“Around ten self-service Api mini-markets, open 24 hours a day, soon in the Channel”

See my news
Follow La Presse de la Manche

General Director of the Api brand, Maire-Laure Basset has agreed to reveal the company's plans for the Channel, from March 2025.

How was your business concept born?

There are two historical co-founders: Julien Nau (Editor's note: the current president), who runs a family distillery in Charente-Maritime, and Alex Grammatico, in spirits brokerage in Cognac. They had this desire when they saw a report on automated Swedish grocery stores from Lifvs, in containers, in areas where businesses have disappeared. Customers even go there on skis!

They were joined by a third partner, Jean-Luc Treillou, a serial entrepreneur who is a pharmacist originally. All three were confronted with the desertification of the rural worldwith grocery stores closing in the villages… and they wanted to find solutions. I took charge from the start of this adventure which I find fascinating.

When did you open your first “Api super mini-market” and where are you now?

It was in November 2022 in Claix, in Charente, which has 1,050 inhabitants. It is still a hit with more than 2,000 customers, there are a real request. And we already have 84 Api mini-markets, we will increase to more than 90 at the end of 2024. We are setting up in communities with a minimum of 750 inhabitants, or even 500 if they are far from a supermarket, because we are not not here to destroy existing businesses. The first two supermarkets in Normandy just opened in September, in Seine-Maritime.

Around ten projects in the Channel

How do you choose the sites where you set up?

Where to one geomarketing tool To discover interesting areas, we look at the data. Then we approach the mayors to see if they might be interested. Our system works in clusters, we do not install an isolated API mini-market, we set up a few in the same sector. The name comes from Apidae, the most diverse family of bees: an analogy because the bee is a feeder and organizes itself in clusters. Api is pronounced like happy in English, because we want to make people happy.

Several establishments were announced for the end of 2024 in Cotentin, during municipal councils. Where are we?

There is good around ten projects in the Channelincluding several in your sector (Editor’s note: Couville, Tollevast, Cosqueville…)but they will not be done before March 2025. We are not always in control of the deadlines for settling in, I cannot give you precise dates.

Once the terrain – flat, approximately 100 m² and with an electricity connection – you find it, you pay rent to the municipality. The installation of the mobile home (all the same, made in Mayenne) which houses the mini-market can take place in around ten days. It is a real service that changes customers’ livesby defending their purchasing power. They meet at the convenience store, which creates social bonds.

What can we find in your businesses?

Api convenience stores offer a range of basic products with more than 700 references (fresh and frozen products, savory and sweet groceries, hygiene, dog and cat food, baby products, etc.) whose prices are comparable to those of supermarkets thanks to our partnership with Carrefour. With national and distributor brands. The only thing we can't find here is alcohol, to respect the ban on sales to minors.

We also offer local products (fruits and vegetables, milk, meat, etc.) included in an environmentally friendly approach by ensuring fair remuneration for producers. We are currently developing services such as bread delivery or parcel relays.

Open seven days a week all year round, and 24 hours a day, is there always an employee on site?

No because it is a self-service supermarket, the customer is autonomous. It downloads first the “Api Ma Superette” application and registers by stating his identity. He thus obtains a QR code that allows him to open the door and to help yourself. If they are not familiar with the use of a smartphone – for example elderly people – or if they have poor reception of networks, we also have a card system.

Then the customer can do their shopping scanning each itemand goes to the automatic checkout, paying with a bank card (no check or cash). There is no no scale : fruits and vegetables are sold individually or in batches in bags or nets, meat is packaged in fixed weight. And in the event of a problem, simply contact the after-sales service, always available, who can guide the customer using the cameras.

You are not afraid of theft and damage?

The entire store, from area of ​​40 m²is under video surveillance. In the event of a problem, an alarm is triggered. Employees monitor the cameras, and are helped by artificial intelligence which detects suspicious or fraudulent actions. In the event of a problem, we have the identity of the person who opened the door, and we systematically file a complaint.

Many customers come on foot, this has a positive impact on the environment because it saves them from having to take their car and drive miles to the supermarket. It is therefore ecological and economical.

What is the role of your “Apiciers”?

L'Apicier manages the mini market: orders, logistics, cleaning, shelving products, date management particularly for fresh products, relationships with local producers… We always recruit the local Beekeeper, someone who knows their territory and its producers. We have a pole with managers, flying Beekeepers who can come as reinforcements…

Among our 80 employees, we also have ambassadors for events, for example talking about the Nutriscore system in schools. There are “papot cafés” for people to meet on site, to you pee lien social.It is a global revitalization of the municipality.

Interested municipalities can contact the Api brand on 05 56 81 82 13, Monday to Friday from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. Information on the website: api-masuperette.fr.

Follow all the news from your favorite cities and media by subscribing to Mon Actu.