What do a giant yellow duck, a ham slicer and eyeglass displays have in common? A priori the three do not go together. However, we can see them all in the new Edgard de Tours store. Born Rue Nationale in 2001, the high-end optician has just moved to the former premises of the Blanchet Dhuismes store, Rue Marceau, a few dozen meters from the store she had occupied since 2013. The opportunity to move from surface area of 120 to 600m² and above all to deploy a new concept.
“We were going to want to change premises and we seized an opportunity” comments Julien Quesnel, who is overseeing the project and who initiated the integration of a café right in the middle of the sales area. “I always dreamed of opening a café or restaurant” confesses the entrepreneur who is realizing one of his dreams while offering himself a unique concept in Tours. “I find that this corresponds well to my way of approaching things, to welcome customers as at home, to share a friendly and friendly moment. »
What should be noted is that this coffee is 100% free. Expresso, tea or aperitif boards: everything is free here. The only condition: to be in the Edgard client file. “We can come even if we don’t need glasses” assures Julien Quesnel. It is then possible to take advantage of the bistro-style tables to telework, or to sit on the patio terrace on nice weather days. Beyond that, the brand imagined its new base as a hyper-design showroom with works of art, posters and collectibles to showcase its products and give color to the shelves.
Designed by Parisian architect Marine Bonnefoy, the space is intended “warm, intimate, cozy, contemporary” : “Our wish was to modernize our concept, to stay one step ahead of the optical industry” assures the manager who leads a team of 26 people, “and almost 30” (there were 21 staff members in the previous store).
Even if the direction taken is clearly premium, and a good part of Edgard's clientele has good means (some travel from Paris to Tours for their glasses), the brand is taking advantage of its new store to try to expand its audience: “We are fighting to be able to equip all types of customers. Our frames start at €170 and we have around 400 entry-level references” indicates Julien Quesnel. Products from around twenty brands like Moscot or Cutler, only professional eyewear makers, apart from the Céline house. A demanding choice, deliberately outside of mainstream fashion but not the trend:
“We focus on creativity. Our eyewear manufacturers have real designer offices. They work on shapes, colors, technicality, more creative things. »
Thus, Edgard goes so far as to unearth Japanese brands, or certain new references in the Centre-Val de Loire region. “With the new store we have increased our stock” comments Julien Quesnel who also set up a high-tech room to allow the public to visualize at a glance the effect of the new correction on their eyesight before going into production.
For vision control, certain equipment “could make ophthalmologists jealous” smiles the manager of Edgard who also emphasizes working in close collaboration with eye care professionals. Even if it's hard to get appointments in Tours, anyone with a glasses prescription more than 3 years old will be redirected to an office before placing an order:
“We are not doctors, it is important that people do not leave the traditional system. »
Moreover, like most brands in Tours, the company does not have a specific department adapted to low vision.
Edgard nevertheless says he works with experienced staff, both for the choice of frames and the assembly of the lenses, carried out on site (with 100% products from the Essilor glassmaker). The brand also makes its Touraine store a laboratory for new techniques (such as lenses that can reduce the development of myopia in children) as well as a training center. It is simply impossible to open a group store without having at least 2 years of seniority in the company and having visited the headquarters on Rue Marceau.
This does not prevent Edgar from being established in 17 cities in France, and from not ruling out future development abroad.
Olivier Collet
This article was first published on September 26, 2024.
