Consumption: 50 years ago the largest hypermarket in Europe opened, near Toulouse
The Carrefour Portet shopping center is celebrating its 50th anniversary. Temple of mass consumption when it opened in March 1972, it is now seeking to renew itself, with changes in the travel and consumption habits of Toulouse residents.
A city in the middle of the fields. On Wednesday March 8, 1972, the largest hypermarket in France opened its doors in Portet-sur-Garonne, 15 minutes southwest of the Capitol. The parking lot is full. Thousands of people are impatiently waiting for the opening, in front of the doors. The hypermarket is launching promotions, a car to be won every day, a reduction of 12 cents on a liter of petrol, which was then at 1.11 francs…
“The barcode did not exist…”
“The job interview takes place in a temporary barracks. Two months before the opening, we were busy setting up the gondolas, labeling the products and learning our trade as cashiers. At that time, the barcode did not exist,” said Yolande, a checkout manager, on the occasion of the 40th anniversary of the site.
Around Carrefour, fields as far as the eye can see. It’s a revolution for consumption patterns.
25,000 m2, the largest shopping center in Europe at its opening
And for 50 years, an appointment for nearly 6 million visitors each year. “We come from Gers, Ariège, and even the Hautes-Pyrénées. My family from Lannemezan comes to Portet very regularly, to do their classes at the shopping mall,” notes an employee of the site.
For nearly 40 years, until 2008, Carrefour Portet was the largest hypermarket in France, with nearly 25,000 m2, and even the largest in Europe.
In 1990, the shopping mall extends
It was not the first in Toulouse, preceded by a few months by Mammouth in Balma-Gramont, which became Auchan… In 1990, the shopping mall was extended to accommodate more than 100 shops. Around the Grand Portet shopping center, now managed by the giant Klépierre, the entire commercial area is developing, behind the locomotives Decathlon, But, Conforama, and later Darty.
Fnac will come to settle in the shopping center in 2011, but the adventure will end prematurely in 2014. In competition with four other Fnac in the agglomeration, the Portet store does not find its customers.
Modernize to stay the course
Since the beginning of the 2010s, the Portet shopping center has not been spared by most of the very large shopping centers in France. Competition from Leclerc Roques, with the Ikea locomotive, from Blagnac and the return to local habits, contributed to the slight erosion of the site.
For Grand Portet, we must therefore renew ourselves. The shopping mall and car park have been modernized, the “drive” has gained several tracks in 2019, a new access ramp opened a few months ago, to facilitate access and reduce Saturday traffic jams. To set off again for 50 years…