*EXTERIOR VIEW OF NEW MONDOU STORE IN VERDUN, MONTREAL. PHOTO: MONDOU*

By Mario Toneguzzi

Mondou, a Quebec-based family-run pet store, continues to expand its footprint across the province even during the COVID-19 pandemic.

The company recently opened its 68th store in the Montreal borough of Verdun with its new neighbourhood store concept. And Mondou will continue to look to expand in the Quebec market.

“Over the years, Mondou has grown and changed, much like its products and services offering, which is now more varied than ever before. Our neighbourhood store concept is another indication of our company’s ability to innovate and meet consumers’ needs,” said Martin Deschênes, the company’s CEO.

“Smaller than our big box stores, these stores help us get closer to the community and our customers by offering essential products in store and a number of services free of charge. Our customers can shop online and then pick up their purchases in store or have them delivered to their home. Following the opening of our new store in Verdun, which has an incredibly vibrant neighbourhood life, we plan to continue rolling out this formula in other Quebec markets.”

MONDOU EXPANDS TO 68 STORES WITH NEWEST LOCATION IN VERDUN, MONTREAL

He said the 2,300-square-foot Verdun store is the second, after the one on Mont-Royal Avenue, to adopt the new neighbourhood store concept.

Mondou offers a broad range of free services for pets, including nail trimming, doggie wash, pet scale, and carry-out services, as well as the sub-zero market offering a vast selection of frozen raw food for cats and dogs - for those not wanting their pet food delivered

*click for interactive map of location of new mondou store in verdun*

Mondou opened its first store in 1938 and today has more than 900 employees. All the stores are located in Quebec.

Deschênes said the company will continue to expand in the Quebec market.

“Even though we are in the COVID situation we’ve had such a good response from the customers in Quebec with Mondou. They know that we are a family business. That we are in Quebec here for more than 80 years now and we have such a good response that our plan of openings didn’t change,” he said.

“We are pursuing our plan to open new stores. We have other openings coming up.”

When asked if the company sees expansion in the future outside the province of Quebec, Deschênes replied:

“Not on a short-term basis. We still have room to expand here in Quebec. We want to reach our customers first before going somewhere. That’s the plan.”

*INTERIOR DECOR IN NEW VERDUN STORE. PHOTO: MONDOU*

*PRODUCT DISPLAY IN NEW VERDUN STORE. PHOTO: MONDOU*

He said the number of stores the company will expand to in Quebec is still open.

“We have a lot of opportunities because the Verdun store is that new concept, more related to the community, smaller. That gives us the chance to be in a lot of different markets that we’re not looking at before having that specific model,” said Deschênes.

Even with the smaller footprints the company continues to offer pet services. The typical, larger stores are between 4,000 and 5,000 square feet.

“This is a key for us. If you want to be close to the community you need to offer them not only products but service,” said Deschênes, adding that future company expansion plans will include both formats for large and smaller stores.

“It depends on the population, the area, the market. It really depends on the opportunity that every city can offer for us.

“Because we had a good response from the population and our customers we had a chance to keep all our employees at work. No one was cut because of the COVID and we still are opening stores during the COVID-19. So for us it’s a really good sign that we had such good response from the community and we are very proud and confident it will keep that way.”

*larger mondou location in De la concorde in quebec city. photo: mondou*

QUEBEC-BASED MONDOU IS DEDICATED TO SUPPORTING ANIMAL WELFARE INITIATIVES

Mondou has been committed to supporting a number of causes dedicated to animal welfare. In addition to its popular annual campaign Mondou Mondon au profit de la fondation MIRA, which has raised $1.6 million for the foundation over five years, the Quebec company has been organizing the funding campaign Mondou Mondon au profit des refuges for the past three years. The third edition of this campaign, which ended on July 29, raised over $125,000 for animal shelters, for a total of $406,000 over three years.

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[Vidéos] Et c’est un départ! La gang de Mondou roule aujourd’hui avec fierté et bonheur pour la @fondationmira 🚴🏻‍♀️🚴🏼❤️🦮 #weekendvelomira #velomira #fondationmira

A post shared by Mondou (@mondou_calin) on Aug 14, 2020 at 11:19am PDT

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‼️ Dès aujourd'hui, afin d'assurer la sécurité de notre clientèle et afin de respecter les règles établies par le gouvernement du Québec, nous vous demandons de porter le masque ou le couvre-visage, tout comme nos employés, lorsque vous visitez l'un de nos magasins. 😷 . Et afin de vous assurer de le porter correctement, voici une petite démonstration, gracieuseté de Jack. 🌈 Son masque sera en vente très bientôt dans tous nos magasins et au Mondou.com . // . ‼️ As of today, in order to ensure the safety of our customers and to comply with the rules established by the Gouvernment du Québec, we ask you to wear a mask or face covering, like our employees, when you visit one of our stores. 😷 . And to make sure you wear it properly, here's a little how-to, courtesy of Jack. 🌈 His mask will be on sale very soon in all our stores and at Mondou.com

A post shared by Mondou (@mondou_calin) on Jul 18, 2020 at 6:10am PDT

“As a strong promoter of responsible adoption, and refusing to sell animals in its stores, Mondou partnered with the Montreal SPCA (a long-standing partner) and the SPA Mauricie to launch two adoption zones for cats from rescue shelters at its Saint-Jérôme and Anjou store locations in 2019,” the company said.

“In April 2020, in the midst of the COVID-19 crisis, Mondou also decided to give back to the community by donating $110,000 in products and gift cards to such organizations as Moisson and shelters for abandoned animals in several regions of Quebec. This gesture was an effort to help out pet owners in difficulty and to prevent them from abandoning their pets because of financial constraints.”

Mondou was ranked one of the top 10 on Léger’s WOW index for a third year in a row in 2019. The polling firm assesses customer experience among some 300 Quebec retailers through a survey of over 15,000 people.

For the first time, in March, Mondou was recognized among the prestigious Canada’s Best Managed Companies by Deloitte.

In 2007, Mondou created Mondou Academy — a continuing education program headed by veterinarians and veterinary technicians.

Mario Toneguzzi, based in Calgary, has more than 40 years experience as a daily newspaper writer, columnist, and editor. He worked for 35 years at the Calgary Herald covering sports, crime, politics, health, faith, city and breaking news, and business. He now works on his own as a freelance writer and consultant in communications and media relations/training.

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