What kind of .....

[Clubby]

Just doing some forum market research here and I was wondering,

What kind of shop/ business or market stall would you like to see in Montmorillon or the surrounding area?

[Fred]

Difficult one as there may not be enough business for a start up, also I have heard it's not as easy as it is in the UK for a small business start up. But that doesn't mean it won't work, I suppose I'm saying it will be harder and the income could be low.

The price you would have to charge would need to be considered depending on what you sell, are things cheaper in the big supermarkets? can we get it from a UK website delivered to our door? Another thing to consider is location as a lot of ex-pats live a few KMs away from Montmorillon, (I'm assuming you are targeting ex-pats) so would they travel the distance?

A few have tried British food shops, but although we would use them for a bag of Maynard's Wine Gums as a treat we wouldn't spend much as the prices are to high and in some cases sell by dates a bit dodgy. I'm only using that as an example, and you can get Maynards Wine Gums on the British counter in Carrefour now so we wouldn't go to the British shop for them.

Foods are always what most Brits talk about, and although some say "Eat French" we still do miss the odd thing and if I could get hold of some Aberdeen Angus Beef that has been hung properly at a reasonable price I would snatch your hands off. So a British Butcher would be a good one yum yum proper roast chicken, hung beef, tender lamb, pork pie, bacon.

Mrs Fred would like somewhere she could get English Books at a reasonable price or preferably a place she could swap books at a lower price, a mobile library now that could be good. (Charge a monthly fee visit a village once a month and allow members to swap books.)  

Camper Van Hire: Not something I would use often, but they are very popular over here parking up is free in most cases, and there is so much of France we haven't seen so I could be tempted to rent one locally for a few days if the price was fair.

Mmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm I'm running out now I'll move over and let all the others get a word in.  

[Admiral]

I'm with Fred here in that it's a tricksy question to answer without knowing more about what you are thinking of.

The last British food shop in Montmorillon closed about two years due to high prices and being undercut by some Brit businesses that ship your shopping order out to France.

There is a British "bar" in Monty that also sells tea and cake but has very erratic opening hours.

There is a de-facto British bar run by a Frenchman who actually opens later than 8pm.  Doesn't sell British bitter tho which is a great shame.

See.............I'm only thinking food and drink.

More clues please.

Bonne chance.

[Clubby]

My post was merely to canvas opinion and for people to say whatever they wanted - anything goes

Is there something you want to buy but haven't found it? For me, it's a bunch of coriander that I don't have to drive an hour for

Or a service you'd like? Acupuncture, yoga class, English book library, storage facility, gardener


Thank you for your thoughts anyway - clearly your needs are mostly met sauf some British food and drink delicacies!

[Brian]

I feel duty bound to admit an interest after your last post,  Clubby. Mrs bhouse is a (UK) qualified yoga and pilates teacher and is in the final stages of having her qualifications recognised by the authorities over here so she will be offering yoga and pilates classes soon.

As for me,  I can't really think of anything that's tricky to obtain apart from guitar strings.  Believe it or not,  the most convenient outlet is a vending machine in the concourse of Poitiers Station.  It remains the only guitar string vending machine I have ever seen. ..

[Brian]

Ooh - hang on. What about a knife sharpening service?

[Clubby]

Well I am very impressed - yoga AND pilates ! I look forward to notification about classes soon

I feel like taking a trip to Poitiers Station just to see this guitar string selling vending machine - how odd!

[Brian]

Erm...
I'm afraid I have a photo:



It dispenses guitar (steel and some nylon), bass, and ukulele strings.  No banjo strings though  

[Clubby]

Ha ha, thanks - that saved me a trip!

[Admiral]

I've stopped thinking about food and proper beer, so how about considering doing a line in greetings cards?  Birthdays, wedding, congratulations etc etc.

The cards in France are generally hideous and over-priced.

Just a thought.

A vending machine that dispenses guitar strings has got to be one of the weirdest ideas yet so it set me thinking. Why not set up a string of vending machines in the area?

How about live crab and lobster?  La Rochelle is only just up the road.

Or Pizza.  Very popular, for some unknown reason, in France.

Baguettes.  Part cooked and then completed on your order.

A box of chips.

Draft beer.

Sorry gone back to food and drink.