Small local stores taking on big boys

SHOPPERS in France are increasingly shunning traditional supermarkets in favour of smaller “magasins de producteurs”.

According to the organisation Magasins de Producteurs, there are now 287 co-operative-style stores in France, which are owned and run by local farmers and producers whose goods are sold directly to customers.

While customers enjoy the benefits of locally produced food, producers are able to earn as much as three times the amount they would if they were tied to a supermarket.

One such store, near Lille, has proved popular with local shoppers since it opened its doors in the summer, France TV Info has reported.

An average, 200 customers a day now pass through the store, opened by dairy farmer Pascale Barron, her husband and 30 other local farmers. All spend one day a week in the store, and they have hired 18 employees to keep up with demand.

Ms Barron sells her lait cru at the store, two hours after the cows were milked. The store also stocks fresh seasonal fruit and vegetables, meat, cheese, pasta, canned beer, bread and even pastries.

A big-name supermarket was refused permission to build a store nearby because the mayor feared it would hit local farmers.

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Photo: Screengrab / France 2