In addition to hosting a solidarity grocery shop offering textiles, food products and certain equipment for the home and the person, the Petit Magasin is also a place for living and sharing, and a generator of jobs.
Kiabi wants to experiment with new economic models and modes of collaboration with players in the social and solidarity economy,” says Pierre, Petit Magasin project manager. The idea is to create solutions for inclusion and professional integration and to participate in the development of the areas in which the company operates.
Hand in hand with the local ecosystem
Accessible to people in precarious situations referred by the CCAS services of towns or associations, the Petits Magasins follow the codes of traditional shops. “Our ambition is to contribute to the dignity of the people who visit them,” Pierre emphasises. After a first successful establishment in Hem two years ago, the Foundation is about to open eight new shops with the support of the Red Cross, the Pacte 59 in the North and the Sauvy association in Occitania. We are looking for other partners to develop our project in the East, the Rhone basin and the West of France,” says Pierre. Our goal is to open about thirty Petits Magasins by 2023 and to extend the concept to Spain, Italy, Africa and Asia with the same commitment to usefulness and inclusion.
A stepping stone for people in difficulty
“We don’t have the capacity to meet all the needs. This is why there is a third place within each shop to host workshops dedicated to personal development, family budget management or the repair of everyday objects. Kiabi is there to guarantee the economic model by providing financial support and skills sponsorship based on its own shops and a resource team made up of specialists in HR, training, finance, management control, stock management and merchandising. The aim is to help each beneficiary of the integration scheme to rebuild their lives and regain their self-confidence before they are confronted with the reality of employment. My greatest pride,” says Pierre, “is to meet people who have succeeded in their careers and to see them pass on the torch to other beneficiaries. One of them has joined the Kiabi shop in Perpignan.
