If you live in the heart of a large city, you will probably answer, about the place where you buy your books, local bookstore for personalized advice or Mollat (in Bordeaux), Kléber (in Strasbourg) or Martelle (in Amiens) for the wide choice. If you are a fan of music or high-tech equipment, you might add Fnac, but it is unlikely that you will spontaneously mention Cultura. You vaguely know the name because there is one near your vacation spot and you visited it on a rainy and boring day, but no more. The brand has, however, become in twenty-five years one of the biggest book sellers in France.
Since its creation in 1998, it has prospered far from Saint-Germain-des-Prés, in places long ignored by publishers and authors, on the outskirts of small and medium-sized towns, in commercial areas more accustomed to housing a hypermarket, a DIY or inexpensive clothing brand as well as culture and books. Property of an heiress of the Mulliez family and her husband, with no capital link with the northern galaxy, Cultura is stingy with figures, but the estimate established each year by Weekly Books gives the measure of its success: with a turnover of 350 million euros from books, it comes behind Fnac (740 million), but ahead of Espaces Culturels Leclerc (286 million), although twice as numerous. A commercial UFO, Cultura is now essential.
Puilboreau (Charente-Maritime), Fenouillet (Haute-Garonne), Givors (Rhône), Marsac (Tarn-et-Garonne) or Montluçon (Allier): just look at the list of the brand’s locations to understand that From the outset, she chose to settle where others were not. “What is striking is the speed at which they developed. One year after their first store, they had 40. And they favored the same catchment area as large general food distribution,” notes Patricia Sorel , lecturer in history at the University of Paris Nanterre and author of A brief history of the French bookstore (The fabric). There is no question of competing head-on with Fnac which, in the 1990s, was the undisputed leader of the “big guys” in urban areas and intends to remain so, as Virgin has had the cruel experience. There is also no question of investing in shopping malls with excessively high rents, with a few rare exceptions such as the Parisian Quatre Temps shopping center in La Défense. Cultura are often simple warehouse-style boxes in a very recognizable blue, but with the immense advantage of surface area, accessibility and parking as far as the eye can see.
The transformation of the “bestseller”
Cultura is the “corner bookstore” for those who only travel by car and who are intimidated by the traditional bookstore in the city center. Here, we come as a family, sometimes after the weekly shopping, we scatter around the aisles, we meet up at the exit. There’s something for everyone. Literature is placed at the entrance, with the great autumn prizes, romance and thrillers, but very quickly arrive the mangas which fascinate teenagers (and some adults), creative hobbies for children and adults, video games, musical instruments. The little ones scream when they discover a cooking kit, the mothers retort in a weary tone, “I already told you no”, the fathers work to find activities to liven up a birthday party for children under ten years old, “scoubidous? Are you sure that’s a workshop?” In Culture and Society, an elderly gentleman is looking for a reference on General de Gaulle. During these sales days, the promotion bin features second-hand books and yoga mats. A little further, in the middle of the Personal Development section, there are tarot cards, incense and candles.
By mixing audiences and sales techniques, with a hybrid offer between supermarkets and bookstores, Cultura is working to take the complexity out of book purchasing. She was one of the first to highlight popular authors like Gilles Legardinier. She is now developing a range of second-hand books to have “low prices” to offer. While the book sections of supermarkets and hypermarkets are experiencing a marked slowdown, it succeeds by borrowing from mass distribution a few tricks that encourage purchases, like these 99 cents written in very small characters next to a 2 euro, or this journey through the store which requires you to go through all the departments without the possibility of escaping, a method practiced for a long time by a famous Swedish furniture brand.
But it claims to be a bookstore in its own right, without complexes towards its big sisters Fnac and others or its little cousins in the city. Looked down upon, even downright ignored in those early days, the brand managed to move away from its image as a “seller of bestsellers and practical books”. With its 40,000 to 65,000 references per store and its sales power, it imposes itself on publishers. “Twenty-five years ago, there was a sort of snobbery, we were not expected to do so, we sometimes had the impression that culture could only be in the city center. This is no longer the case. In this case, we saw a clear evolution”, says Eric Lafraise, director of external relations for the group.
“In literature, it’s a bit like the Holy Grail to be there”
Particularly popular with publishers: the Talents Cultura selection, which highlights, for a year, four new releases chosen by booksellers and readers from the literary season. This year, What I know about you by Eric Chacour (Philippe Rey) and To die, the world by Yan Lespoux (Agullo) shared the honors with You don’t know anything about me by Julie Héraclès (JC Lattès) and Beyond oblivion by Aurélien Cressely (Gallimard). Because it defends cutting-edge titles, very literary first or second novels, sometimes published by small publishing houses, the Talents Cultura label has made people forget the reservations that some might have had.
And it constitutes a precious spotlight in an overabundant production. “When a book is selected, the placement is very significantly increased in Cultura and the author does signings in at least ten stores. In literature, it’s a bit of the Holy Grail to be there, there is a real difference in the figures”, confirms Alix de Cazotte, sales manager, bookstore relations and trade fairs at Éditions Héloïse d’Ormesson, whose Those who remain by Jean Michelin was selected in 2022.
Proof that Cultura matters in the world of books, points of sale are becoming obligatory stops on book signing tours. For very successful authors like Agnès Martin-Lugand, Sarah Rivens or Michel Bussi at the start of the year, but also for some more confidential authors. Another sign of the weight of the brand, several large independent bookstores have suffered from the arrival of a Cultura on the outskirts of their city. “Booksellers are feeling it quite harshly on their turnover, but the best tactic to resist is to remain a bookseller, not to venture into other segments,” notes Guillaume Husson, the general delegate of the French bookstore union which brings together 700 independents. At Cultura, we pretend not to worry about it and focus on the main rival, Amazon. The brand was one of those who fought hard to obtain a minimum delivery price for the book. Faithful to its strategy, always move forward, without worrying about the rustling of Saint-Germain-des-Prés.