Bazaar St-So
Bazaar St-So is a French cooperative tiers-lieu in Lille operating a 5,000m² rehabilitated railway depot as a coworking, workshop, event venue, and café hub. It serves 120+ resident structures and 303 daily residents, predominantly in the creative and social/solidarity economy.
- Company typePrivate
- Founded1865
- HeadquartersLille, France
- Headcount11–50
- GTM typeB2B
- OfferingServices
What Bazaar St-So does
Bazaar St-So (legal name: Le Bazaar St So) is a French cooperative tiers-lieu (third place) headquartered at 292 rue Camille Guérin in Lille, France. The organization operates a 5,000m² rehabilitated former railway freight depot dating to 1865, situated near the Saint-Sauveur station in the JB Lebas quarter. As a Société Coopérative d'Intérêt Collectif (SCIC), the entity is collectively owned by its members and directed by Benoit GARET as Directeur de la publication. The venue hosts approximately 303 daily residents across 120+ resident structures, with 250 daily users working in shared spaces across 75 structures (L'Embarcadère) and roughly 50 creators working in 840m² of shared workshops (Ateliers Partagés). Annual visitor count reached 19,000 in 2024.
The core product portfolio is physical rather than technology-based and comprises: Coworking Libre (free open coworking Monday–Friday, 9h–17h), L'Embarcadère shared workspaces, the 840m² Ateliers Partagés workshops, 11 equipped meeting rooms (Salles de Réunion), Les Halles central event space, and Café Bazaar. Auxiliary offerings include space rental (Location d'Espaces) for seminars, conferences, and professional salons, plus a Matterport-powered virtual tour of the premises. Technology infrastructure is limited to standard web hosting (GANDI) and website development (WEB INSITE), with no proprietary software, API, or AI components.
The business model blends transaction-based revenue (event and meeting room rentals, ticketed events including yoga sessions at €15, beer yoga at €18, special dinner events at €95, and market/food events at €3–€25), subscription-style recurring revenue (resident workspace rental for Ateliers Partagés and L'Embarcadère), and hardware sales (Café Bazaar). The free Coworking Libre tier functions as a top-of-funnel marketing channel for the wider venue. Customer segments span artists/artisans, independent workers and freelancers, associations and social enterprises (70% of residents are in the social and solidarity economy), businesses and cooperatives, and event organizers. The organization operates exclusively in France (Lille and Hauts-de-France region), is GDPR-compliant, and partners with Ville de Lille, the Hauts-de-France Regional Council, WAAO, the Fonds Citoyen Franco-Allemand, and various culinary and photography collectives.
Bazaar St-So firmographics
Firmographics- Name
- Bazaar St-So
- Legal name
- Le Bazaar St So
- Website
- https://bazaar.coop
- Company type
- Private
- Founded year
- 1865
- Operating status
- Operating
- Headcount range
- 11–50 employees
- Short description
- Bazaar St-So is a French cooperative tiers-lieu in Lille operating a 5,000m² rehabilitated railway depot as a coworking, workshop, event venue, and café hub. It serves 120+ resident structures and 303 daily residents, predominantly in the creative and social/solidarity economy.
- Ownership category
- akta.pro rank
Bazaar St-So industry classification
Industry- Product category
- Cooperative Workspace and Third-Place Venue
- NAICS
- Business Service Centers (56143), Facilities Support Services (561210)
- SIC
- Retail-Eating & Drinking Places (5810)
- akta.pro primary industry
- Coworking Cafes / Work Cafes (THAFADAJ)
- akta.pro secondary industry
- Multi-Purpose Event Halls & Community Centers (THAHAAAI)
Keywords
Where Bazaar St-So is headquartered
LocationHeadquarters
- HQ city
- Lille
- HQ country
- France
- HQ region
- Europe
Offices1 record
Markets served
Bazaar St-So business model
Business model- GTM type
- B2B
- Offering type
- Services
- Cost components
- Operations, Personnel, Infrastructure, Marketing or Sales, Others
Revenue model
- Event venue rental: Leasing of event spaces (Les Halles) for seminars, meetings, conferences, professional salons, and private events
- Meeting room rentals: Rental of 11 equipped meeting rooms for professional briefs, client presentations, and team meetings
- Coworking fees: Free open coworking space (Coworking Libre) available Monday to Friday 9h-17h without reservation
- Resident workspace rental: Workshop studios (840m²) and shared workspaces (L'embarcadère) rented to artists, creatives, and artisans
- Café Bazaar: On-site café serving coffee, drinks, and light fare to visitors and residents
Pricing tiers
| Model | Billing | Price |
|---|---|---|
| Unit Pricing | Pay-as-you-go | Yoga classes at Bazaar |
| Unit Pricing | Pay-as-you-go | Beer Yoga session |
| Freemium | Pay-as-you-go | Coworking Libre |
| Unit Pricing | Pay-as-you-go | Dîner-spectacle event |
| Unit Pricing | Pay-as-you-go | Beer and food market event |
| Unit Pricing | Pay-as-you-go | Chef brunch event |
Go-to-market motion1 record
Distribution channels3 records
Marketing channels5 records
Bazaar St-So product offering
Product offeringCore offering
Bazaar St-So operates a cooperative third-place (tiers-lieu) in a 5,000m² rehabilitated historic railway depot in Lille, providing shared workspaces (L'Embarcadère), free coworking (Coworking Libre), 840m² of artist workshops (Ateliers Partagés), 11 equipped meeting rooms, a central event hall (Les Halles), and an on-site café. It hosts 120+ resident structures and approximately 303 daily residents, serving creative, social, and solidarity economy actors through affordable workspace and community programming.
Product overview
Bazaar St-So is a cooperative third-place (tiers lieu) in Lille, France, dedicated to the creative, social, and solidarity economy. Spanning 5,000m² of rehabilitated space, it offers a diverse portfolio of physical workspace solutions including shared workshops (Ateliers Partagés - 840m²), free coworking (Coworking Libre), shared workspaces (L'Embarcadère), 11 meeting rooms (Salles de Réunion), and the Café Bazaar. The venue's central event space (Les Halles) hosts a wide variety of functions from seminars to professional fairs. Additional services include space rental for events, and virtual tours via Matterport. The space accommodates over 120 structures and 303 daily residents, with 19,000 visitors in 2024.
Differentiator
Problem solved
Functional benefit
Products and services
- Coworking Libre Free open coworking space at Bazaar St-So for nomad workers, readers, and casual visitors, available Monday to Friday from 9am to 5pm without prior reservation.
- L'Embarcadère Shared workspace at Bazaar St-So hosting 250 daily users across 75 resident structures, with 70% of residents engaged in the creative and solidarity economy, spanning architecture, graphic design, and social associations.
- Ateliers Partagés 840m² of shared workshop space at Bazaar St-So occupied by approximately 50 artists, creatives, and art artisans working in scenography, ceramics, textiles, illustration, and carpentry.
- Les Halles Central event hall at Bazaar St-So capable of hosting seminars, large-scale meetings, training sessions, screenings, general assemblies, and professional fairs. Also houses the venue's bar.
- Café Bazaar On-site café at Bazaar St-So welcoming visitors daily for coffee breaks, drinks with friends, or professional meetings, located at the heart of Les Halles.
- Salles de Réunion (Meeting Rooms) Rental of 11 fully equipped meeting rooms of varying sizes at Bazaar St-So, designed for team briefings, client meetings, and project presentations in person or remotely.
- Location d'Espaces (Event Space Rental) Rental of Bazaar St-So spaces for events including seminars, professional events, workshops, and conferences, with logistical and technical support provided.
Quantifiable outcome
- 19,000 visitors annually in 2024
- +3 more outcomes
Companies that use Bazaar St-So
Customer profileNamed customers4 records
Segments5 records
Ideal customer profiles5 records
Bazaar St-So technology and API
TechnologyTechnology focussed No
API detail
- Has API
- No
- API docs
- API detail
Core technology
AI maturity
App detail
Bazaar St-So partnerships and signals
Strategic signalPartnerships
Ten partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.
- WAAO (Centre d'Architecture et d'Urbanisme)coreArchitecture and urban planning center that organizes events, exhibitions (such as Microtopies festival and 'La ville tourne en rond?' exhibition), and Archi-apéro discussions at the venue. WAAO is a key cultural programming partner for the Bazaar.
- Ville de LillecoreThe city of Lille is a key municipal partner, having coordinated the 'Oh MY Good!' Mobility Youth Gastronomy project (2020-2023) at the venue, and supporting various cultural programming initiatives.
- Lycée Hôtelier International de Lille (LHIL)minorPartner in the 'Oh MY Good!' gastronomy exchange project between Lille and four partner cities (Erfurt, Leeds, Naplouse, Turin), funded by the Ministry of Europe and Foreign Affairs.
- Incubateur BaluchonminorBusiness incubator partner supporting entrepreneurship initiatives and featured in the 'Oh My Good' project network.
- Goûtez la QualitéminorRegional quality products association promoting products under official quality labels (Label Rouge, IGP, AOP, STG, Bio) in Hauts-de-France, partner for Lille Terroir Festival.
- Court CircuitminorLocal producer network and short-circuit initiative, partner in the food and agricultural ecosystem at events.
- Cuisine Commune de Chaud BouillonminorCulinary collective partner in the gastronomy network supporting food-related events and programming.
- Institut pour la PhotographieminorPhotography institute that organizes the Book Market event at the venue, dedicated to photographic publishing and exhibitions.
- Hauts de France RegioncoreRegional council supporting the venue as European Region of Gastronomy 2023 and various cultural initiatives.
- Les Rencontres de BrazzaminorFrench association that initiated the COMBO photography exhibition project, partnering with German and Congolese photographers.
Scale indicators8 records
Recent moves6 records
Expansion highlights5 records
Bazaar St-So competitors and assessment
Company assessmentDirect peers
- Ground Control: Ground Control is a multi-purpose urban venue in Paris combining food court, bar, coworking, event spaces, and rotating cultural programming. Its revenue mix (food + events + workspace) and tiers-lieu positioning directly mirror Bazaar's business model.
- La Maison Folie Wazemmes: La Maison Folie Wazemmes is a Lille-based cultural third place (tiers-lieu) that hosts ateliers, exhibitions, concerts, and community programming. Operating in the same city as Bazaar with the same tiers-lieu DNA, it competes for the same resident and visitor audiences in Lille's creative ecosystem.
- The Trampery: The Trampery is a London-based coworking operator focused on mission-led communities, offering shared workspaces, events, and resident programming for social enterprises. Its community-anchored coworking model aligns closely with Bazaar's social-economy positioning.
- Le 104 / Centquatre: Le 104 is a major Parisian cultural center housed in a former municipal funeral home, hosting ateliers, residencies, exhibitions, a café, and co-working for creators and social entrepreneurs. Its scale (multiple hectares of public space) and atelier/coworking hybrid compare to Bazaar's creative workspace model.
- La Mutinerie: La Mutinerie is a Paris-based feminist coworking and community space combining shared workspace, ateliers, and event programming with a strong values-driven identity. Its community-plus-workspace hybrid directly mirrors Bazaar's tiers-lieu positioning.
- La Recyclerie: La Recyclerie is a Paris-based tiers-lieu in a former railway station offering coworking, a café-restaurant, workshops, an urban farm, and cultural programming. It is the closest French analogue to Bazaar St-So in concept (rehabilitated transit building + community venue + café + workshops + events).
- La Condition Publique: La Condition Publique is a Roubaix-based cultural third place in a former industrial site, offering coworking, workshops, exhibitions, a café/restaurant, and residencies. As a Hauts-de-France tiers-lieu with a similar atelier/co-working/event mix, it is a direct regional competitor.
Broad incumbents
- WeWork: WeWork is the global leader in flexible coworking, offering meeting rooms, private offices, and event space across major cities. While it does not replicate Bazaar's café/ateliers/cultural programming, it competes for the same SME event and meeting-room rental budgets in Lille's broader flexible-workspace market.
- Impact Hub: Impact Hub is a global network of impact-focused coworking spaces, including locations across France. It targets social entrepreneurs and mission-driven organizations—a segment that overlaps significantly with Bazaar's 70% social/solidarity economy resident base.
Regional players
- Coco Coworking: Coco Coworking is a French coworking network with multiple neighborhood locations across Paris and other French cities, offering flexible workspace and meeting rooms. It competes for the same independent-worker and SME segments that Bazaar targets in Lille.
Market position
Strengths5 records
Weaknesses5 records
Competitive moat3 records
Customer concentration
Bazaar St-So social profiles
Digital presenceBazaar St-So compliance and trust
Trust signalCompliance1 record
Bazaar St-So financial estimates
Financial estimateRevenue estimate
Valuation estimate
Bazaar St-So leadership team
Management profileNumber of profiles
Profiles1 record
Bazaar St-So funding detail
Funding detailFunding overview
Funding rounds
Investors
Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Bazaar St-So M&A and investment
M&A and investmentM&A
Investments
M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Frequently asked questions about Bazaar St-So
What does Bazaar St-So do?
Bazaar St-So operates a cooperative third-place (tiers-lieu) in a 5,000m² rehabilitated historic railway depot in Lille, providing shared workspaces (L'Embarcadère), free coworking (Coworking Libre), 840m² of artist workshops (Ateliers Partagés), 11 equipped meeting rooms, a central event hall (Les Halles), and an on-site café. It hosts 120+ resident structures and approximately 303 daily residents, serving creative, social, and solidarity economy actors through affordable workspace and community programming.
Is Bazaar St-So a public or private company?
Bazaar St-So is a private company. It is classified as management employee owned and is currently operating.
When was Bazaar St-So founded?
Bazaar St-So was founded in 1865. It employs 11 to 50 people.
Where is Bazaar St-So based?
Bazaar St-So is headquartered in Lille, France, in the Europe region.
How does Bazaar St-So make money?
Five revenue lines are on record. Event venue rental is the primary driver. The others are meeting room rentals, coworking fees, resident workspace rental and café Bazaar.
Who are Bazaar St-So's main competitors?
Direct peers on record are Ground Control, La Maison Folie Wazemmes, The Trampery, Le 104 / Centquatre, La Mutinerie, La Recyclerie and La Condition Publique. Broad incumbents are WeWork and Impact Hub. Coco Coworking is listed as a regional player.
Does Bazaar St-So have an API?
No public API is recorded for Bazaar St-So.
What industry is Bazaar St-So in?
Bazaar St-So's product category is Cooperative Workspace and Third-Place Venue. Its primary akta.pro industry code is THAFADAJ, Coworking Cafes / Work Cafes, with a secondary code of THAHAAAI, Multi-Purpose Event Halls & Community Centers. Its NAICS code is 56143 and its SIC code is 5810.