March 21, 2008 (Quebec City, QC) – A second Louis Garneau concept store opened unofficially last month in Quebec City. “We decided to delay the official opening until mid-April,” co-owner Michel Lucier explained. “It’s because of the massive snowfall this winter in Quebec City. The city already has over 400cm of snow and people there joke they are shooting for 500cm!”

Lucier, and his son, Sebastien, are co-owners of both the Longueuil Louis Garneau concept store (just south of Montreal) that opened in 2007 and the new store in Quebec City. The Quebec City store has about 8,000 square feet and follows the same layout as the 6,000 sq. ft Longueuil store, but the new store has an impressive 25-foot ceiling. The location of the new store is 1100 Bouvier Street near Les Galeries de La Capitale Рa main shopping center in Qu̩bec City.

It’s been just over one year since the Longueuil store opened with a gala ceremony where Louis Garneau told Pedal that, “We would like to have LG concept stores in all major Canadian cities. The next one will probably be in Quebec City and then in Vancouver and Edmonton; the future is in this kind of store. But we don’t want to compete with local boutiques; we want them to be our partners.” Despite the heavy presence of bikes at the Longueuil store, it feels more like a high-end clothing store which might appeal to women customers.

Lucier told Pedal that the Longueuil store has generated a lot of business to date, but that he expects the Quebec City store to have even more sales. “Everyone in Quebec City wants to ski or bike,” he explained. “And the Louis Garneau brand is very well known there.”

Lucier added that they have an excellent team at the Quebec City store where the general manager is Fréderic Huot, with Marie Dupuis in charge of the clothing department, and Christian Leduc, a former racer, on staff.

Lucier explained that he spends two days a week in Quebec City while his son spends three days there. He also suggested that they are interested in opening other Louis Garneau concept stores, but remained coy about where they might be located.