Saint-Étienne: Adidas and Free close in the city center: the commercial carnage continues

It's been a dark summer for businesses in downtown Saint-Étienne. Since late June and early July, the successive closures of Gant on Rue Michelet, Nashville Hot Chicken on Place Jean-Jaurès, Richard Traiteur on Rue du Grand-Moulin, Moonbo on Place de l'Hôtel-de-Ville, My Lovers by Jeffy Pop on Rue Alsace-Lorraine, and the Saint-Jacques bakery on Rue Pointe-Cadet have all been recorded. A veritable massacre.

And now two new stores have been added to the (sad) list. At 3 Place du Peuple, the operator Free closed its doors on August 8. On the storefront, the brand invites its customers to visit its stores in Centre-Deux or Villars.

Not far from there, in what remains (but for how much longer?) one of the city's most dynamic shopping streets, namely Rue Alsace-Lorraine, Adidas is also preparing to pack its bags. A major liquidation operation began this Wednesday, August 20 and will continue until the store's closing, scheduled for Monday, October 20.

The famous German sportswear brand set up shop there, at number 9 on the street, in November 2019 , after staying for a few years at the bottom of Avenue de la Libération, at the corner with Rue du Grand-Moulin (where the Afflelou optician is now located).

So this is yet another national brand leaving Saint-Étienne's city center, following Fnac, H&M, and Zara. And what about the Sephora store on Place Dorian, as has been rumored for months?

Rumors of Adidas's closure had also been circulating for some time. Unfortunately, as is often the case, it turned out not to be the case. Will the brand, like H&M and Zara, move to the Steel shopping center in Pont-de-l'Âne? A few months ago, a store manager told us that this was an option under consideration.

A small consolation: according to our information, the Adidas premises should be taken over shortly after by the women's ready-to-wear boutique Noir de monde , which moved into temporary premises on rue Michelet last June.

Nevertheless, the city center is about to lose yet another commercial powerhouse. The haemorrhage seems endless.