By: Karen Karnis
Meet Jean Poiré, Eric Hoziel and Denys Martin, of Les Agences Jean Poiré Sports Inc. (LAJPS), a sporting goods agency selling high quality products in the province of Québec since 1985. They’ve been representing Mizuno Running Canada in Québec for roughly a year with great success. As part of our series on Mizuno Brand Ambassadors, we sat down with them for a frank chat.
How did you get into the field of sporting goods sales?
Jean Poiré: I was a professional hockey player in Europe for three years after university. When I came back, I was looking at the sporting goods business and a friend who was already an agent introduced me to the business. I have a bachelor degree in finance but sports always been my greatest interest. So business and sport was a natural fit for me.
Eric Hoziel: A long time ago I worked as a student at Murray’s Sporting Goods in Montreal. Then I started an acting career which I have to admit has been pretty successful. I joined LAJPS as a partner in November 2012. I have a big territory to cover: north of Montreal, Laval, Laurentians, Lanaudières, Abitibi, Trois-Rivières and Gatineau.
Denys Martin: I used to own a specialty store for badminton and tennis products and came into the sporting goods industry as a national badminton player. After 5 years in retail, the president of Yonex Canada at the time called me to see if I would represent the YONEX line in Quebec. That was 27 years ago – I’ve been in the business ever since.
What is your favourite part of your job?
JP: People, for sure. In all these years, many of my best customers became very close friends; same for some of the other agents and my two great partners with Mizuno, Eric and Denys. Great market to work in and great team work to build the line.
Another thing that I like is the competition – like in sport. In every market, like rackets, shoes or clothing, you have a lot of brands competing. With Mizuno, we have a great team and spirit combined with a great product, and we have had amazing success so far.
EH: Giving clinics to store staff and seeing them discover the Wave technology in our brand, and going for a jog with them to experience the amazing cushioning and stability for themselves. I also love that time of year when we present the new collection.
DM: Taking orders! Seriously, all aspects of the job are interesting. What I like most is the fact that it is a very diversified job.
What made you decide to work with Mizuno, and why has it been going so well?
JP: Mizuno is a great technical brand with big potential as it is a fantastic product. There are no short cuts with this kind of technical product and the keys to success are events, product knowledge education, service and presence. In 2010, I was invited in Japan for my 25 years with YONEX with Denys. When we went to visit a couple of sporting good stores in Tokyo, I was able to see the dominance of Mizuno over all the other brands in the running market in Japan. I knew that with all of the technical advantages, this line had great potential in Québec.
EH: I like the philosophy of Mizuno Canada: take good care of our accounts, and go for the hit, not the home run. We will establish the brand one shoe at a time, one customer at a time, one account at a time. We are a very high-end brand, very technical, and runners are loyal to Mizuno. Mizuno makes great running shoes and I have pride and confidence when I talk about our brand to buyers, staff and runners – and that’s the first ingredient when selling a product.
DM: It is very easy to sell a product that you believe in. Mizuno is not a marketing brand but an R&D brand. They have a good product; I believe in what they are doing and am not shy about selling it.
What up-and-coming product or technology from Mizuno are you must excited about?
JP: For sure the new U4iC foam, which is 30% lighter than AP+ [the previous foam]. Already, all the Mizuno shoes were very light but with the new foam, it will be even lighter and a big advantage over the competition. Take for example, the new Wave Rider 17. It will weigh only 8.8 oz. (compared to the Rider 16 at 9.9) with even better shock-absorption and durability. Just amazing R & D from Mizuno; combine this with the Mizuno Wave and you have a winner.
What about your own running?
JP: I started running when I was about 15 years old for my hockey training. Running was always part of my training and it is still today as I always thought that running is the base of every sport, including my two favourite sports, hockey and tennis. In 1993, I decided to run my first marathon and since then, I have run 3 others with my PB at 3h21, not bad for a 190-pound runner. I did my last marathon in Berlin last year with not a lot of training due to knee injuries. So because of that, I am more looking for short distance like 5 and 10Ks in the future. Let me say my bad knees have nothing to do with running! It’s an old hockey injury. My friends are talking about the World Marathon Majors – so New York, Berlin, Chicago, etc.…they are looking at London in 2015. We will see…
EH: I thought I was a runner until friends convinced me to run the 2010 Chicago Marathon. It was an eye-opening experience and I discovered that endurance training and races are something I love. The feeling of wellness and inner peace after a long run is amazing. For me, it’s about going beyond the suffering and making the effort to push the limits. I’ve completed four of the 6 World Majors (Chicago, New York, Berlin and Boston) as well as a few 70.3 and Olympic distance triathlons. My favourite distance is the marathon. I think I will go back to Boston in 2014. I was there this year, and even though I crossed the finish line 30 minutes before the bombs, I was still on-site when it happened. I think it will be a special place to be next year and a special race with more meaning than ever.
DM: I am not a real runner, but I ran a lot for my badminton training. I did two half marathons, but more for fun than anything else. I run to keep in shape and be able to keep playing badminton with the youth since I am 59 years old now.
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