In Montreal, journalist Louis-Philippe Messier travels mostly on the run, his desk in his backpack, on the lookout for fascinating subjects and people. He speaks to everyone and is interested in all walks of life in this urban chronicle.
Renaissance, this Quebec flagship of the reuse of consumer goods, has become an immense machine capable of revaluing some 30,000 tonnes of donations per year left by nearly 2 million donors… and this is only the beginning.
While visiting behind the scenes of the huge new Renaissance branch in Anjou, I tell myself that a Henry Ford would not be out of place here.
It feels like a factory, and Renaissance already has around twenty stores of this size.
This is one of three merchandise floors at the Renaissance in Anjou… and there are about twenty other branches around this size.
Louis-Philippe Messier
In this human hive, we are very far from the charity counter in the church basement.
Given the titanic volume of clothing and devices to be processed, the organization is industrial.
“I have to sort 60 boxes of shoes to eliminate the unsellable ones and set a fair price for those that will go on the shelves,” Denise Komo explains to me, without stopping doing her work.
Denise Komo sorts hundreds of pairs of shoes every day and sets their price.
Louis-Philippe Messier
Hundreds of donation boxes to be sorted wait in the room.
“You have to choose prices low enough so that it sells quickly, it must not stay on the shelves, because there are constantly new objects or clothes to place,” explains Gerry Baramasco, an assistant manager.
“The color of the label indicates the date on which the product arrives, and what does not find a buyer in a few weeks goes into liquidation,” continues the young 23-year-old business graduate who arrived in Quebec from France ago three months.
In short, it has to work!
Assistant manager Gerry Baramasco explains to me that the prices are low so that the things offered go quickly since tons of others will arrive…
Louis-Philippe Messier
Social capitalism
“We use the pure capitalist system and transform it to make it a 100% social model,” enthuses general director Éric St-Arnaud.
“Instead of enriching the shareholders, the profits are entirely reinvested in the mission,” insists the man who is himself an employee.
General manager Éric St-Arnaud shows me his coat bought for $30.
Louis-Philippe Messier
The board of directors is entirely voluntary.
For the customer, this business model offers an advantage: no taxes.
In the first sorting line overlooking the parking lot, a man enters, puts down a fan without saying anything, then leaves.
“THANKS!” shouts Mr. St-Arnaud to this eager donor.
“If this fan works well, it must find a buyer quickly.”
Around ten clothing sorters are busy sorting out and classifying donations for the thrift store section.
During the interview, two items of clothing for my son caught my eye: a jacket that seemed new at $7.50 and a warm winter coat at $24 (without taxes, I remind you).
I spotted this jacket for my son during my interviews. $7.50… and no taxes in this NPO!
Louis-Philippe Messier
“Every day, the store offers 5,000 to 6,000 new products… so you have to come back often to catch the pearls,” the general manager told me.
Mr. St-Arnaud dresses himself in clothes from Renaissance: an elegant coat purchased for $30 and a shirt for $10.
Soon in Quebec
The organization will soon open its first store in Quebec City.
“We want to have branches in every city with more than 100,000 inhabitants,” announces Mr. St-Arnaud.
With exorbitant groceries and high rent prices, Quebecers caught in the lurch need an NPO of this kind.
