double-digit pace, and business has been good, he said.
Wal-Mart Canada Corp.also got low marks, the second worst among the 12 retailers surveyed.
Mr. Blais said that the perception of Wal-Mart was probably coloured by the controversial fight to unionize stores. Earlier this year, the retailer closed its store in Jonquiere, Que., after the union won the right to unionize workers in that store.
At the other end of the spectrum, Canadian Tire Corp. Ltd. ranked second in adaptation scores, even though it remains "proudly Canadian" in what many perceive as a staunchly Quebec-nationalist province, Mr. Blais said.
"The retailer doesn't appear to have done things differently in Quebec," Mr. Blais said. "The merchandise mix, the unique products and the Canadian Tire money featuring the well known Scotsman Sandy McTire appear as popular in Riviere-du-Loup as in Kamloops."
Still, Canadian Tire store operators tend to get heavily involved in local charities through the Canadian Tire Foundation, spokeswoman Caroline Casselman said.
It hired Quebec singer Jici Lauzon as spokesperson for the Canadian Tire Foundation. The television and radio personality appears at promotional events to drive home the foundation's charitable work, Ms. Casselman said.