COVID-19

APICA launches Economic Recovery Committee

The Association of Professionals, Industrials and Merchants of the Aylmer Sector (APICA) has formed a committee dedicated to benefitting local businesses struggling because of the COVID-19 pandemic.

With numerous businesses having to either shut down or modify their services, APICA launched its Economic Recovery Committee on April 22. The team is focused on finding out what Aylmer businesses need for the relaunch of their commercial activity and dedicated to bringing more visibility to businesses at a time when advertising dollars are scarcer than ever.  According to its Chair, Nathalie Rodrigue, the committee consists of eight people, including owner of Exotika Tattoos Co. and Blades & Bourbon barber shop Christopher Leblanc and APICA President Eric Delage and Aylmer district councillor Audrey Bureau.

The committee held its first meeting via Zoom on April 27, where it decided to run an online survey of APICA members and non-members, hoping to get a pulse of businesses’ different needs and concerns relating to coronavirus and their bottom line. “We’re really gathering data to know what entrepreneurs want,” she said. “We can come up with a plan but you really want to respond to the needs of the people.”

The committee’s next step will be to establish its master plan based on the results they compile from the survey, Rodrigue said.  Planning on devising strategies on how they will go about helping businesses collectively keep the local economy in good health, one of the methods will likely involve group marketing of the Aylmer brand, a marketing goal that has always been important to APICA. “Group marketing allows for publicity at a lower cost,” Rodrigue said. “Some businesses don’t have big budgets for marketing campaigns, so we can help with a general campaign about shopping locally.”