Athos Commemorative Services has acquired the Funeral Company Memoria, another long-standing brand that has joined the group created in 2010 to respond to the assaults of multinationals on the Quebec market.
The initiative comes from Memoria, which began the process of the transaction concluded on January 25 last fall.
“It’s an opportunity to participate in the Athos effort and to ensure that Memoria remains in Quebec,” commented Julia Duchastel-Légaré, who was vice-president of the company run by her mother, Jocelyne Dallaire- The station. “I think it’s a network interested in what Memoria can bring, a Quebec group that is open to our sense of innovation and ideas. »
Memoria will find there the resources and synergy of a large group.
“We are affected like all companies by labor issues,” explains Yvan Rodrigue, President and Chief Operating Officer at Athos. There is a lot of computing that we have to implement. We’re a little behind in technology – I’m talking about all the funeral companies. We need to invest a lot of money. All of these things made us an interesting partner for them. »
Within Athos, Memoria joins other well-known brands with centuries-old traditions such as Urgel Bourgie, founded in Montreal in 1902, and Lépine Cloutier, whose origins date back to 1845. Both chains were acquired by Athos in 2012.
“The fact that they work under different banners, we find that really great,” underlines Julia Duchastel-Légaré, rejoicing that the family business is keeping its Les Espaces Memoria identity.
family history
Memoria originated in the funeral home opened in the 1930s by Alfred and Aline Dallaire. Their daughter Thérèse Dallaire and her husband Paul-Émile Légaré added a vast network of branches.
In turn at the helm of the company, their daughter Jocelyne Dallaire-Légaré had created the Memoria brand in 2003 to better reflect the evolution of commemorative customs and services. Her daughter, Julia Duchastel-Légaré, an engineer by training, started working full-time for the family business in 2006.
The two women feared nothing for the survival of Memoria, far from being on the verge of death.
“There was no concern, assures Julia Duchastel-Légaré. I don’t want to brag, but I think my mom and I were really good at what we did. Above all, we had an extraordinary team to support us. »
No rational concern, “but I am an only child”, she specifies. “Memoria is my mother and me. »
The pandemic prompted them to reflect on the sustainability of the business and its place in their lives.
“We were in the front row, in the first wave, of incredible distress, she expresses. It makes you think about how you want to see the future for yourself and for the family business. »
Memoria has 11 branches and five funeral and cinerary complexes in the greater Montreal area, in addition to the 21 establishments and five cemeteries already owned by Athos.
For the moment, the establishments of Memoria and its approximately 70 employees do not seem threatened by a restructuring.
“We were not much in competition with these people, supports Yvan Rodrigue. They are in sectors where we were less well represented. That’s why it’s interesting to work together. We will not cannibalize our various branches. »
Jocelyne Dallaire-Légaré and Julia Duchastel-Légaré will assist the Athos group as directors. The latter also becomes head of corporate social responsibility.