On the occasion of the opening of the bigShip store in Trebeurden gaël Le Roy, director of the Brico-Nautic Group, in the Côtes d'Armor region, explains the reason for this investment and the history of the group
Can you explain to us the reasons that brought you to yachting and remind us the history of the Brico-Nautic group?
Passionate about boating, I wanted to stay in the Pink Granite Coast region. So 20 years ago, I wanted to create an activity that I liked in a place that I liked. In 2006, we expanded our business by opening a 2000 m² store dedicated to DIY and boating in the same store, in the commercial area of Poul Palud in Trégastel. While we were under the Mr Bricolage franchise for the first part of the business, we did not have a brand name for boating. We quickly had the will to find one. The purchase of the Perros-Guirec store in 2012, allowed us to take over the BigShip sign for Trégastel, while having 100 m² directly on the port. With the opening this winter of the store of Trébeurden, we have now 3 stores of fittings.
Why did you choose to open a new store in Trébeurden?
We had the opportunity to take over the former Accastillage Diffusion of Trébeurden. We now have 3 stores within 10 km of each other. This may not seem like much, but there is a logic of cohesion. There are only 2 open water harbors on our lake. By being present in each marina, we get closer to our customers. The harbor stores are business contributors for our shipyard and for the brico-Nautic main store which is open 7 days a week all year round.
What are the advantages in terms of management?
There is obviously an interest in terms of inventory management. We share a lot, even if there are 3 separate BigShip accounts at the central office, corresponding to each store. There is also a centralization of purchases from other suppliers.
It's also an advantage in terms of the business model. The balance is difficult for a single port store. With one person working 60 hours, it's fine, but it's a lot of hours. With two employees, it becomes difficult. For Brico-Nautic, the port stores are a way to work on customer relations and to bring business to the main store and the shipyard.
What similarities are there between the DIY business and the hardware business?
There are the same issues of franchising. The question of online sales is common to both areas. We encourage people to buy on the Internet and we have become a BigShip point of contact in our Perros store.
