With the season of spring renovation, moving, and home improvement projects approaching, Corbeil Appliances is stepping up as a specialist to reassure, support, and take action.
Given the current environment marked by persistent inflation, fluctuating tariffs, and economic uncertainty, the company made a strong move at the end of March by lowering prices of all appliances from its private label, Ellipse. This initiative is accompanied by five additional commitments aimed at protecting consumers and building a relationship of trust with them.
“At Corbeil, we believe that the role of a specialist is to make it easier for Quebecers and Canadians alike to access home appliances that meet their everyday needs. As a Quebec leader in the industry, we have a duty to step up. Guaranteeing the best purchasing conditions, along with lowering prices for our Ellipse brand, represents our tangible contribution to protecting our customers’ purchasing power,” said Anthony Amiel, President of Groupe Amiel.
“This is a well-thought-out choice, consistent with our mission to be a trusted partner, especially at a time when purchasing decisions are particularly important.”
The results of this initiative were remarkable right at the beginning: in just a few weeks, many consumers have placed their trust in Corbeil, driving a 30% increase in units sold for the Ellipse brand.
Beyond price reductions, Corbeil reaffirmed its commitment to consumers through its Parole de Spécialiste campaign, putting forth several commercial initiatives designed to bring greater peace of mind to customers:
- A best price guarantee for 30 days after purchase;
- A protection plan that allows customers to recover 50% of its value in store credit if unused;
- Interest-free financing plans for up to 24 months;
- Free delivery on purchases of $699 or more;
- Free pickup and recycling of old appliances in partnership with GoRecycle.
Corbeil Appliances also launched a new line called Corbeil Éco-Choix, aimed at offering second-hand products, end-of-line models, “as-is” items, and the most accessible brands on the market.
“Protecting purchasing power is a holistic approach that goes well beyond simply lowering prices. We also want to offer flexibility, peace of mind, and responsible options to our customers,” said Amiel.
Corbeil Appliances has a diversified supply network, sourcing products from Europe, Latin America, Asia and North America. This model helps mitigate the impact of tariff increases and maintain greater price stability.
Founded in 1949, Corbeil is a 100% Quebec-owned company held by Amiel Group since 2017. It is currently the largest home appliance network in Quebec, with some 30 stores across the province and in Ontario.
Groupe Amiel is a portfolio company founded by Anthony Amiel in 2017. It was created to bring together Distinctive, Corbeil Appliances and Termonas under one entity.
Amiel said he is seeing some uncertainty in consumers for larger renovation projects due to some budgetary challenges these days.
“They’re not executing them right now. They’re more adopting a wait and see for big renovations.,” he said.
Amiel said the recent campaign is meant to get closer to consumers, and reassure them.
“I’m passionate about the kitchen and everything that happens in the kitchen. It’s where you host families, where you host friends, the centre of the home often, and you’re using these appliances on a daily basis, it’s almost an intimate object, because you’re touching and using them every day,” he said.
“And consumers are worried about making the wrong decision, which is the right fridge for the size of family or the kind of cooking that they do . . . We want to accompany them and reassure them through this promise. We’re going to accompany them throughout the whole journey from the pre-selection to selecting to delivery in the lifecycle of the appliance. That’s a 30-day price match guarantee. If the price drops within 30 days from when we deliver the appliance to you, we’ll refund the difference. We take on that commitment.
“We offer protection plans because we know that repairs to appliances are getting increasingly more expensive, increasingly more complicated. But then what’s different with us is we offer credit on those protection plans if they don’t get used by the end of the protection plan, and we’ll offer 50% credit of the value of the protection plan on the purchase of the next appliance. So in five years, six years, seven years, if you want to change your appliance again, the protection plan comes to an end, we’d have a credit for that.
“We also offer through a partner, Fairstone Financial interest free financing options, six months, 12 months, and we go up to 36 months, but at 36 there is some interest to be paid, but it’s still competitive, less expensive than a credit card, and we’ve had great success with that. We’ve also stepped up with delivery, free delivery on purchases of $699, or more, and that’s throughout our extended network of stores.”
Amiel said Corbeil is in the process of renovating some of its stores with more planned and the company continues to actively look at other markets to expand.
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