30 January 2020

As part of the Sherbrooke International program, selected Sherbrooke businesses have received direct support for their development outside Québec. Sherbrooke International is proud to encourage and support Sherbrooke businesses to shine internationally. After each of these significant projects, participants are invited to share their experiences through a blog post.

Two representatives of Calimacil, Samuel Tremblay Vézina and Patrick Lessard, went to the Lucca Comics & Games festival in the fall of 2019 to explore and develop Italy’s market. Their personal account follows.

Calimacil attended the Italian Lucca Comics & Games festival thanks to the support of Sherbrooke Innopole. This huge event welcomes more than 270 000 people into the streets of this Italian city each year.

Sherbrooke company Calimacil has been manufacturing foam weapons for role-playing since 2003. Now with 25 full-time employees, the company is evolving, thanks to its collaborative approach and successful international partnerships.

Italy is one of the company’s emerging markets. During the trip, the team held the biggest product launch in its history with photos of characters live from Lucca. These photos feature both the silver sword that complements the outfit of Geralt of Rivia and his double sheath, which were worn by the Sherbrooke company’s ambassadors, Samuel Tremblay Vézina and Patrick Lessard, the latter also the owner and founder of Calimacil. The two Quebecers were proudly wearing high-quality costumes of the protagonist of the famous franchise The Witcher, Geralt of Rivia. These fantastic armours had been made by a trusted partner, Les Artisans d’Azure from Montréal. Also present were CD Projekt Red, the creator of the successful game The Witcher, with their official replicas of foam weapons created by Calimacil, and the Netflix team, which will soon release a series of the same name.

Sherbrooke Innopole’s Sherbrooke International program is a perfect match for this constantly evolving business strategy. The main advantage of these collaborations across different countries is the diversification of geographical areas. This minimizes the seasonal factor (periods of low business) of the current market. Online sales are steady in more than 20 different countries.

Fall 2019: In the midst of a slowdown in revenue, the commercial mission En quête de l’Italie, supported by Sherbrooke Innopole, facilitated the understanding of the key factors to better serve the Italian role-playing market. The SME’s ambassadors met with the local players, discussed the products, and filled the order book. This all transpired with firm handshakes in a sincere posture, and sometimes with a little Italian wine 😉 In business, human contact is the key to success.

>> calimacil.com

Follow Calimacil on social networks:

>> Facebook

>> Twitter

>> Instagram

>> YouTube