Is Your Depanneur Located In A Rich Or Poor Community?
The success of a depanneur depends to a large extent on its location and the prosperity of its local community.
For example, a mediocre retailer could easily succeed in Fort McMurray, Alberta, during the boom years, while an exceptional operator could not survive a week in the ghost village of Val-Jalbert.
Knowing the economic profile of your community is therefore important. Quebec is not a rich province in general, but it varies greatly from one place to another. Some communities thrive while others decline.
To get an accurate portrait of the situation, the Quebec Institute of Statistics (ISQ) publishes a study called the Economic Vitality Index (EVI, available in French only).
On its website, you can enter any city, region or locality and obtain its EVI, currently depicting its economic status.
This index represents the average of three indicators, namely the proportion of workers aged 25 to 64, the median total income of those aged 18 and over, and the average annual population growth rate over five years. In other words, it estimates the relative amount of workers, their income levels and the population curve … that gives an excellent idea of the local economic potential.
From the outset, there are four regions that are visibly torn away: they have the largest number of areas in the 5th quintile.
- The Bas-St-Laurent region
- The Gaspésie – Îles-de-la-Madeleine region
- The Outaouais region
- The Côte-Nord region
In contrast, the most prosperous regions are:
- Laval
- Montreal
- The Montérégie region
- The Nord-du-Québec region
- The Capitale-Nationale region
In Laval, the entire territory is in the 1st quintile. On the Island of Montreal, prosperity is concentrated in the west. The city of Montreal itself is in the 2nd quintile.
In Montérégie, a region with 200 municipalities, Candiac, Chambly, Vaudreuil-Dorion, Bromont and Saint-Bruno-de-Montarville are among the most prosperous.
In Quebec City, the entire Jacques-Cartier valley is highly prosperous: Lac-Delage, Sainte-Brigitte-de-Laval, Fossambault-sur-le-Lac, etc.
In the other regions, prosperity and poverty are intertwined:
- In the Eastern Townships, Orford and Saint-Denis-de-Brompton are rich but Ogden and Weedon are poor.
- In Abitibi, Rivière-Heva is rich but Normétal is poor.
- In Chaudière-Appalaches, Saint-Henri is rich but Saint-Just-de-Bretenières is poor.
If you are interested in acquiring a specific depanneur, look for the economic data of its locality! This will give you an idea of the local purchasing power, which can make the difference between success and failure of your business venture.
