Reuters reports “Couche-Tard’s $20 billion approach for Carrefour was rejected by the French government earlier this month on food security concerns. The bid for Carrefour pushed the Quebec-based company into unchartered territory – an untested market, a relative new business segment and its biggest deal yet – surprising shareholders” which is interesting news, sure, but did Couche-Tard’s founders ever consider what their brand’s name sounds like in English?
“Founded in 1980, Couche-Tard has grown from a single store in Quebec to a global network of convenience stores and gas stations with a $33 billion market value, with 66 acquisitions along the way” continues the Reuters article. 1980 was well into the era of television and the term “couch potato” was popularized a year earlier by cartoonist Robert Armstrong based on a joke by a friend Tom Iacono. There’s simply no way “Couche Tard” would not immediately illicit a laugh in the minds of a North American English speaker. Francophone Canadians should know better than this obvious dig at people who watch television all day.