Retail Council of Canada Bestows Honour on Leon’s

Leon’s Furniture Ltd. is among four winners of this year’s Molière Retail Awards, a distinction that recognizes excellence in the use of French by merchants operating in Quebec.

Specifically, Canada’s largest retailer of furniture, appliances and electronics was acknowledged by the Retail Council of Canada (RCC) for employing the language in customer service offered by its employees online.

Others honoured at a ceremony in March include Quebec’s liquor board SAQ, the provincial government-owned cannabis retail monopoly SQDC and chocolatier Lindt.

“I am particularly proud to present these awards, (as they) come at a time when the government recently unveiled its draft regulation as part of its reform of the Charter of the French Language,” says RCC Quebec office president Michel Rochette. “In this context, it is all the more important to recognize, but above all to highlight, efforts to defend and promote the French language.”

Although the awards are presented by RCC, it was consumers who chose the winners in a survey of 14,000 Quebecois conducted by Leger at the end of 2023. Respondents were asked about the use of French language in retail, both in the context of customer service — in-store and online — and in signage and communications in general. Nearly 250 retailers from 25 sectors were evaluated.

“The Molière Retail Awards are a moment to celebrate the excellence of the French language of companies that want to do more to reflect the particularities of Quebec society,” says French language minister Jean-François Roberge. “It is an opportunity to remind people of the importance for Quebec of being served and working in French. The French language is an integral part of Quebecers’ identity.”