The bicycle clothes and accessories from the Montreal company The Board have been very successful, a popularity that the owners have associated in particular with the rise in this sport from the pandemic. And to a certain change in its social function, too.
Philippe Minguy launched the gear in 2018 with family members and his friend Alexandre Shareck, because he found that the aesthetics of clothes offered in the store lacked audacity.
“For having worked in bicycle stores, what we saw a lot was black, white or red clothes, then sometimes blue or pink, in a very gendered way. It didn’t push a lot of limits. It left us on our thirst for the aesthetics or the expression that you can have on your bike, ”explains the one who was at the time at the master’s degree in visual arts.
The first jerseys he made included digitization of oil paintings made by his uncle – decidedly, we were elsewhere. And what was initially a small, restricted project to a circle of relatives quickly gained momentum.
Photo Charles William Pelletier, special collaboration
The bracket bicycle clothes come out of the classic color palette associated with this universe.
“When you fell into pandemic, something happened. Cyclists who could no longer make their bicycle trip had an additional small budget, and I think it helped us a lot at that time. But above all, from the pandemic, I have the impression that the bicycle is more practiced than before by a wider audience, “continues the entrepreneur.
The bike in place of the golf course
According to the observations of gear leaders, the bicycle occupies an increasingly large place in the workplace and in group activities.
“In my perception, the bike replaces a little what golf was in the 2000s,” said Marc-Antoine Greco. “There are banks, lawyer offices, schools, who make personalized jerseys and widers in their colors for charitable events and fundraising,” he said. The gear achieves around fifty such projects per year.
Bike clubs halfway between the sporting event and social activity have also grown. The gear also launched its own cycling club in 2021. From the first year, it brought together around fifty members, who are released on weekends or who meet on Wednesday evening to go to Mont Royal.
Photo Charles William Pelletier, special collaboration
Orders are assembled in the bracquet warehouse, located on the Mont-Royal plateau.
Over the years, the number of products sold by the company has expanded. In its warehouse, located in an old presbytery on the Mont-Royal plateau, we find jerseys, cuipers with suspenders, socks, windbreaker coats, thermal banners, shoe cover …
Orders are assembled at the warehouse before being sent to customers, or in one of the 22 points of sale in Quebec and Ontario.
European objective
Business is well, therefore, for the gear, which has crossed the 11,000 orders in 2025 since its foundation, for a total of more than 75,000 items sold. If the trend is maintained, 20,000 items will have been sold in 2025, a sales increase of 75 % compared to last year.
In 2026, the bracquet team, made up of a nucleus of five people as well as some employees, would like to continue to expand in the rest of Canada and unravel the European market, where competition is strong in the world of cycling.
“It would be cool that during a bicycle trip to France, we meet the bracket on the road, as is the case now when we drive in Quebec,” says Philippe Minguy.
A warehouse in Charlevoix to counter customs duties
Photo Joan Holdburg, supplied by shine & melrose
The ex-artistic pineuser Marie-Pierre Chouinard founded the company Brillance & Melrose.
The ex-artistic and designer Marie-Pierre Chouinard has managed her company Brillance & Melrose from Las Vegas since 2018. To prevent its specialized accessories be struck by customs duties when they import them into Canada, the entrepreneur decided to invest $ 100,000 to open a distribution center in Baie-Saint-Paul. “It is a concrete response to customs challenges that slow down our ambitions here, but also a deeply personal gesture. I want to contribute in my way of revaluing figure skating in the country, facilitating access to quality products for athletes, clubs and enthusiasts from our home, “she said in a statement.
Acquisition for the Immetis Cabinet
The Montreal law firm specializing in immigration to an immigrant-based business has acquired the Immigration and International Recruitment of Auray Sourcing Immigration, a subsidiary of the Auray group, itself a subsidiary of RCGT. “In a complex migratory environment, marked by regulatory constraints and increased pressure on the job market, this integration will allow an immetis to significantly increase its capacity to process a high volume of requests,” read a press release. Acquisition brings more than 200 new client companies to Immétis in regions such as Montérégie, Estrie and Laurentides, in sectors such as hotels, catering or information technologies.