French retailer Boulanger is redesigning its store network around services, advice and customer experience, with the new concept expected to be progressively deployed across its 220 stores by 2028. The redesigned format gives greater visibility to services including after-sales support, repair, delivery and Click & Collect, placing these activities more prominently within the customer journey.

The new stores also incorporate digital tools that provide customers with information on products, including their repairability, alongside pricing and availability. Boulanger is further increasing the visibility of its Seconde Vie offering, with dedicated signage and spaces where customers can discover second-hand products or offer their own devices for buyback.

This places repair, resale and product recovery closer to the centre of the retail experience. Rather than limiting the relationship with a product to its initial sale, the new store concept creates space for services that can extend its useful life. Making second-life products more visible in mainstream retail can also help normalise refurbished and pre-owned technology as part of the purchasing journey.

For the circular economy, the approach is significant because retail stores can act as collection and redistribution points as well as places to sell new products. By combining repair, buyback, second-life products and digital information about repairability, Boulanger is integrating more stages of the product lifecycle into its physical retail network.