Another business in downtown Lorient that is closing. In recent days, the Superdry brand has lowered the curtain. “Permanent closure of your Superdry store due to rebranding. Thank you for your loyalty these seven years,” we can read on the window. This message is signed by Angelique, who may have received an email from her management on Friday March 1, 2024 asking her not to reopen the next day. The store has since completely emptied.
Bad sign
Customers are still crying in front of the big metal screen. “It is sad, but not really surprising,” comments, disappointed, this family of Plomeur who clearly came to Lorient, this Friday, March 8, to find a gift for their son. “We wanted to avoid shopping on the internet. He missed it”.
This “sudden closure” is a bad signal sent to downtown merchants. There is nothing worse than an empty sales pitch for professionals. Another brand will replace SuperDry, probably in late March. “It already is,” reports the manager of P’tite Fabric.
“Closing the Superdry store, rue Paul-Bert, was cruel,” Lorient’s traders commented. (Catel Brelivet/Le Telegramme)
Is the pedestrian at fault?
For some, this will be a drawback of the numerous closures pedestrianization program and the new traffic plan tested by the city of Lorient for several months. “How do we recapture customers who no longer come and who prefer to go to shopping areas? », complains Nathalie Ribault from the Bensimon store. The shopkeeper creates a deafening dialogue with the town hall. “It’s great to promote soft mobility, but not all of us travel by bike or scooter. Realizing that commerce is dying, cities are starting to turn back the clock. Why not Lorient?”
Other Superdry stores are closed
Superdry’s finish, however, is not exclusive to Lorient. The ready-to-wear sector is suffering. About thirty other franchised stores of the Motherwest Group, created in 2003, suffered the same fate, such as in Rennes, Bourges, La Roche-sur-Yon… The latest: Brest, whose store, opened in 2017, Just announced it. off
