WHO WE ARE ?
OUR HISTORY
It all began in 1986 when Benoit Doyon acquired the Comptoir Timbre et Monnaies located in Place Laurier. At the time, the business was no bigger than 150 sq.ft.
In 1988, the business expanded to 540 sq.ft., employed four experts and became changed its name to Cartes Timbre et Monnaies Ste-Foy. It expanded its range of products by adding another genre: Collectable Cards.
A second expansion occurred in 1992, which grew the store to 1490 sq.ft. and employed ten people. A wider variety of products were incorporated into the business’s inventory, such as: Trading Card Games, Comic Books and Role Playing Games.
1995 saw the birth of a second store in Place Laurier: L’Imaginaire. This store’s main focus was to offer produces from the following genres: Role Playing Games, Comic Books, Figurines as well as themed objects from the Medieval era. Between the 2 stores, Benoit Doyon employed 16 individuals.
The growth continues in 1997 with the opening of a 3rd franchise, 1000 sq.ft. in size, at Carrefour Charlebourg. After being spread out for two years, a crucial business decision was made: To regroup all 3 stores in location of 4500 sq.ft.. This new unified store would host 20 employees.
The year of 2001 was L’Imaginaire’s biggest expansion yet: The creation of its website www.Imaginaire.com.
Almost doubling the stores surface in 2004, the store increases to 8000 sq.ft. and has more than 30 employees.
Since 2010, and every year since then, during the months of September and October, L’Imaginaire makes it its duty to bring you the greatest selection of costumes for Halloween. To do so, it opens a temporary store, still situated in Place Laurier, to better serve its clientele.
The biggest enlargement was made to the store in 2014, when L’Imaginaire added 7000 sq.ft. to the store’s surface area by acquiring the vacant space below it. In order to provide additional space to all the sections of the store, it was decided to move the following to the story underneath: Board Games, Puzzles, Disney related items and Role Playing Equipment.
By rearranging the stores logistics, it created more space for every section of the store to increase its inventory and provide the client with a wider variety of products. This second story would also be equipped with a mezzanine were the Trading card Game section now resides with its own set of tables to host tournaments.
The store that you know today, is a result of over 30 years of efforts, evolution and optimization. All this in reunited under one banner: L’Imaginaire in Laurier Quebec and is approximately 18,000 sq.ft. and is the home to over 70 passionate experts.
New Blood
Since January 1st 2017, Anthony and Dave Doyon (Benoit Doyon’s Sons) have united their forces and acquired the enterprise from their parents. It is with this passing of the torch that new ideas and new development will emerge from the young bloods in order to have their family business prosper leaving the old guard to rest.
The History of Beauport
2015: The first opening of a costume store at Promenade Beauport for the short period of September and October. It would span over 5000 sq.ft.
2016: Once again, we set up shop for the Halloween season, but this time, once the spooky holiday was over, we expand our store to incorporate the most beloved products from our headquarters. Alas, it was not meant to be, based on uncontrollable circumstances we were forced to close the store in June.
2017: We were back for the Halloween period, and hopefully, will continue to be back in the years to come. Who knows, maybe we will be able to stay year round in the future.
The History of Levis
2016: The Galeries Chagnon was gracious enough to offer us their hospitality in letting us host a Halloween costume store in their mall. This first outlet would span 3000 sq.ft.
2017: We returned for the Halloween season and since then have remained opened, porting much of the products from the universes of our original store in Laurier Quebec to this outpost to serve a wider range of clients. 5 dynamic employees are part of the team that serves you.
The History of Sherbrooke
It was on November 1st 2017 that L’Imaginaire opened its doors in Carrefour de L’Estrie. Replicating much of the colors and designs from its headquarters, the franchise was fully equipped to spread the Imaginaire reputation in this new location. Dave Doyon and 2 of his colleagues moved to Sherbrooke to oversee the operations of the rising store. 5000 sq.ft. of fun and excitement make up the surface on which our major sections are displayed. Sports, Trading Card Games, Board Games, Coins, Stamps, Puzzles etc. are all themes you will be able to explore in this new location. The store started with only a team of 3, but has since then grown to 15. While the store may be only in its enfant stages, this gives us confidence that future projects will unfold with as much success.
Our mission
To offer hobbyists and collectors a wide selection of products in their favourite genre.
Our Vision
To become the nation-wide leader in all aspects of collecting, gaming and hobbies. Having the most competent and skillful personnel and the widest selection of products to best suit your needs.