Robert Bazos

"Gilles, the eldest son of the Bouchard family, decided to go into business, and bought a franchise located near Laval: a grocery store attached to a dairy. The formula had been created 15 years earlier in Ontario with the Becker’s chain. Becker’s was a network of convenience stores specializing in the sale of homemade dairy products. The dairy, owned by a Canadian businessman of Greek origin, Frank Bazos, essentially created its own distribution network. The idea was based on the vertical integration model used by major oil companies, which have their own gas stations. In Quebec, Robert Bazos, another member of the family, had undertaken to reproduce this concept starting with a dairy located in Laval. In a stroke of marketing genius, he named the chain, Perrette.[[11]](private://read/01j5mtjqkzkqnzrmf5b4rr6pr2/#notes11) At that time, all Quebec Francophones had grown up hearing the 17th-century fable by Jean de La Fontaine *The Milkmaid and her Pail.* Many had had to memorize it in school, an exercise that had little use in itself, but that had the advantage of occupying students for hours. The story begins like this: “Perrette, having a pot of milk on her head…” thus Francophone Quebecers naturally associated the name Perrette with milk products. Robert Bazos also had the idea to sell milk in reusable plastic containers. Rather than throwing them out after using them and losing the value for the deposit, clients had a reason to return their milk jugs to Perrette—the only distributor of the brand—and buy a new one. With this tactic, Bazos secured the loyalty of his customers, while hoping that they would also buy other products, like cigarettes or newspapers."

"One day he had the opportunity to speak directly with Robert Bazos, who was passing through to inspect renovation work for the Perrette in his own neighbourhood, the Town of Mount Royal. Bouchard told him that the turnover rate for dealers was much too high and that replacing them was costing the company a lot. “Try to find a formula for them to make more money, and that will make them stay with us longer,” he suggested. Bouchard can still hear Bazos’ response, as clearly as he did that day: “Mind your own business.”"