A Cabesto store in Brest in April 2019
The chain of fishing and boating equipment stores Cabesto will open a shop in Brest in April 2019. The new brand will be located on 2500 m² in the Kergaradec area, north of the Finisterian city, in buildings left by a former franchised sports store.
An opportunity for Cabesto in Brittany
"Coming to Brittany was already a desire of the old management team, pursued by the new one. Now that we have successfully meshed the Mediterranean with our 7 stores, we have seized this opportunity in Brest," explains Mathieu Bech, Cabesto's nautical market manager. "It's a big city that fits well with our concept of combining fishing, diving, underwater hunting, paddling, kayaking and boating equipment. They say that here, when boats leave on Saturdays, you can cross the harbour on foot. There is a real pool and I could see that all our activities were present on the water."
Acquisition of Scubaland, a starting point for Cabesto Brest
Before the installation in Brest, Cabesto acquired the store and the Scubaland website, a diving specialist in the Finisterian city. The relocation of its activity within the new store will make it possible to direct historical customers to the new facility and create a first customer base. "Their needs often went beyond diving," explained the Scubaland director. Cabesto's offer will therefore correspond to them," says Mathieu Bech. "We will also develop our sailing range with Wichard or Harken and bring ideas from our South East stores as well as for fishing with live bait."
Hirings
The director of Scubaland will take over the management of the Cabesto store in Brest. The 12 employees will also integrate the new brand. Additional recruitment of sales advisors and managers is underway for the fishing, boating, sliding and outdoor hiking departments. "Our current stores each employ between 25 and 50 people depending on the season. Seasonality is probably less important in Brittany."
A network to be developed in Brittany
If it is already necessary to validate the business model of the Brest-based store, Cabesto does not intend to stop there in Brittany. Projects in South Brittany are under study.
