About us
A Family Business Since 1958
Welcome to Groupe Rioux. Our family business, founded by M. Bertrand Rioux in 1958, is constantly looking for new talents, suppliers, professionals, partners and business opportunities.
Our team
Charles-Alexandre Rioux
Director of strategy and business development
Our environment
At Groupe Rioux, we work hard…and we have fun!
Our head office offers a fun and dynamic work environement. Our gym is open for all our employees from all our divisions for free! You prefer playing outside? We have two “fat bikes” that you can take for a ride in the snow or on the beach. More of a team player? Many activities are organized during the year to promote team building. At the Groupe Rioux, we believe that a healthy mind in a healthy body is a great key to success!
History
Since 1958, the Groupe Bertrand-Rioux has taken an active part in its community. It is important for us to give back and developp opportunities in many areas such as sport, health, culture and education.
1958-1968
1958
At the age of 26 years old, Bertrand Rioux begins in the furniture business and opens his first store in Murdochville a town in the Gaspe Peninsula. The business only has two employees: Mariette Lapointe, Bertrand’s wife and Bertrand himself. During the year following the opening, three other businesses will open their doors: a women clothing store, a music store and a sports goods store.
1961
The company Meubles Rioux Ltée is created and Mariette and Bertrand move to Matane to open their second furniture store, much bigger than the first one.
1966
The company Immeubles Bertrand Rioux Enr. is created and Bertrand has two duplex built at Place Chaleur in Matane. Two other duplex will be built the following year.
1968-1978
1969
The Immeubles Bertrand Rioux expand and have three 12-appartment buildings built on a three year timeline.
1971
Bertrand Rioux starts his biggest project so far with the building of Habitations du Nouveaubourg (HNB) in Matane. The project consists of 54 townhouses of 1200 sq.ft each.
1972
The construction company Habitat Construction is created since Bertrand wants to be able to control his construction costs and keep the construction profits to accelerate the expansion of his real estate company. His first project will be to build 32 bungalows around his HNB project and sell these to individuals. He will give the name of “shell houses” to these houses since he will permit the owners to finish the interior of the houses themselves to save costs. In the next 20 years, he will build close to 800 houses between Gaspé and Rimouski on lands that he buys on a regular basis. In his busiest year, he will build 119 houses.
1973
Bertrand keeps expanding the Immeubles Bertrand-Rioux and 36 new apartments are built in Mont-Joli and 24 in Amqui.
1974
The expansion of the real estate company continues and 38 new apartments close to the Cégep are being built in Matane as well as 32 in Rimouski.
It is also the opening of the first music store «La Cassetthèque». Will follow the opening of 11 other music stores in the Bas St-Laurent and in Lac St-Jean until 1982 when the company is sold to Québec Disques who at this time owned 40 stores in Québec. 1974 is also the year when Bertrand opens his 3rd furniture store in Rimouski on St-Germain Avenue.
1975
Bertrand Rioux launches the radio station CHRM 1290 AM with two other business man in Matane. Couple years later, the 3 shareholders obtain from the CRTC a FM license at the 105,3 frequency.
1976
The year 1976 will be an ambitious year for Bertrand and his family. Unhappy with the schooling system and the strikes in Quebec, he decides to move the whole family to Florida. His first goal is to give the opportunity to his children to learn English. Not being bilingual, Bertrand could not do as much business and negotiate as he would have wanted to outside the province of Quebec. He then decided that his children would not be limited to Quebec to do business in the future.
1978
Being a little bored when visiting his family in Florida, Bertrand buys the Flamingo Motel on the Gulf of Mexico in Treasure Island, Florida. It is Mariette who will take care of the motel with the help of their son François when he is not in school. It is also another big year for real estate and Habitat Construction when 80 new apartments are being built in Matane.
1978-1988
1979
Business is good in Florida and Bertrand decides to buy a second motel The Vagabond, only couple minutes from the first one. Mariette will take care of this second motel and François will participate even more to help his mother. The 2 daughters of Bertrand and Mariette, Michelle and Marie-Claude, will also work at the motels during their studies.
1984
A group of business men under Bertrand’s leadership buy the Auberge des Gouverneurs in Matane.
1985
Mariette and Bertrand’s eldest child graduates from the University of South Florida in Tampa and joins the family business after 9 years away from Canada. His accounting studies gives him the title of financial controller of the company.
During the same year, a 24 luxury condominiums project will be built in Rimouski. Furthermore, François gets his real estate agent license and buys a real estate brokerage franchise that he will operate for 5 years.
1986
The father and son duo launches a housing project in Bon-Pasteur, Matane. A dozen of new homes will be built and sold. A quadruplex will also be built to answer a growing demand.
1987
The hotel in Matane launches an important expansion project of 2 million dollars to add a floor on the existing building adding 24 new rooms and a 300 seats banquet space will also be built. The same year, le Monaco des Monts in Ste-Anne-des-Monts is bought by the same shareholders who own the hotel in Matane.
Furthermore, Bertrand and François buy 163 apartments in Gaspé and 60 apartments in Ste-Anne-des-Monts, which Habitat Construction will completely renovate. The year 1987 will stay one of the most active and strategic year in the history of the company with close to 10 million dollars in projects.
1988
Bertrand celebrates 30 years at the head of the companies he created.
1988-1998
1990
The Immeubles Rioux buy the Shack du Pêcheur downtown Matane to demolish and to build 24 luxury condominiums.
1992
The Rioux duo keeps buying apartments building in Rimouski and now owns 60 apartments in this town and more than 500 apartments in Eastern Quebec.
When Bertrand and François show a desire to keep developing the hotels, the other shareholders do not have the same vision so Bertrand buys them back. The Rioux family is now the only captain aboard the hotels division and many projects won’t wait too long before being started…
1993
The Rioux family keeps innovating and opens the first private elderly residence with complete services in Matane. This residence of 48 rooms offers a dining hall, rests areas and all nursing cares. Nancy, François’ wife and a nurse, will manage the residence at its starts.
1994
The Rioux family buys the Hôtel Le Château Blanc in Bonaventure. Historical building from 1906, an important renovation program is started to be ready in time for the next touristic season.
The same year, the Auberge de la Montagne in Percé is bought.
1995
The hotel in Matane has a new 24 rooms pavilion added to the property to be able to answer to the increasing demand since François is travelling the world to attract new international clients.
1996
François starts a new snowmobile touring company, buys 10 snowmobiles and hires experienced snowmobile guides. This new company will give a chance to develop the European market and bring European tourists to the hotels during winter time.
1997
Bertrand and François take an important decision for the future of the hotels. They decide to quit the two banners they are part of and to create their own hotel banner called RIÔTEL. The new name, found by Bertrand, is a fusion from the name Rioux and the word HOTEL. The success is instant and the brand name is welcomed in the province of Quebec.
1998
1998 The year after the change of name, an important five year renovation plan is put in place in order to get an additional star in each hotel, a goal that is attained within the 4th year.
It is that year that Frederic Rioux, son of Bertrand will take the general management of the motel in Florida.
1998-2008
1999
François goes back to school part-time and gets his Master degree in Project Management in 2002 from UQAR.
2003
The smallest buys the biggest! Strategic acquisition in Percé: the Rioux family who currently runs a small Inn of 12 rooms on the mountain buys the biggest hotel in Perce that has 88 rooms. With now 100 rooms in the most popular town for tourists in the Gaspe Peninsula, the economic benefits are quickly felt throughout the other hotels of the group.
2004
During its annual Gala, in front of 400 guests, the Chamber of Commerce of Matane pays homage to Bertrand Rioux for his innumerable projects during his career and acknowledges him as one of the greatest builder that the Bas St-Laurent and Gaspésie regions have known.
2005
It is a hard and sad year for the Rioux family. Bertrand, the founder, passes away at 73 years old in his summer house in Metis. It is a chock for the whole Bas St-Laurent and Gaspésie region, since one of its greatest builders is gone.
François takes the lead of the company that now has 152 employees.
2006
François gets the construction division back on the growing track since it has been inactive in the past couple years. Furthermore, he hires senior managers to help him with the management of all the divisions. An important 5 year renovation plan is put in place to ameliorate the real estate division.
2008
François realizes an old dream by going back to school to get his MBA from McGill University and HEC.
2008-2018
2010
Newly graduated, François takes advantage of his new knowledge and contact lists and double the efforts to have Habitat Construction grow even more. It is that year that Habitat Construction obtains its most important contract ever, a contract of 15 million dollars.
2012
Habitat Construction obtains its first contract outside of the Quebec province to build an important building in Newfoundland and then in New Brunswick the following years.
2013
François’ oldest daughter, Marie-Frédérik, joins the business after graduating in Business Administration from McGill University.
The Riôtel Matane starts an important renovation project of 8 million dollars on a 2 year timeline that will elevate its standards to an international level, alone in its category in the Gaspe Peninsula. A new CARGO Restaurant, new Oblivio Spa, indoor pool and much more is added to the hotel. Marie-Frédérik will then take the general management of the hotel.
2016
An important renovation project is started at the Riotel Perce to give a new image and new services. A new restaurant PAQBO is opened and a second Oblivio Spa is openened as well.
2018
The year 2018 that marks the 60th anniversary of the foundation of the Groupe by Bertrand Rioux begins on a serious note. Mariette Lapointe Rioux passes away on February 14th at the age of 83 years old. Supportive wife, devoted mother, hard worker, talented artist and so much more! Mariette, with her beautiful smile, will have contributed to the company’s success in her own way.
The Bertrand-Rioux Group buys the St-Jérôme Presbytery in downtown Matane and is currently deciding on a project that will most likely see the day in 2019.
It’s time for the Riôtel Bonaventure to get some renovation as well and a new restaurant design called KANO.
The Bertrand-Rioux Group now has a team of close to 250 employees. With Charles-Alexandre and Anne-Sophie who will join the family business after their university studies, there is no doubt that the 3 children of François will keep building what their grandfather started in 1958.
2020 +
2022
Groupe Rioux acquires Habitations Mont-Carleton, a manufacturing company, to accelerate its development in Eastern Canada.