Toulouse. Olivier Garrigou, director of the Midica group: "A family brand must evolve to last"
In 2009, Olivier Garrigou joined the supervisory board of Midica before devoting himself totally to the group in 2017. This quadra with a smile and benevolent words had to leave everything to join this commercial flagship created in 1946 by its great -father, Marcel Garrigou, place Esquirol. This forty-something was then a regional official at the Ministry of Ecology. "I didn't hesitate. It was a wonderful project. Remember that at the time of its creation, it was only a small store of 100m2 on Place de la Trinité which then sold rubber items, hence the name Midicaoutchouc: boots, hoses, rain capes. It was not until 1956 that Midica diversified its offer to become today's store for home and leisure”. A real commercial revolution, “my grandfather's creed was home, leisure, sport and toys. The image of happiness in a way”.
Joining the family business is for Olivier a challenge previously taken up by his father, Roland in 1976. “Working as a family is never easy. The pressure is strong. Everyone has their ideas, their views. You have to show both diplomacy and tenacity to win. With my sister Sophie and my father, we always manage to understand each other. In the family, nothing is imposed.
For Olivier Garrigou, affect is never far away, “as a child I remember my grandfather's office in Midica. He spoke constantly of the history of the city which he mixed with tenderness with that of the sign”.
The images jostle, “I grew up in Midica. I did my homework at Midica and I came to play toys on the shelves”. In 1976, his father, Roland, already made quite a few changes to the store: he notably created the Gefiroga holding company, which brought together the various family companies (Intersport and Midica). “It mainly equips the store with elevators. Quite a change! In 1990, he also opened Midica in Labège. But the store will close in 2006 with the announcement of the arrival of the metro… which never came”.
Olivier Garrigou has a personality in keeping with his time “taking over a family business is a real privilege. Still it is necessary to make it continue and not be satisfied to carry the name. We need projects linked to the evolution of society. It is the history of the family that is inscribed. It's not nothing".
Focused on environmental values, Olivier Garrigou, a cycling enthusiast, has launched green initiatives at Midica. Like the sorting of boxes, pallets and other plastics, refocused in a reserve and recycled by a specialized company without ever landing on the sidewalk. Favoring local suppliers, it also ensures that a locker accommodates soft travel accessories (helmets, scooters and other bags). “We don't live or move today like ten years ago. To last, a brand must understand this”. Resolutely independent, the Midica brand makes its own choices, “an opportunity and also a fragility in the event of failure. The project also becomes that of the employees”. A philosopher in his spare time, Olivier Garrigou has a mantra to justify his decisions, “one is never certain of succeeding but one remains certain of failing when one does not evolve”. For months, like many, he suffered the chaos of the yellow vests, “we certainly suffered economically but the well-being of the employees was also put at risk. And this is more serious”.
An unforgettable memory
“Before making the final decision to join the family business, I met a lady in Clermond-Ferrand who told me that she had studied in Toulouse. . And that during this period, she had to make some pocket money, worked. She had been a cashier at Midica. Despite the years, she tells me with great emotion that this store marked her youth, gave her her first moments of independence, introduced her to an experience she still fondly remembers. And that this job had been for her, much more than a simple student job. He was also a page of his life. With such a testimony, how hesitate to join this store. I will always remember that meeting."
