A Fleur de Vie celebrates 40 years of serving Sherbrooke
By Bruce W. Cole
In Sherbrooke, in Quebec’s spectacular Eastern Townships, you will find A Fleur de Vie.
A Fleur de Vie, a natural health store that prides itself on a deep commitment to personal customer service, is one of the beacons of natural health in this city located in the province’s southeast corner.
This year, A Fleur de Vie celebrates its 40th anniversary, and much of the credit for its success and longevity goes to Lucie Bisson, one of the store’s three co-owners, who has been with the store for all four decades, plus a bit more.
Lucie has been the driving force behind A Fleur de Vie since Day One. She worked for the store’s original owner beginning in 1983, when it operated under another name. Within two years, she had taken the bold step of buying the store and giving it its current name.
“Lucie is a visionary, an entrepreneur,” says store co-owner Emilie Belleville, a naturopath who came on staff in 2002 and joined the ownership group in 2017.
“It took a lot of courage to do what she did when she bought the store. I admire her … she has been a mentor to me.”
Emilie says Lucie’s strength lies on the business and operations side of the store. “She has a forward-looking approach [and is always] taking on new projects. She is always a step ahead of everybody.”
Exemplary customer service
Customer service at the store was elevated to a new level in 1987, when Lucie’s brother Sylvain Bisson came on staff as a co-owner, bringing with him an exceptionally structured approach to how the store could serve its customers better.
Emilie smiles when she explains how she and her co-workers reverently call him “the encyclopedia.” Although he is not a certified naturopath, he brings all the same attributes that come from his years of studies and training.
“Sylvain introduced a very professional, master naturopathic approach to our service. He developed a method to offer natural health customers the very best. He is the staff trainer, and he encourages everyone to really dig into what the cause of the customer’s ailment is, so the result will be better.”
The store considers its staff very advanced, primarily because of Sylvain’s knowledge and training methods. “He is unique and has brought the training level to a new height. It really reflects the personality of our store.”
Lyne Quesnel, who serves A Fleur de Vie as an account manager for Assured Natural Distribution, agrees with Emilie. “I would say the store’s strength is in how they come about making a recommendation, and the time they spend with each customer to determine their real needs. They conduct a lot of in-depth consultations with customers. It’s like every conversation is a consultation.”
Staff prioritizing success
The team at A Fleur De Vie is tight, reports Emilie. In addition to the three owners, the store employs eight people. “We have a wonderful team; we’ve been fortunate to find people who prioritize the success of the store. They want the best for the customer. The relationships are excellent between the staff and our customers. We know the customers by name.”
Emilie, who is one of the two staff naturopaths, says that, when hiring, the store looks for people who are personable and possess relationship-building skills. She says if a person is a naturopath, that’s great, but it is not the top criteria.
Finding a forever home
Like many natural health stores, A Fleur de Vie has had a few homes since 1985. “The first location was very successful,” reports Emilie. “It was downtown on Alexander Street in a 900 sq. ft. space, and it was crazy busy. In fact, it was too busy. There were so many customers, they could not all fit in the store at the same time.” A search for more space began.
“We wanted to stay in downtown Sherbrooke, as that was part of the attraction of the store,” says Emilie. To meet the needs of its growing customer base, A Fleur de Vie grabbed space where it could. The result was the store morphing into three separate entities.
“This was a very hard time,” she recalls. “Trying to efficiently run three locations at once was time consuming and hard to manage. We required staffing for three stores and three inventories. We were spread so thin.”
The owners decided a bold solution was needed to resolve an unsustainable situation: they needed their own building. “In 2016, we found a small house for sale across the street from our location, which allowed us to stay in downtown Sherbrooke,” recalls Emilie. “We demolished it and put up a brand-new building.” This was a project led by Emilie and Lucie.
A Fleur de Vie relocated to its new home in 2017. The building, says Emilie, was designed to incorporate everything they needed. “It has two storeys and each floor measures 2,000 sq. ft. We now have a dedicated place for consulting, a quiet spot away from the cash counter. We also have a section for medicinal herbs, where we custom-create remedies for customers using the herbs to address a specific condition.”
The store and the backroom take up the entire first floor. The second floor houses four offices: one rented out to a practitioner, one used for management, and two utilized as consulting spaces for staff. The space even has a residential apartment that gets rented out.
The store has a very welcoming air about it, says Lyne Quesnel, who is a regular visitor. “Even after they moved to their new, larger, and more beautiful location a few years ago, they have retained that warm level of service. You feel it right when you come in. The have created a welcoming ambiance in the store, it is very cozy.”
Starting an in-house brand
In 2014, A Fleur de Vie elevated its commitment to the supplement side of its business when it created its own brand of products called Joyau Sante, which translates to Health Gem.
This is something that occurred when Emilie and Sylvain began, more and more, to wish for products that did not exist. “We wished some of our suppliers’ products we carried had different ingredients, or were missing ingredients that we thought would help the customers,” says Emilie.
Lucie listened to her partners’ lament, and said, “well, why not? Why don’t we create those products you need?” And so, Joyau Sante came to life.
“We developed formulas that are very unique,” says Emilie. “We found a small lab that would make small batches. We now have 25 products with Natural Product Numbers,” or NPNs.
Feedback about their house brand from customers has been great. “The line has made a big difference. The products are helping our customers, plus it has helped to establish deeper customer loyalty. It is more profitable, too, so it helps the bottom line.”
Another helping hand came in the form of the Health First Network (HFN), which the store joined in 2022. “Being HFN members has helped us get better pricing on product,” says Emilie. “And support from the group has been very good. For example, at one time, we had our own flyer. Now, we use the HFN flyer. It means much less work for us.”
Emilie says that, as the store celebrates its 40th anniversary, things continue to move in the right direction. “Our customer counts are increasing, and I think that is primarily due to word of mouth. We have an online store, and we ship a lot of products. We also offer online consulting.”
However, the greatest strength of A Fleur de Vie remains its relationships with its customers. “The products we sell are helpful, but the service is what keeps customers coming back.”