Three entrepreneurial lawyers are now taking the reins of the largest online marketplace for exclusively Quebec-made products, bringing together more than 500 local producers!
Quebec company Signé Local announces a change of shareholders effective February 1st, 2022. The three new owners, Dawei Ding, Charles Lespérance and Louis Lespérance, will draw on their respective professional expertise to drive the company's growth.
Founded in 2015, Signé Local's mission is to make quality Quebec products known to the public. The company wants to encourage Quebec entrepreneurship by offering a simple, intuitive platform that brings together a wide range of local products.
In addition to an online marketplace, Signé Local has a distribution centre in La Prairie and four stores across the province: at the Eaton Centre in Montreal, in Quartier Dix30 in Brossard, at Promenades St-Bruno and at Galeries de la Capitale in Quebec City. The wide range of products attracts, in store and online, a large clientele that cares about buying local: prepared meals, beverages, beauty products, zero-waste products, home accessories, decor, clothing and more. Signé Local also offers thousands of local products as corporate gifts, as well as a section of gift sets. A custom proposal is created according to each client's needs and budget.
"For us, acquiring Signé Local means investing in the future of Quebec merchants. It's an opportunity to showcase Quebec talent and give it great visibility! It helps local SMEs become more accessible. At a time when the pandemic has starkly shown the fragility of the global supply chain, buying local is more important than ever. In the coming months and years, Signé Local aims to keep supporting local producers while creating new opportunities for a more ethical, more sustainable economy," said Dawei Ding, who will serve as President and Chief Executive Officer of Signé Local.
For the company, offering ethical and sustainable consumer choices, promoting local supply chains with a smaller environmental footprint and contributing to the vitality of the Quebec economy are all at the heart of its business model.
"Signé Local's mission is more meaningful than ever. We will therefore invest to expand the Signé Local warehouse, which will allow us to work with more local artisans. We will optimize delivery logistics to offer the fastest and most efficient service possible. We also want to make Signé Local better known, so that the platform stands out and becomes a point of reference for buying local in Quebec," said Louis Lespérance, Vice-President.
Signé Local acts as a driver of development in the Quebec community by offering a showcase to more than 500 Quebec producers, a significant share of which are start-ups. All producers benefit from postal and printing discounts and are regularly invited to take part in pop-up promotional events. Starting in 2022, new services will be added, such as support from incorporation all the way to bringing products to market through Signé Local.
Since 2018, Signé Local has also been the parent company of Terroirs Québec, a second online store focused on fine foods.
About the new owners:
Dawei Ding, President and Chief Executive Officer
Dawei is a lawyer and entrepreneur who practised business law, specifically corporate finance and mergers and acquisitions, for more than five years at two major firms, Fasken Martineau DuMoulin and BCF. As a lawyer, Dawei advised and represented many clients across a variety of industries.
Holding a master's degree and a bachelor's degree in law from the Université de Montréal as well as a bachelor's degree in economics from McGill University, Dawei began his career as a world-class competitive video game player, and later owned an esports team. Dawei also co-managed his family business, a transportation company based in the United States, for many years. In that role, he held various positions, particularly in human resources management.
Through his journey as an immigrant, Dawei developed the habit of thinking outside the box, thriving on challenges, and starting and starting again. Originally from Beijing, Dawei is proud to call Quebec his new home. He will now bring his leadership and professional expertise to Signé Local.
Charles Lespérance, Partner
Charles Lespérance is the President and CEO of OXO Innovation and Communications Transcript, which together employ more than a hundred people around the world. A lawyer by training and a member of the Barreau du Québec, Charles discovered a passion for helping companies reach global markets while working in international tax law at KPMG. Co-founder of OXO Translations in Montreal in 2013, he now puts that passion at the service of his clients to help them communicate across borders. He is also committed to expanding OXO's activities around the world.
Charles will contribute his experience in managing growth and making strategic decisions. He will also help Signé Local open new markets thanks to his extensive network of contacts.
Louis Lespérance, Partner
Through his management company, which employs about ten people, Louis owns and manages several businesses in a wide variety of sectors. He hires specialized talent and assigns them to the companies in his portfolio. These include a fashion brand that designs, manufactures and distributes (B2B and B2C) clothing, shoes, eyewear, accessories and more.
He is also president of two prestige properties that he offers on the short-term rental market, for families and friends as well as for weddings, corporate retreats, events, films and TV series. In parallel, he works on many other projects in the real estate and retail sectors.
Louis holds a bachelor's degree in law from the Université de Montréal. He practised business law at Fasken, specifically in emerging technologies law. As a lawyer, Louis advised and represented high-growth companies in their financing rounds with venture capital and growth investors. Louis is now counsel at Fasken, where he works on certain files from time to time.
He brings to Signé Local his knowledge of internal management processes (inventory software, finance), procurement, supply chains, marketing and financing. He will also make his team available, allowing Signé Local to obtain specialized help as needed.
Media contact:
Katherine Rowan
krowan@exacto.ca
1-514-825-9828
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