Optique Laporte marked 50 years in Audierne on Saturday 13 June 2026, with Philippe Laporte saying: "C’est l’un des plus anciens commerces d’Audierne". The family shop has held its place in a small market that has changed around it, and the next handover will not go to a third generation.
1975 is the starting point for the business, created by Michelle Laporte and Jean-Paul Laporte. Philippe Laporte, who joined in 2013 after ten years in research, said: "Cela nous a permis de voir l’évolution de la lunetterie". He returned to Audierne after his parents proposed that he take it over, then began working inside the business alongside Françoise Laporte.
Quai Jean-Jaurès visibility
32 years on quai Jean-Jaurès have given Optique Laporte a more visible position than its original spot in the rue Danton. Philippe Laporte said: "En nous déplaçant sur les quais, on a gagné en visibilité et l’activité a pu perdurer." For a shop that sells products made in large part in France or Europe, that move helped keep the front door in sight as nearby retail shifted toward the port.
In the 1970s, Philippe Laporte said there were about twenty shops in the rue Danton, then by the late 1980s the number of shops fell and most boutiques moved around the port. He described that evolution as part of the shop’s survival, not a side note. The business remained independent, and Philippe Laporte said that freedom still matters to the family.
Philippe Laporte and Françoise Laporte
2013 brought Philippe Laporte back into daily work after ten years in research. He said: "J’ai appris sur le tas." At Optique Laporte, he handles the more technical and artisanal part, including lens cutting, while his sister manages administrative tasks; sales are shared by both.
One or two years of delayed purchases are now weighing on the shop’s pace. Philippe Laporte said: "Les gens repoussent leurs achats, ils attendent que leurs lunettes soient très abîmées pour en acheter d’autres." That leaves the business with a familiar customer base but a longer wait before replacement orders turn into sales, especially when people stretch the life of each pair.
Audierne for the next takeover
The third generation will not take over the business, but Philippe Laporte said the family wants future repreneurs to keep the Optique Laporte name, which he described as well known in the sector. That leaves the shop’s identity intact even as ownership changes hands, a practical way to preserve recognition for customers who already know the address on quai Jean-Jaurès.
Two years after the death of their mother, who was from Audierne, the family business is still run as a point of continuity rather than a monument. The unanswered issue is the one that will shape the next chapter: how much the slower buying pattern has cut into sales and revenue while Optique Laporte waits for the people who will carry the name forward.
