The future of the Blue Basket is uncertain. Economy Minister Pierre Fitzgibbon indicated Monday, on Radio-Canada, that the online sales platform dedicated to Quebec merchants could close soon.
These comments took place the day after the announcement of a partnership between Les Produits du Québec and Amazon to highlight local products on the website of the online sales multinational.
“Amazon, for me, is a very good platform. Many Quebec companies want to be there,” Mr. Fitzgibbon declared on the show All one morning. “Perhaps coming out of the pandemic, the Blue Basket is less important than it was. »
The management of the Panier bleu was content with a reaction by email, refusing the interview request from the Duty. “We have read the minister’s statement this morning. We are in discussions with our investors and we will make a decision to this effect in the coming weeks. »
On Monday, the general director of Produits du Québec, Elfi Morin, nevertheless maintained in an interview with The duty that the initiative would not, according to her, harm the Blue Basket.
Millions invested
The Blue Basket was launched in April 2020, while Quebec was in lockdown, in order to encourage Quebecers to buy local on the Internet. The government of Quebec had invested more than 4 million dollars.
However, it was initially only a showcase linking to various company sites, which gave rise to numerous criticisms. The site finally became transactional in the fall of 2022, presenting itself as an alternative solution to Amazon, thanks to investments from Desjardins, Investissement Québec and the Fonds de solidarité FTQ of $22 million.
According to the NETendances 2022 report from the Academy of Digital Transformation, the Blue Basket managed to grab around 7% of market share that year, compared to 46% for Amazon.
On the social network Businessman François Lambert, for his part, expressed regret, also on Several other platforms of this type, launched by entrepreneurs, took shape during this period before being abandoned.