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Running with the seasons
Three Mont-Sainte-Anne area dépanneurs help feed ski regulars Quebec convenience store owner Alain Royer is no expert skier. But he’s a wizard when it comes to zigzagging through the challenges of running three winter-dependent stores at the foot of Mont-Sainte-Anne, the largest ski resort in Eastern Canada, all called Marché Mont-Ste-Anne. “We’re like ski shops and other seasonal operators,” says Royer. “If there’s no snow, we’re in trouble.” Tourists, he adds, make up roughly two-thirds of total store revenues. Nearly three-quarters of those sales happen during peak ski season from December to March.
