Published
Updated
Reading time: 2min – video: 3min
3 min
In Saint-Dié-des-Vosges (Vosges), the historic Dedenon-Beau hardware store survives as best it can through competition and the passage of generations. It can count on a loyal and occasional clientele, for whom it is, very often, the last resort.
This text corresponds to part of the transcription of the report above. Click on the video to watch it in full.
In the heart of Saint-Dié-des-Vosges (Vosges), it seems to have always been part of the decor. A shop like you don’t see anymore: hardware store, gun shop, a bit of a drugstore too. A team from France Télévisions discovered it during the inventory period. From floor to ceiling, there are hammers, pans, flags, knives and even chimney sweeping hedgehogs. More than 4,000 references in total, a veritable Ali Baba’s cave.
Locksmithing is the specialty of the place. Philippe Colmant stocks everything he needs to repair any door and satisfy his customers. “We are the last resort. When they haven’t found a right or left, you are the last resort. They arrive here saying: ‘You have this, I hope. I looked around, there was none'”he says.
The customers that day were a lot of regulars, regulars, for whom pushing through the door of the hardware store was an obvious choice. “They have stock, they have things that are quite old, which no longer necessarily exist”details one of them. Everyone is convinced that they will find everything they need there in addition to a valuable asset: advice. “They are, so to speak, the only ones, the service is personalized, sophisticated. As long as it lasts”hopes another customer.
The story began more than 110 years ago. The hardware store was founded by the Dedenon-Beau family, which Évelyne Dreyfuss and her partner, until then employees, bought in 1988. Since then, the city center of Saint-Dié-des-Vosges has changed a lot. All the other hardware stores have disappeared, and the small business is in difficulty. When it comes time to take stock of the day before the eyes of the founders, it is impossible for the owners to avoid the problems. To resist, we had to adapt, play as tight as possible on supply and prices. “Competition, internet, big supermarkets… We, in the middle of all that, try to stay with our heads above water. We’re getting there, the proof is here!”smiles Philippe Colmant.
But a new challenge arrives: selling the store to finally enjoy a retirement that has been postponed for too long, with the hope that the hardware store will survive.
