Business sense, the founders of Sapin Mtl? Certainly. An innate sense of marketing, there is no doubt about that! The idea of launching a home Christmas tree delivery and installation service came to them in the fall of 2015. In less than two weeks, the company began its activities. In addition to the humorous promotional videos they created to attract views on social networks and rally young customers, Philippe Pelletier, Laurent Lussier and Vincent Paquette innovated in January 2016 with the very first Pan-American Christmas tree throwing competition as part of Igloofest.

Then, in November of the same year, they were the instigators of the 88-foot tree at Place des Festivals, "the tallest in Canada" that got everyone, his uncle and his uncle's mother, talking. It had been a long time since Montreal had been so talked about. American, Greek, Japanese, Chinese, German and Danish newspapers talked about the "ugly tree" of the Canadian metropolis. The New York Times even sent a journalist to the scene to cover the event!

Far from backing down, the Sapin MTL team went to the front. “We never imagined that people would be scandalized by the appearance of the tree and that it would cause a social debate on aesthetics,” admits Philippe Pelletier. “We went to all the media to defend the tree, explaining that it was a natural Quebec tree and not artificially transformed. We protected our partners by taking our responsibilities.”

Consolidate your image

Rather than destabilizing the three partners, the #SapinGate crisis made them stronger. It even changed their corporate DNA. Added to the values of sustainable development (a tree is planted for each tree sold) were those of promoting difference. The year after the controversy, the founders took advantage of this huge publicity stunt by establishing the Village du Vilain Sapin. "We wanted to create a tradition in Montreal with a unique, atypical tree that comes back every year. In other words, create a trademark around the ugly tree: the first year, it made people laugh around the world, the second, it assumed its singularity and this year, with the interactive ticklish tree created in collaboration with the Ingrid Ingrid studio, the tree laughs heartily with Montrealers in the hope of being adopted for good."

A magical season

The Christmas tree is very emotional for Quebecers, the entrepreneurs noted throughout this adventure. "With this company, we enter the living room of families," says Philippe Pelletier. "To please the children, our delivery people wear elf hats and add magic to the ritual." The bet is working. From 300 trees sold in 2015, they increased to about 1,000 in 2017. Sapin MTL reaches the clientele of young adults without a car, but also people with reduced mobility, seniors and all those who are seduced by the quality of the trees from Michel Paquette of Sapinière Mauricie, the only supplier to which the company has remained loyal since its beginnings.

The seasonal business model focused on the Montreal area appeals to the three partners, who can focus on other projects the rest of the year. “It’s a project where we have fun and let our creative madness run wild,” agrees Philippe Pelletier, one of the six co-founders of the Aire commune coworking space. “We know there’s a beginning and an end. After the holiday season, we close the books and on February 1, we don’t talk about the tree anymore. All the suppliers are paid, the money is in.”

Always ready to innovate, Sapin MTL is currently developing a technique to sell trees with their roots, which would make it possible to replant trees from one year to the next and even keep the same tree every Christmas.

What they learned that was valuable…

Never hide in times of crisis

"Whether it's in response to a Facebook comment, an opinion expressed, or a media outlet, you have to react and prepare your "lines". You have to respond honestly and explain why and how you acted as you did. A person who apologizes and acknowledges their wrongdoing will always have a better image than a person who hides in silence."

Doing a good post-mortem after a season

“Sometimes, we have a short memory and when we resume the activities of our seasonal business, we no longer remember what went less well. We sometimes find ourselves starting over with something that had previously been problematic. To avoid these pitfalls, we make it a point to review our operations (online sales, website, deliveries, costs) and our communication plans (digital marketing strategies, advertising optimization, target customers) at the end of each season. We only have one month to sell trees, so we need to have a solid plan.”