In France, since 1980, three quarters of service stations have gone out of business, according to a study conducted at the end of 2020 by Colombus Consulting. The town of Saint-Geours-de-Maremne, located a few kilometers from Dax, is no exception to the rule: in the 1980s, there were still 7 service stations in Saint-Geours. The last one closed recently: difficulties in making margins, competition from big brands, the lights are not necessarily green to open your own station. But no fatality: Bruno Dubernet chose to launch his own barely two weeks ago, along the Bayonne-Bordeaux motorway, in the heart of the Atlantisud shopping area.
“It starts from a stroke of madness, from a stroke of heart too“, he explains. “We are attached to its traditions, to its regions. And it’s true that it’s always difficult to refuel, whether in Tyrosse or Dax, when you’re from Saint-Geours-de-Maremne. So here it is, at some point, I felt that it was not normal“.
Proximity to highway and recognition from locals
This former tradesman, who managed a retail store in Tyrosse, has therefore taken the plunge. His other activities, in real estate and laundries, leave him free rein. Some customers, like Claude, seem grateful. “In the zone, I have a colleague who will be happy too, because sometimes we went back to the reserve until the house, since in the area, there is not much“.
The location suits me perfectly
The proximity of the motorway also brings back some professional customers, such as Manu and his taxi: “I often make connections between Bayonne and Bordeaux, and therefore I often go out for the depot. So there you go, I find the station great. It’s really very, very good, the location suits me totally“. Manu who, on leaving, goes through the car wash which the station also has. a real little motorway station that opens. Bruno Dubernet hopes that at least half of his clientele will come from there. It is for this purpose that he invested around 2 million euros in the project.
Fifteen years to make the investment profitable
“Today, having an ideal location next to the highway, in a mega-zone with a future, I plan well. And then at some point, we must not take the lead. If we take the lead, it gives a headache. So we have to go“, he smiles. Go for it, to try to make his investment profitable. Bruno Dubernet estimates that it will take him about fifteen years. In the meantime, he fights to be listed on Waze or Google. Essential condition to start bringing back a lot of customers, happy to find fuel in this troubled period, to say the least.