We’re stronger together
Uniting sales representatives with a common goal
ARISQ was founded in 1991 by Paul Tourigny, Jérôme Codere and Vincent Patry, who saw the value in working together to improve the services offered to Quebec’s sporting goods retailers.
The three founders invited 30 manufacturer representatives to a special meeting to officially create ARSIQ. Driven by a collaborative spirit and a desire to offer their customers outstanding service, they created exciting events where sales representatives and buyers could forge lasting business relationships in a time-efficient manner.
The first ARISQ trade shows took place twice annually in Laval, at the Quality Suites Hotel. One event featured spring/summer collections while the other was for fall/winter collections. Growing demand led to the creation of other trade shows in Quebec City for manufacturers in that region.
In 2008, the Quebec City and Laval shows merged, creating just one show per season for buyers from across the province. The first shared event took place at the Centre des Congrès de Saint-Hyacinthe, but when this venue closed in 2013, the Association moved its events to the newly built Sherbrooke Exhibition Centre. In fact, the ARISQ show was the first event to be held in this innovative space in 2014!
Over the years, the Association’s reputation has grown throughout Quebec and across Canada, and today it has hundreds of members involved in Quebec’s wholesale sporting goods industry. Whereas the 2009 trade shows had 86 exhibitors, 124 booths and 600 brands, the January 2018 show had 241 exhibitors, 352 booths and 800 brands!
As the Association grew, so did the needs of its members. To respond to these changing needs, ARISQ introduced a new event model in 2018 by creating AX events (the initials stand for ARISQ Xperience). With this strong, current and impactful branding, the Association hopes to mobilize more of its members and attract new ones.
ARISQ strives to keep up with the latest trends in the sporting goods industry and offer the best possible service to sales representatives and buyers through excellence and innovation.