Press release: The World Trade Centre Montréal today launches its new Large Buyers series in collaboration with Home Depot

Press release

Montreal, March 3, 2004 – The World Trade Centre Montréal, a service branch of the Board of Trade of Metropolitan Montreal, today launches its new Large Buyers series with a first activity organized in collaboration with Home Depot.

“This new series is born of our interest in assisting the manufacturing sector in seizing the business opportunities existing on external markets. This is particularly true since the performance of the Montréal economy is a direct function of the vitality and continued growth of its manufacturing sector as well as its ability to export its production. Québec is the Canadian province that boasts the greatest manufacturing production, a sector accounting for a quarter of its economic activity,” said Mr. Benoit Labonté, President of the Board of Trade of Metropolitan Montreal.

During this one-day event, more than a hundred Québec manufacturers in the residential renovation sector will be given the opportunity to meet with Home Depot buyers from Canada and the United States on hand for the occasion. They will also be attending various workshops on purchasing requirements and on Home Depot typical markets, representing more than 1,700 points of sale throughout North America.

“Since its arrival in Québec, Home Depot has done its utmost to build solid business relations with Québec suppliers. Today, we are expanding this partnership by giving Québec manufacturers an opportunity to grab a share of the North American market,” said Mr. Roger Plamondon, Regional Operation Manager for Eastern Canada, Home Depot.

In addition to encouraging access to markets in Canada and the United States for Québec companies in the home renovation sector, this event is intended to discover new Québec suppliers interested in benefiting from the enormous potential offered by the Home Depot network in North America.

“Home Depot has one of the most effective network in North America, from Québec to the rest of Canada and North America, and vice-versa. This reality is unique in North America in our sector and can be of tremendous benefit to innovative Québec companies regardless of their size,” added Roger Plamondon.

“For some companies, becoming a supplier of Home Depot may seem like a challenge, but for me it's been a wonderful experience for more than six years now. Home Depot shows a great deal of respect toward its suppliers and the business relationship has been beneficial to both parties,” said Mr. Rosaire Pion, owner of Serres Rosaire Pion of Saint-Hyacinthe.

In a global context of interdependent economies, exports have become an essential activity for all companies, since their prosperity is greatly linked to their ability to be a player in international trade. And, it is with this in mind that we decided to partner with Home Depot for the realization of this first activity. Our companies, through their expertise, their capacity for innovation and the quality of their products, are well positioned to profit from the enormous potential that is represented by Home Depot, both in Canada and the United States,” concluded Benoît Labonté.

The World Trade Centre Montréal is a branch of the Board of Trade of Metropolitan Montreal that provides export support services to the business community and is itself supported by Economic Development Canada.

Founded in 1978, in Atlanta, Georgia, The Home Depot is the world's largest home improvement retailer currently operating 1,728 stores including 102 Home Depot stores in Canada, of which, very soon, 13 in Quebec. The Home Depot reported consolidated net sales of US $64.8 billion in 2003 and employs approximately than 315,000 associates, including more than 20,000 Canadians.

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