Near Toulouse. 50 years ago, in the middle of the fields, a consumer juggernaut opened
By David Saint-Sernin
Published on
It’s a consumer juggernaut known by generations of Toulouse residents but also by a large number of inhabitants of Occitania, in particular from Gers and Ariège who have been coming to shop there for decades.
50 years ago opened, at Portet-sur-Garonne (Haute Garonne)south of Toulouse, theCarrefour hypermarket.
Opened in 1972
It was not the first in the agglomeration since 1969, Super Suma had opened its doors in Balma-Gramont (it became Mammoth, in 1972, editor’s note).
Opened in 1972, the Carrefour de Portet was part of the first generation of Toulouse agglomeration hypermarkets along with those of Balma-Gramont (Super-Suma, 1969), Mirail (Géant Casino, 1970), Purpan (Euromarché, 1970 ) and Roques-sur-Garonne (Leclerc, 1974).
The largest Carrefour in France
When it started, Carrefour Portet was the largest Carrefour in France and above all the largest supermarket in Europe.
Located at the time in the middle of the countryside, as produced by the photos we are broadcasting this morning, it extended over 2.5 hectares.
It remained the largest Carrefour in France until 2008 and above all, for years, through its modernity and its developments, it was a laboratory for the brand. A real showcase located on an important traffic axis of Toulouse, draining very largely a population of the place from the south of Haute-Garonne, Ariège and east of Gers.
1980s: extension works, the area becomes urbanized
In 1990, the hypermarket expanded. The work took place at the end of the 1980s. The area began to densify around the old national 20 and with the construction of the A 64 motorway.
1990: the planned extension
At the start of the 1990s, the commercial area of Portet-sur-Garonne was a reference with brands such as But, Conforama and Décathlon.
The extension of the hypermarket makes it possible to offer the public a vast shopping mall with more than 100 brands, which was unprecedented at the time in the Toulouse conurbation.
Over the years, the hypermarket has acquired new brands, some emblematic such as Hypermedia or more recently Fnac (which only remained open for three years, from 2011 to 2014, editor’s note).
How the area has changed in 50 years
The commercial area has changed the landscape of the commune of Portet-sur-Garonne in the space of fifty years. This has largely developed around Carrefour, making the southern entrance to Toulouse a vast open-air shopping centre.
Carrefour continues to evolve
Today, the Carrefour Portet shopping area faces stronger competition than 20 years ago. Leclerc Roques has largely developed with the arrival of Ikéa, like Blagnac to the north-west of the conurbation.
To continue to be attractive, after a few years of loss of momentum, the commercial area is working twice as hard. A new access ramp to the shopping center has just been put into service.
And the gallery continues to welcome new brands such as the Danish destocking brand, Normal, which will set up in June 2022.
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