Winning Global Markets: A Roadmap for Quebec Retailers

The Retail Council of Quebec presents the 2^nd edition of the Next Gen Retail Perspective, a series of 4 articles, each written by a student from McGill University’s Bensadoun School of Retail Management (BSRM).

This series offers an opportunity to explore the ideas and perspectives of young professionals who are shaping the retail world of tomorrow. Discover Selina Ved’s perspective!

Retail has always fascinated me as a dynamic industry that blends innovation, consumer behavior, and global trends. Growing up immersed in retail through my family’s business, Apparel Group, I’ve had the privilege of witnessing firsthand the challenges and rewards of expanding brands to international markets — particularly in the Middle East and India, two of the world’s most exciting and fast-evolving retail regions. From launching Aldo, Ard;ne, and La Vie en Rose in the Middle East to adapting brands like Tim Hortons to new cultures, I’ve come to appreciate the critical role of strategic planning, cultural adaptation, and choosing the right partners in global expansion.

Quebec brands hold a special place in global retail. Their European-inspired sophistication combined with North American operational efficiency makes them highly adaptable in diverse international markets. However, while expansion brings exciting opportunities, it also requires brands to overcome key challenges—from regulatory compliance to cultural nuances. This article serves as a practical framework for Quebec brands and SMEs aiming to expand globally, with lessons drawn from the international journeys of Aldo and Tim Hortons.

Before expanding globally, Quebec-based brands must assess several key factors to ensure a smooth and sustainable entry into a new market. The following checklist provides a structured approach for planning thoughtfully the international growth of a retail business.

1. Market Research

• Analyze consumer behaviour, purchasing power, and local competition.
• Identify regions with emerging demand for your product category and understand key growth drivers.

2. Regulatory Compliance

• Understand franchising laws, import duties, product safety norms, and local retail regulations.
• Ensure proper registration of trademarks and compliance with data privacy and labor laws.

3. Market-Driven Offer

• Adapt product offerings to reflect local cultural, geographic, and consumer preferences—including climate, religious beliefs, lifestyle habits, and socioeconomic context.
• Tailor packaging, sizing, and product names to resonate with local expectations, languages, and functional needs.

4. Cultural Sensitivity

• Localize marketing messages, visuals, and campaigns to align with regional customs and values.
• Avoid messages that could be misinterpreted or deemed inappropriate in the target market.

5. Choosing the Right Partner

• Collaborate with experienced local partners—retailers, mall operators, or distributors— who are aligned with your brand’s vision, values, and goals.
• The right partner brings market knowledge, cultural fluency, and operational expertise. A misaligned or inexperienced partner can hinder market entry and dilute brand execution.

6. Omnichannel Strategy

• Develop a unified retail experience by integrating physical stores with digital commerce.
• Ensure the online platform supports localized language, payment options, and shipping logistics.

7. Operational Readiness

• Optimize inventory management, supply chain efficiency, and warehousing to meet local demand.
• Train regional teams to ensure service quality and consistency across markets.

8. Brand Positioning & Pricing Strategy

• Position the brand taking into account competition, economic conditions, income and consumer expectations in the target region.
• Price products at a price point that is both accessible to the target clientele and aligned with the brand’s identity.

9. Digital & Social Media Marketing

• Leverage local digital platforms (e.g., WeChat in China, Instagram and Snapchat in the Middle East, TikTok in Southeast Asia).
• Collaborate with local influencers and content creators to build up a community and ensure brand authenticity.

10. Sustainability & Consumer Trends

• Align with rising global demand for sustainability by highlighting eco-conscious materials, ethical sourcing, and fair labor practices.
• Implement and promote Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) initiatives relevant to the local community and environment.

For a successful international expansion, Quebec retailers must understand the distinct characteristics of each major market. Each region presents unique consumer behaviours, regulatory challenges and market entry strategies that businesses must carefully assess to effectively navigate their way through.

For Quebec retailers and SMEs, global expansion is not a one-size-fits-all endeavor. North America and Europe reward strong brand narratives, premium positioning, and sustainability, while Asia and South America demand agility, digital adaptability, and robust local partnerships. By understanding these key differences, businesses can develop tailored, market-specific expansion strategies that increase their chances of long-term success.

One of the most critical factors in a brand’s successful international expansion is selecting the right local partner. A strong partner brings market knowledge, established distribution networks, and operational expertise, ensuring that a brand enters a foreign market seamlessly. For Quebec brands, this alignment is especially important when navigating new markets with distinct cultural, regulatory, and retail ecosystems.

Aldo’s International Journey

While the brand has seen great success in regions like the Middle East, some of its partner brands have struggled to find the right local partner in other parts of the world—including the all-important Chinese market. Over the years, Aldo has worked with several distributors in China and faced challenges related to supply chain efficiency, product positioning, and consumer engagement. These hurdles were compounded by the complexity of China’s fast-evolving, digitally dominant retail sector and the need for highly localized strategies (China Daily, 2024).

However, the brand is now refining its approach in China with a focus on e-commerce-driven growth and new partnerships with digital-first players, aiming to reposition itself more effectively in the market (China Daily, 2024). This signals a promising shift in strategy and an understanding of how alignment with the right local partner can significantly impact brand success.

Tim Hortons in the Middle East

Tim Hortons provides another compelling example. Although not a Quebec-based brand, its successful expansion into the Middle East—beginning in 2011—demonstrates the importance of localization and strategic franchising. Understanding the region’s long-standing coffee culture, Tim Hortons adapted its menu to feature popular items like Karak tea, Arabic coffee, and date- based sweets (Gulf Business, 2012). Through franchise agreements with experienced regional partners, the brand ensured operational excellence while allowing flexibility for cultural nuances. This approach enabled Tim Hortons to grow rapidly across the GCC and build a loyal consumer base.

The success of Quebec brands like Aldo and Tim Hortons in international markets highlights the importance of strategic planning, cultural adaptation, and choosing the right local partners. While global expansion offers immense opportunities, it also presents challenges that require market- specific strategies, strong brand positioning, and operational readiness. For Quebec brands and SMEs looking to expand, success depends on understanding regional differences, leveraging digital transformation, and ensuring adaptability while maintaining brand integrity. Ultimately, brands that combine global ambition with localized execution will be best positioned for long- term sustainability and international growth.

For SMEs and emerging Quebec brands, choosing the right partner is even more vital. Without the global infrastructure of larger brands, these businesses often rely on local expertise to bridge gaps in logistics, compliance, and customer engagement. A strong partner can provide the insights, credibility, and operational capacity needed to ensure a brand’s successful entry and long-term performance in a new market.

Ultimately, brand strength alone is not enough. Execution, cultural relevance, and strategic alignment with a trusted partner are critical. Whether through Aldo’s momentum in the Middle East or Tim Hortons’ culturally attuned expansion in the GCC, the evidence is clear: Quebec brands seeking sustainable international growth must prioritize the careful selection of the right local partners.

• Baker McKenzie. (2021). China’s Personal Information Protection Law.
• China Daily. (2024). Canadian Footwear Brand Aldo Eyes Digital Growth in China.
• Commission européenne. (2023). REACH.
• Gulf Business. (2012). Tim Hortons to Expand in the Middle East.
• PwC Brazil. (2022). Doing Business in Brazil.
• Smith, James. (2023). The True Cost of Entering the US Retail Market. Global Retail Journal.