In Nantes, France, the Scopéli supermarket will prioritise organic and local products and guarantee particularly competitive prices. Thanks to cooperation.
It's called Scopéli, and it is a cooperative and participatory supermarket project launched in Nantes, France, by a citizens' association. The project has been in development for around a year, and the opening of the first outlet in the city of Nantes is planned for the end of 2017. This has been made possible by the membership of 1,200 families, totalling 2,400 potential members — the minimum number required for the system to be self-sustaining.
"It is with great satisfaction that we can announce we have reached our target. Beyond the confirmed memberships, we will continue to accept new ones," said Frédéric Ratouit, one of the association's founders. The association has also already identified the location where the supermarket will be built, in the Atout-sud neighbourhood: "Discussions with the Nantes municipal authority, which owns the land, are at an advanced stage. The floor space is one thousand square metres, slightly smaller than what we were looking for, but with the possibility of expansion. Moreover, the location is ideal, close to the city centre."
At the Scopéli supermarket, members will be able to purchase food, cosmetic and household products, largely organic and zero-kilometre. All sold at a discount "of between 15 and 40 per cent" compared to competitors and reserved exclusively for members themselves. Extremely competitive prices, therefore, made possible precisely through the operating mechanism devised by the association and "by paying producers what is fair."
The number of permanent employees at the outlet will be kept to a minimum, and requirements will be covered by a small voluntary contribution from members. Each of them, in fact, has committed to working in the supermarket for three hours a month. In addition, the association's members have contributed to the financing of the project by paying a one-off fee of 50 euros to enter the structure's capital. This will guarantee a portion of the investment needed to launch the supermarket. To cover the rest, Scopéli has launched (until 5 March) a participatory fundraising campaign on the platform zeste.coop, with the aim of raising thirty thousand euros.
Projects similar to the one in Nantes are also taking shape in other locations. In Paris, for example, where the La Louve brand is expected to open the first cooperative and participatory supermarket in the coming months. But also in Bordeaux (it will be called Supercoop), Toulouse (La Chouette) and Lille (Superquinquin).
