Four years after the Quebec government launched Le Panier Bleu, a directory and later a transactional website for purchasing Quebec products, the program has been terminated. The decision was made “in light of the most recent operating results,” according to a release, and came only days after Amazon partnered with non-profit Les Produits du Québec to offer a portal through which consumers can order more than 1,000 Quebec-made products.
Le Panier Bleu managed, during its existence, to register more than 600 retailers from Montreal to the Côte-Nord region and display more than 250,000 products.
“Despite the company’s disciplined financial management, it became clear that revenues were not sufficient to sustain the platform over the long term,” the release continued. “The challenging economic context affecting the entire retail sector also contributed to this decision.”
