Anti-sanitary measures protesters have increased sales of Quebec and Canadian flags to such an extent that some stores have run out of stock, an unusual occurrence at this time of year.
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This is the case, among others, of a Canadian Tire store in Quebec where there were no more flags left for sale.
Throughout the past weekend, many demonstrators mounted flags on their trucks to denounce governments while marching on Parliament Hill.
Even though the shortage of flags has not reached the level of that of toilet paper at the start of the pandemic, the fact remains that this unusual windfall is welcome among retailers and manufacturers.
Production acceleration
“It’s a happy surprise. We were very happy that there was a craze at this time. Usually, we see it more in May or June. The season starts faster. We are very happy,” said Rémy Vézina, co-owner of L’Étendard and also president and general manager of 2nd Skin Promotion.
Throughout the year, this Quebec company manufactures flags and banners for its customers, including the Government of Canada.
“We are still producing flags for government authorities, except that we had to speed up in order to have more availability,” added Mr. Vézina.
He observes an increase in sales of about 10% for three weeks.
“The distributors, who place orders for the spring, asked us to send them urgently. »
“When they announced the event in Ottawa, we immediately saw an increase in sales. We also received some requests for bad taste flags, so to speak, but we are not involved in that, in any way. Our main client is the Canadian government. As soon as there was an aggressive or racist connotation, we refused the order, ”he said.
In addition to manufacturing Canadian and Quebec flags, L’Étendard also printed patriot flags.
High demand
When the preparations for the convoy for Quebec were launched, Mr. Vézina immediately felt the demand for the fleur-de-lis rise. Same thing for flags.
The company, which sells to distributors, but also does retail, had to adjust its production.
“There are several passers-by who have come to buy flags. Among them there were truckers and mechanics,” he says.
“We were already in continuous production. It’s just that we delayed some orders to produce mainly Canadian and Quebec flags. We were following our production rate, but we had room to meet the demand. »