Exclusive: Harnois Acquires PROXI, A Depanneur Chain Located in Quebec City

After Pétro-T and Marché Express Esso, Harnois Groupe Pétrolier continues on its acquisition binge by adding another depanneur brand to its portfolio which already has three (Le magasin, Quali-T and Marché Express).

Indeed, the dynamic petroleum distributor based in the Lanaudière region has acquired this month five of the seven existing PROXI depanneurs located in the Quebec City area in addition to purchasing the PROXI brand.

Founded in Quebec City in the 1980s by Gérard Brousseau, an entrepreneur, PROXI grew organically up to seven Esso gas stations and depanneurs that have mostly been managed by the Brousseau family, namely Gérard, his daughter Chantal and his son Denis.

The transaction was completed in early September and already four of the five depanneurs sold have changed hands, the last one just days away from being transferred.

Denis Brousseau told DepQuébec yesterday that the main reason behind the sale is simply the lack of succession, himself now seeing retirement on the horizon (while his father has already been retired for several years). He said he did not want to completely get rid of the network at this point, so he and his sister kept two PROXI stores, one in downtown Quebec City and one in Neufchatel (a Quebec City borough). As for why he sold to Harnois, he indicated that the company has been their gasoline partner for a long time and that Harnois was interested in the purchase, even in acquiring the entire network eventually.

One less banner in Quebec?

According to DepQuébec‘s latest estimation, there were some 60 banners of depanneurs in Quebec but that number will certainly decrease this year.

Indeed, no later than last week, Sobeys announced the disappearance of the Shell Select banner in favor of two existing ones, Voisin and Boni-Soir.

As for the future of the PROXI banner, a rather neat brand with the a well chosen bilingual word (Proxi as for “proximity”) for a convenience store, we can only speculate at the moment.

“I don’t know what Harnois is planning to do with the brand: they bought the name, so they can do whatever they want,” said Brousseau.

As for him, Mr. Brousseau intends to continue using PROXI for its two remaining depanneurs, at least for the foreseeable future.

Harnois confirmed yesterday to DepQuébec, through their spokesperson Élisabeth Karam , that it “is currently integrating progressively the five PROXI sites acquired. As for the banner, its future is currently under consideration and a decision will be taken in the coming months. ” Acquired sites will be managed through the corporate mode (i.e. Harnois employees operating the stores).

While this transaction is not among the biggest ones we have seen, it involves the purchase of a local, genuine depanneur banner with a 40-year history and there are not that many.

Especially banners as neat as PROXI. A pretty cool depanneur brand indeed!

 

List of PROXI sites acquired by Harnois :

• 659, route Président Kennedy, Lévis (Qc) G6C 1M9
• 1144, rue Bellevue, St-Lambert de Lauzon (Qc) G0S 2W0
• 1983, boul. Bastien, Québec (Qc) G2B 1C2
• 2080, boul. Talbot, Québec (Qc) G2N 0C2
• 20800, boul. Henri-Bourassa, Québec (Qc) G2N 1P5

List of PROXI sites retained by the Brousseau family:

• 222, rue Saint-Paul, Québec (Qc) G1K 3W4
• 4750, Sainte-Geneviève, Québec (Qc) G2B 4P1