In Brittany, a boom in the creation of craft businesses – Economy

The number of creations of craft businesses benefited from a real surge last year in Brittany. “The region benefits from a figure twice as high as the rest of France,” explains Catherine Elie, director of studies at the Institut Supérieur des Métiers (ISM). One of the main lessons of the ISM-MAAF barometer whose results for Brittany were unveiled on Monday.

The consequence of a fundamental trend favorable to the creation of businesses linked, for Catherine Elie, “to a craze for the status of self-employed and, in particular, crafts, which has found, for ten years , attractiveness. »

The 26% increase in the number of creations – despite a very low level of insolvencies – can be explained more by the effects of the health crisis. Beyond catching up, after an almost white year 2020, the great resignation, for example in the hotel and catering industry, could explain the good results recorded on the entire Atlantic coast.

A trend driven by food

The food sector is the area to register the strongest growth, by 29% between 2019 and 2021, although all sectors of activity are progressing. This is the field of catering, but also the production of food products as diverse as beer, flour or biscuits. The director of studies of the ISM sees the effect “of the reversal of consumer trends in favor of craftsmen and locavorism”, while the situation is stagnating market share of hypermarkets. An evolution reinforced during the health crisis and that Catherine Elie considers sustainable.

Metropolises and small towns

However, this trend is not evenly distributed throughout the region. Rennes (+42%) and Brest, to a lesser extent, benefited from strong growth. Just like the municipalities of less than 50,000 inhabitants. For the director of studies at the ISM, this is the consequence of population movements to regional cities and second homes “reinvested in main residences. » A demographic evolution synonymous with new markets for craftsmen, in particular those of the building industry who benefit, for the moment, from the growing interest of the French for their housing.

Economic viability in question

The question about the future of these new companies is nevertheless a real question raised by the barometer. While the number of companies in traditional form has increased sharply, “the majority of creations are micro-enterprises whose economic viability and markets will have to be confirmed. And for good reason, it is possible to create a micro-enterprise even before thinking about its market, so that some of these creators will develop little or no activity at all. Some of them have also remained salaried during the week to become craftsmen at the weekend, proof that the importance of this rebound should be put into perspective.

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