Montreal-area toy store saved by community after Canada Post disruptions threaten holiday catalogue

The owner of a beloved Montreal-area toy store says her holiday season has been “saved” after a wave of community support helped her overcome mail disruptions that threatened her most important annual marketing tool.

Sauterelles et Coccinelles, in the Laurentians town of St-Jerome, has produced a Christmas toy catalogue for the past five years. The printed booklet has become a tradition for families, and a key driver of holiday sales, said owner Dominique Brais.

Last year, she mailed 50,000 to 60,000 copies to households across the region. The campaign was hugely successful, said Brais.

“We were not ready for it, and everybody was coming in the store with the catalogue, and all the items were not arrived in their store yet,” she said, adding that it’s a critical time for sales. “It’s the time of year toy stores make their money — or they don’t.”

But this year, Canada Post’s pressure tactics ahead of the recent labour disruption meant unaddressed ad mail and printed advertising were no longer being delivered. Brais learned only days before printing that her catalogue would not be distributed.

For a small business, the stakes were huge. She had already invested roughly $100,000 in inventory tied to the catalogue, and was unwilling to spend more. “I’m a small business. I can’t put $20,000 into something that might not get delivered,” she said.

Fearing a massive loss, she decided to print only 5,000 copies, enough to give out in the local and nearby communities, but nowhere near the reach of previous years.

Heartbroken, she recorded a video explaining her situation, asking other local businesses to help by placing stacks of catalogues in their cafés, salons, and shops. She hesitated for weeks before posting it, worried about being mocked online.

Instead, the response was “incredible.”

Cafés, hairdressers, and other small retailers arrived to pick up bundles of 15, 20, even 100 catalogues. Messages poured in from people saying they didn’t want to lose her store or other neighbourhood businesses. The video soon gained a ton of attention and support.

“It was very beautiful to watch,” Brais said. “People said they wanted us to stay alive. They understand that if we don’t support each other, our towns will become ghost towns.”

The attention brought an even bigger problem, but it was a good one.

“I’m freaking busy,” she laughed. “Yesterday, I left the warehouse at midnight because I was doing orders. But it’s a beautiful problem.”

With files from CTV News Montreal’s Rob Lurie