The 19th Century Mollat Bookstore Turns Into A French Icon

Imagine a bookstore figuring on Instagram with over 67,000 followers! This is the famous Mollat bookstore, the first independent French bookstore that came into existence in 1896. Located in Bordeaux, this bookstore occupies an area of 2,500 square meters.

The man who established this bookstore was Albert Mollat. To expand his bookstore, he relocated it to Porte Dijeaux, at the site of the house Montesquieu in 1928. He was succeeded by his sons, Jean and Albert in 1949. In 1970, Albert’s son, William Mollat, took it upon himself to further expand the bookstore. Jean’s daughter Francine Mollat also chipped in for its expansion.

By 1990, the bookstore had spread to five stores on the same site. It also opened a music store, Mollat Music, and an exhibition gallery, Mollat Gallery, occupying an additional area of 1,200 square meters. In the same year, Denis Mollat took over from his father as the head of the company and carried out major works. In 2001, the bookstore became web-savvy, acquiring its own website: mollat.com.

Today, Mollat bookstore boasts of diverse fields and its books are organized in 15 specialized areas that include humanities, languages, novels, philosophy, sociology, and others. Along with Mollat Music and Mollat Gallery, the bookstore also encompasses two conference rooms, the Albert-Mollat lounges – rue Vital-Carles – and 91 – rue Porte-Dijeaux.

The number of books that this bookstore holds is simply mind-boggling. It has a total of 265,000 books with 160,000 titles. It receives a whopping 3.5 tons of books every day and sells 1,940,000 volumes every year. The bookstore has also diversified into offering other items, such as leather goods, religious souvenirs, Vieillard porcelain, and editorial production of books on medicine.

The current head of the company, Denis Mollat obtained a doctorate degree in medicine from Bordeaux University and has also been elevated to the rank of Officer of the Legion of Honor. It is no surprise that Mollat bookstore continues to do well under his stewardship.

They are getting more & more fame through their Instagram Series Book Face.