The Blue Basket launches “8 big projects” in order to reinvent the retail trade

“With The Blue Basket, we wanted to put local procurement at the heart of the concerns of Quebecers, and I think we can say mission accomplished. Now, it is necessary to ensure that it continues. For this reason, we will continue to equip our merchants so that they can compete with the global giants of the digital,” says the minister, Pierre Fitzgibbon.

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June 9, 2020 16h49

Updated at 17: 03

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The Blue Basket launches “8 big projects” in order to reinvent the retail trade

Myriam Boulianne

The Sun

Wishing to catch up in digital retail, and better equip the traders quebecers in the face of the giants of the Web, the Blue Basket launches “8 big projects”.

“These projects will be of working groups by and for the retail trade sector”, explains the managing director of the Blue Basket, Alain Dumas, accompanied by the minister of Economy and Innovation, Pierre Fitzgibbon.

The eight projects will be chaired by recognized experts of the sector who join the board of directors of the Blue Basket. Each site will have as mission to produce a report for the further development of the retail trade. “At the end of the year, we will consolidate everything into a final report which will serve as the roadmap is realistic and achievable to help businesses in quebec to compete with larger, says Mr. Dumas, this is the preliminary step to a major transformation of the retail sector.” It adds that the presidents of the construction site will have regional representation on their committee in order to allow a diversification of opinions and a better consideration of regional realities.

“With The Blue Basket, we wanted to put local procurement at the heart of the concerns of Quebecers, and I think we can say mission accomplished. Now, it is necessary to ensure that it continues. For this reason, we will continue to equip our merchants so that they can compete with the global giants of the digital,” says Mr. Fitzgibbon.

For the moment, there is no deadline known for the submission of reports of each site and the consolidated report, but the director-general of the Blue Basket ensures that they will launch the projects as soon as possible.”

“We hope that the projects that we have announced will enable a continuity to the Blue Basket, and, consequently, that the businesses can benefit physically and electronically,” adds the minister.

“We hope that the projects that we have announced will enable a continuity to the Blue Basket, and, consequently, that the businesses can benefit physically and electronically. ”

—
The minister of Economy and Innovation, Pierre Fitzgibbon

The eight projects, which will be piloted by the Blue Basket are the following :

1. Logistics capabilities — chaired by Michel Girard, President and ceo of Drakkar Logistics

2. Transport and delivery — chaired by Catryn Picard, President and chief executive officer of Nationex

3. Management of the privacy and personal information protection — chaired by Elisa Henry, a partner at Borden Ladner Gervais LLP.

4. Management of the consumer experience and the customer relationship — chaired by Nathalie Larue, senior vice president, Strategy, Marketing, Movement, and personal Services at Desjardins.

5. Transaction security and payment — chaired by Gabrielle Cournoyer, Vice-president, Solutions, cards and payments at the National Bank.

6. Technological capabilities of digital commerce — to come.

7. Born in quebec of products and shops — chaired by Véronique Proulx, President and ceo of Quebec Manufacturers and Exporters.

8. Marketing communications — chaired by Jean-Philippe Shoiry, Chief strategy officer and co-founder

A new and improved website

The director general of the Blue Basket also took the opportunity to announce new features available on the website : “today we present to you the Web site that we would have liked to introduce you to the 5 April, if the emergency had not been present.”

Businesses now have access to demographic information on the consumer in a one-kilometer radius of their business. These data, compiled by the quebec company, Anagraph, from Statistics Canada. The quebec company, HeyDay also makes available its tool of on live chat. In addition, merchants will be able to see the profile of people who come to see their card on The Blue Basket. “It will allow them to have a better understanding of consumers close to, and thus, enable them to better operate their store,” says Mr. Dumas.

As for consumers, they will be able to perform searches by keywords, by category and by location. An interactive map is now available to users who wish to locate local shops near by. “The Blue Basket, it is more than a simple movement to encourage local shopping, it is also a momentum to bring the retail sector in quebec to reinvent itself,” said Mr Dumas

A victim of its success, The Blue Basket, has received over 2 million visits in the first week of its creation. Now, it is estimated that over 100,000 Quebecers who visit the site each week. To this day, 19 902 businesses are registered, of which 4000 had no visibility to digital before their registration on The Blue Basket.

Le Soleil