A Cultura store is about to open opposite Les Flâneries: a new temple of culture in Vendée

After Ninkasi (brasserie bar), Avril (organic cosmetics) and soon Bagelstein (Alsatian fast food) which is setting up in Les Halles, here comes the brand Culture. A new marker of “big city” which has chosen to establish itself in La Roche-sur-Yon, rather considered until now as a “medium city” by the big brands.

In the completely rebuilt building which adjoins Maison du Monde, facing the Flâneriesthe first Cultura store in Vendée is about to open its doors.

“We want to bring culture almost everywhere in France, and not just in the big cities,” explains Mathieu Lambert, 37, the store director, who arrived at the start of the year.

Originally from Rennes and passed through Brest, Mérignac et Bordeauxthis former regional operations manager at Cultura has chosen to return to the field by taking the reins of the new Vendée site.

Books, creative hobbies, games and music

On 1 500 m²it’s a real supermarket of culture that consumers will discover within a month: books, CDs, vinyls, video games, headphones, turntables, musical instruments, creative hobby supplies, stationeryfine art material.

In total, more than 4 million references are available at the Cultura brand, in store or online.

We are roughly 50/50 between editorial (bookselling, music, gaming) and creative, in terms of turnover.

The book, at the heart of the concept

The library is at the heart of the concept and occupies a pride of place at the entrance to the store: novels, thrillers, practical, home-family, travel, leisure, science and technology, personal development, esotericism. Children’s books, like comics and manga, fill large shelves.

Côté musiquethe store offers CDs, vinyls, video games, headphones, turntables and a range of instruments “first bricks” (guitars, keyboards, small instruments and accessories).

The other half of the store is dedicated to creative decoration, pastry, cutting machines, haberdashery, fabrics, thread, drawing, painting, coloring, board games, Lego and Playmobil.

A little “corner” for second-hand books and board games is also offered and allows customers to leave with a voucher.

“Transmitter of culture”

Malgré the consequent surface, Mathieu Lambert prefers to speak of a “transmitter of culture”. It is in these terms that he designates the 18 employees who accompany him in this opening.

Recruited locally – and internally for three of them – they were selected for their an appetite for books, creative arts or music.

Because at Cultura, “the idea is not only to sell equipment, but to support people in their practices”, insists the director, whose ambition is to create a community and establish themselves in the local economic fabric.

A workshop of 25Â m² at the heart of the store will host courses, training courses and birthday parties.

The teams will lead sessions lasting 1.5 to 2 hours for children, teenagers and adults.

The director even hopes to go further in local anchoring by renting the workshop to associations, by bringing in external speakers and by offering a dense calendar of activities of workshops, readings, stories, reading club.

The objective is to place Cultura in the local landscape as a living store, rich in offerings.

The site opens its Drive on June 8. The opening of the doors is planned for Wednesday July 8. For the occasion, the mascot Tchoupi will be visiting La Roche-sur-Yon.

The Cultura store will be open Monday to Saturday, 9 a.m. to 8 p.m., starting July 8.

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