A pioneer of the Internet in Quebec is giving up the ghost after 27 years of existence. Dating website Réseau Contact will be offline at the end of the month.
“We are very proud to see the countless marriages, children and beautiful love stories that result from this ministry,” says Julie Pilon, the site’s longtime director.
Réseau Contact has existed since 1996. The service is the oldest of its kind in Quebec and appeared long before others such as Mon Classeur or Rencontre Sportive.
Maybe that’s why the average age of those looking for love and more on this site is the highest in the industry in Quebec: between 50 and 55 years old.
It is owned by MDF Commerce – formerly Mediagrif. The e-commerce company paid $65 million to Quebecor in 2013 to buy Réseau Contact and Jobboom.
MDF’s operating profit was $4 million last quarter. For all of last year, the amount was $3.4 million.
MDF cites Law 25, which prohibits companies from collecting certain data about their users, as the reason for the closure.
“Investments would have been necessary, among other things, to adapt to the new laws,” it says.
But why then?
Réseau Contact was still profitable – MDF says – and had more than 115,000 members, many of whom paid for the service. The company assures that customers would also receive a refund.
Within the industry, we are therefore questioning the real reasons for the closure.
Mélanie Trudel launched GoSeeYou in 2018. MARTIN ALARIE / JOURNAL DE MONTREAL JdeM
“The platform seemed abandoned,” several of my users told me. I don’t know if Réseau Contact has paid attention to keeping the website up to date,” says Mélanie Trudel.
That perhaps explains all the work that had to be done, she adds.
The 42-year-old entrepreneur launched GoSeeYou in 2018. It is the closest thing to Tinder in Quebec, as the service is only available through mobile applications and, in particular, offers geolocation.
But beware. Ms. Trudel invests a lot of time and money to ensure communication via her app. For example, accounts are verified and you cannot “ghost” people or suddenly stop talking to them.
“We created a button that automatically sends a message when you want to end the discussion. Because ghosting always damages self-esteem,” she explains.
It’s a bit like Christmas for Ms. Trudel, who wants to win back some of the customers who left MDF.
Since GoSeeYou has already complied with European data protection laws, much of the work is already done and the company will not be closing anytime soon.
Anne-Marie Lefebvre will also not mourn the death of Réseau Contact. The owner of Rencontre Sportive is the new doyenne of Quebec dating sites. His site has existed since 2002.
“Rencontre Sportive would be happy to welcome the athletes from Réseau Contact,” she says with a laugh.
With the market saturated with dating apps and websites, she feels like a living Gauloise.
“There is no question of giving up. This motivates me even more to keep going no matter what happens,” she assures.