Centrakor

Centrakor is a store selling household goods and decor items. It positions itself midway between the discount stores like Gifi and La Foir'Fouille, and the home decorator shops like Maisons du Monde. The Centrakor chain has 450 shops (345 of them franchises), averaging 1500 m² of floor space. In 2020 the chain's turnover was a billion euros and they employ 5000 staff.

 

The  Loches store.

The business was created in 1990 by an entrepreneur from Toulouse, initially as a central purchasing and distribution unit. By 2004 they were supplying 40 shops and in 2006 bought another chain of shops, doubling the number of outlets the business supplied. In 2007 the business adopted the name Centrakor and came under new management as part of Cargo, who were expanding their network of indepedent stores in out of town shopping centres. In 2011 Centrakor opened its two hundredth store.

Between 2013 and 2018 Centrakor steady bought up regional decor chains. Then they took over Fly, franchising their stores. Since then they've concentrated on opening stores first in the French overseas territories, then Belgium, and most recently, Spain.

 

The Loches store sells these quite nice posters of the Touraine Loire Valley towns.

We have two Centrakor stores within easy striking distance -- one in Yzeures sur Creuse which is in the process of doubling its floor space, and one in Loches. We shop in them several times a year for this and that. The last item we bought in there was a length of 'waxed' cloth to serve as a picnic tablecloth, and the time before that we bought lampshades.

Source: Wikipedia https://fr.wikipedia.org/wiki/Centrakor