The high competition in the retail trade and the pandemic will have had because of Shoes, Blanket, regrets his owner, Louis Blanchet.
Share
July 8, 2020
Updated July 9, 2020 4h04
Share
Shoes Blanket: an institution in Quebec city off
Myriam Boulianne
The Sun
The high competition in the retail trade and the pandemic will have had because of Shoes, Blanket, a family business of three generations, which will close its doors by the end of December. Trade specializing in the sale of quality shoes was located on rue Richelieu since 1936.
“In recent years, the retail trade saw very difficult times due to the online sales. The COVID-19 was the coup de grace, an important element to realize that it was no longer profitable,” begins the owner Louis Blanchet.
The family business, founded in 1936 by his grandfather, Phydime Blanket, was taken by his mother and his uncle. Following the death of the latter, Louis has taken over. “Sure it makes me a little pinch in the heart. Close a trade for three generations, it is difficult.”
The latter was considered to make a transition to digital, “but the investment did not justify the catch-up that he had to do at the level of the competition.”
The owner has also lost two employees in the wake of the containment: a seller and a cobbler. Since the reopening, Mr. Blanchet is now working in the store alone, however with a limited schedule. “All these reasons have made that I have decided to close the trade.”
Over the decades, the store has been frequented by several public figures, including ex-minister of the parti québecois and ex-mayor of Lévis, Jean Garon, the hockey player Guy Lafleur and Michel Bergeron, the head coach of the Nordiques.
