the essential
Established for two years, Frédéric Lixi took over the reins of the departmental confederation to be the voice of the profession at the level of regional and national authorities, and parliamentarians.
Although his retraining in the sector is recent, Frédéric Lixi was quick to get involved in his profession. “When I do something, I like to get involved and raise the issues, as best as possible and at the highest level,” confirms the trader. Frédéric also took advantage of the presence of David Taupiac during the meeting which elected him to initiate the first exchanges with the deputy of the constituency.
“I will also meet Jean-René Cazeneuve next week and then, I hope, the senators. Our profession relies on Customs and therefore texts voted by parliamentarians. I find it important that those at Gers know our situation on the ground.” Of the 90 tobacconists in the department, the confederation brings together 79, “84%”, specifies Frédéric Lixi.
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“Locally the profession remains attractive with 11 takeovers last year and only one cessation of activity this year”. As for the problems, they are the same throughout France. “We see it in particular during the seminars of departmental presidents, the scourge is trafficking regardless of the nearby borders: Spain, Andorra, Belgium, Germany or Luxembourg. With the rise in prices, this leads us to constantly diversify our offer.”
Diversification
In his shop, tobacco and the press have gradually been added to confectionery, souvenirs, drinks, fishing tackle, costume jewelry, small watches, and more recently electronic cigarettes, fine stamps, collection of certain taxes, Nickel accounts, reception of packages…
“Everyone brings their small percentage to the activity to which some also add the postal agency, because the tobacco shop is often the last business that remains open in a municipality. This also brings in new customers. Here in the Gers, 64% of tobacconists are located in municipalities with less than 3,500 inhabitants. The ratio is one tobacconist per 2,100 inhabitants,” calculated this data buff.
Above all, Frédéric highlights a closeness that is close to his heart. “We run local businesses, with wide opening hours, which are important for social connections. We see all profiles of the population passing through us, and people who often need to chat. Before working in this sector, I was not aware of its importance in the life of the municipality.”
