On the hunt

Looking for businesses with francophone capacity for next Quebec sales mission

Greatly encouraged by the immense success of its last Montreal sales mission this past spring, RDÉE Prince Edward Island is inviting Island businesses with a francophone capacity to sign up for its next mission, slated for Oct. 22-26. This time, meetings will be organized with potential buyers in both Quebec City and Montreal. “Last spring, our participating businesses rang up sales of more than $1.25 million. During previous missions, our companies also sold Island products for about $400,000. We therefore want to continue this amazing momentum since P.E.I. very quickly built itself a great reputation, within the Quebec marketplace, as a supplier of high-quality products,” says mission co-ordinator Robert Maddix. He explains this fall’s mission can accommodate up eight Island businesses that have products or services that could be sold in the Quebec market. So far, four businesses have shown an interest in participating to sell jewelry, shaving cream and potatoes or to do tourism promotion. “Participating businesses must absolutely have the ability to do business in French since this is the primary language in this particular market. “But it doesn’t have to be the business owner nor the manager who speaks French. It can be an experienced sales person, for example,” added Maddix. Before the mission, a consultant will visit each of the accepted participants to gather in-depth details about their business as well as about the products or services they will be pitching. He will then set up meetings for each Island participant with a minimum of eight potential buyers in Quebec City and Montreal. Participants must pay 60 per cent of their lodging and transportation costs (so between $750-$850). All other costs will be covered. “The vast majority of our former participants received an exceptional return on their investment,” adds Maddix. All those interested in participating are urged to contact Maddix at 902-370-7333, Ext. 403, or at robert@rdeeipe.org as soon as possible to ensure their spot.

SUBMITTED PHOTO During the last Quebec sales mission, this past spring, from left, Vaughn Murphy and Rafael Aguirre, representatives of TopFeed from Charlottetown, are seen chatting with Robert Maddix, who coordinates these missions for RDÉE PEI.