It is a revealing phenomenon of our time: the development of participatory businesses. This is an alternative to the traditional distribution method where customers also work for the store and where local production is favored. One of these supermarkets opened in Poitiers five years ago.
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It’s been five years since the supermarket “Le Baudet” opened in Poitiers. But this business is not a store like the others : its members do their shopping there in exchange for hours of work to operate the structure.
“We have limited quantities of products but they are good products.”
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© Mathieu Maillet – France Télévisions
Jeanine Mazzoleni-Moyse is one of its members and since the start of the adventure, she particularly appreciates the concept : “We’re at home, actually. We come to our house to do the shopping. We have products in limited quantities, a limited choice, but they are good products with a decent quality-price ratio.”
This concept really corresponds to my idea of consumption.
Thierry GrassetCooperator at Baudet
The Poitevin supermarket now has 150 cooperators who give their time to have the right to shop in this store. This is what Thierry Grasset, another cooperator, explains to us: “There are several ways to give time: you have to do three hours a month. Either to put the products on the shelves, manage the stock on the computer, place orders and manage invoices, or be there in the evening when the store opens. This concept really corresponds to my idea of consumption.”
This supermarket also offers bulk products
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© Mathieu Maillet – France Télévisions
We are a club of gourmets, we enjoy getting together a bit like in the cafes of yesteryear.
Pascal PérennèsCooperator at Baudet
And here, we favor local products from organic farming. Members also clearly show their desire to be an alternative to mass distribution. Pascal Pérennès is one of Baudet’s cooperators: “The initial idea was to regain independence, to have fun, to be ecological, but we did not imagine the Covid crisis, the next world into which we entered. We are here today to regain control, we are among ourselves and at least the products that are purchased are good. Here, we have confidence. We are a club of gourmands, it’s an island of humanity where we enjoy meeting up, a bit like in the cafes of yesteryear where we went to do our shopping, have a drink, but to meet people, have a connection.”
ALSO READ : A small donation for a good cause, soon a new solidarity and participatory canteen in Poitiers?
The fund is also run by cooperators
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© Mathieu Maillet – France Télévisions
In France, although cooperative supermarkets are still rare, their number is increasing. “The Donkey” is currently the only business of this type in Vienne.
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