“You have to strike while the iron is hot,” says Martin Boucher, one of the largest Sports Experts franchisees in Quebec. The CEO of the Boucher Group does not want to miss opportunities when they present themselves.
“We have communicated our ambitions on several occasions. It’s known in the industry. We want to continue significant growth in our business,” says the man who wants to double his turnover within seven years at most.
“The yard is full. Even there, we are working on another acquisition that we would like to announce within ten days.”
— Martin Boucher, CEO of the Boucher Group
Only the Sports Experts stores in Galeries de la Capitale and Lebourgneuf in the greater Quebec City region are not part of its group to date. In addition to his 17 franchises, Mr. Boucher owns the Mathieu Performance stores as well as several L’Entrepôt du Hockey and Atmosphère locations.
And we can say that his business has gained momentum in the last year.
In April 2025, he got his hands on the Sports Experts branch of the Méga Center Sainte-Foy along the Duplessis highway. He plans to move the 9,000 square foot store near Canadian Tire to increase it to 34,000 square feet.
“We start building it at the end of spring, then it will be open at the beginning of fall,” he says, at Soleil.
Added to this is an investment of 3.5 million to relocate its Place Ste-Foy store to the former Saks Fifth Avenue location. His lease coming to an end, the businessman wanted to respond to the demand of his customers who wanted to have more choice of clothing and shoes, but above all a range of equipment ranging from cycling to skiing.
“We didn’t even have juniors. It was a twenty thousand square foot store. Then we go to a 34,000 foot store. It’s an expansion of 50%,” informs the sixty-year-old, affirming that the reopening is planned for April 1st.
The latter admits, however, that he must leave a busy sector of the shopping center to take refuge in “a dead sector”.
“We had good negotiations with [le gestionnaire JLL et le propriétaire La Caisse]. There is a backward vision of this on their part and on our part to revitalize this sector. I think it will really give a good blow,” he says.
Investing beyond Quebec
Table of Contents
While the Boucher Group is currently working on the expansion of the Victoriaville store, it took its first step in Charlevoix by acquiring Sports Experts in La Malbaie and the La Galerie du Sport boutique in Baie-Saint-Paul on March 1.
“We resumed negotiations about six months ago. […] I think Mr. [François] Dubois was also a little more mature to stop, then pass the torch,” points out the manager, noting that the first discussions took place more than five years ago.
Mr. Boucher also believes that route 138 in Baie-Saint-Paul can accommodate a Sports Experts branch. “It’s a market that we love and we watch. There are already a few property owners who have contacted us,” says the one who has the ambition to open a new drop-off point in the surrounding area.
“We think it could live at the same time as this store [La Galerie du Sport] which is very touristy and which is on St-Jean-Baptiste Street in the heart of Baie-Saint-Paul,” he notes.
While he observes that many entrepreneurs “fear investing in the region,” this is not the approach he recommends.
“We like to invest in these regions so that consumption remains local. This is what makes these regions healthy. There are businesses setting up. The customer is not crazy. If we don’t give him the right offer, he won’t consume locally,” he says, listing its presence in Matane, Baie-Comeau and Montmagny.
A desire to diversify
Known above all for its Sports division, the company led by Mr. Boucher has also focused on other sectors of activity, including real estate. In order to achieve its growth objectives, it intends to continue to diversify.
“We are looking to buy companies in other sectors of activity. But it takes us a little in love,” he says, specifying that he has a natural penchant for retail or service businesses.
“It’s not at all costs. This is the advantage of private companies. We don’t have the pressure of the stock market. We are going there with growth that makes sense.”
— Martin Boucher, CEO of the Boucher Group
“If a business does not excite us about its sector of activity or its brand, we will not make the acquisition even if it is a great profitable business. We give ourselves the time to make the right moves,” he concludes.
THREE QUESTIONS TO THIS ENTREPRENEUR WHO THINKS BIG
Do you plan to make changes within the Boucher Group to give you the means to achieve your ambitions?
“We are making a major reorganization that I announced [mercredi] to all my teams. We are going to have a company that will not only be able to progress in our sector, but we also want to continue to diversify.
There are many people with us who were part of the management team that we are identifying to bring into senior management in the coming years. As a philosophy, we ideally like to give a chance to the people who are with us, who have trusted us.”
In 2024, your Sports Experts store closed its doors in Fleur de Lys due to densification work carried out by the Trudel brothers. Do you intend to reopen a branch there?
“We have an appetite. They have an appetite. But we still need a space that suits us. We agreed to speak again in the spring of 2026.
We are here, looking at what spaces we will have in Fleur de Lys or in the Fleur de Lys sector. We could move elsewhere if there was no space in Fleur de Lys. We open our horizons. But we think that a not too big store there, perhaps 15,000 square feet, could have its place, because it’s very easy to access Fleur de Lys. You get in and out quickly.”
From this spring, preparatory work for the tramway will intensify. What impacts do you anticipate for your two branches in Laurier?
“It will be significantly detrimental, but I am capable of making allowances if it was a project that was promising and structuring. Overall, as a citizen of the Quebec region, I think there are other avenues [que le projet de tramway].
Honestly, I meet a lot of business people who tell me that this is the worst project in the history of the Quebec region, but they do not dare to say it publicly. They are afraid. I think it’s healthy for there to be a debate. There are currently no arguments that make me believe that this is a promising project for the Quebec market.
I would not be surprised if there are still governments which end up saying that we cannot afford a project which does not provide the expected benefits.”
Responses to questions have been edited and ordered for clarity and brevity.
THE BOUCHER GROUP IN BRIEF
- Founded in 1987 by Claude Gosselin and Luce Fortin
- 1200 employees
- 17 Sports Experts stores, in addition to the Galerie du Sport, a purchasing member of the brand
- Present in the Capitale-Nationale, Chaudière-Appalaches, Bas-Saint-Laurent, Centre-du-Québec and Côte-Nord
