After decades in Maltese retail, Frenchie’s owners Richard and Elaine Zampa are preparing to close the doors of a boutique that has built a loyal following spanning generations.

In a sit-down with WhosWho.mt, Mr Zampa reflects on years working at the boutique with his wife who was "instrumental" in the success of the shop. 

He started by teling this newsroom how a chance encounter with a supplier’s name eventually became the identity of their own business. “Before we had the shop I was a wholesaler, selling stock to boutiques, and one of my supplier’s name was Frenchie’s,” he recalls. “When I heard the name, I said if I ever open a shop, I will name it Frenchie’s.”

That vision became reality in Valley Road, Birkirkara, at a time when the area was far from the retail hub it would later attempt to become. “When I opened our shop there, there only were two other boutiques,” he says, noting that the street initially showed strong potential, particularly as Ħamrun gained popularity alongside Valletta. Yet the cycle of openings and closures never quite stabilised. “A lot of other shops opened, closed, opened, closed. But now in the last eight years, more shops have started to close.”

Mr Zampa’s journey into fashion retail was shaped early on by family influence. His father owned a shop in Valletta, while his mother was a skilled seamstress. “I started bit by bit,” he says, describing a gradual transition from wholesale into retail.

Frenchie’s itself evolved over time. What began as a small shop eventually expanded into a three-floor establishment after he acquired a garden space at the back and developed it.

The boutique’s growth mirrored the strength of its customer relationships. “We have quite a few customers that have been with us for 35 years,” he says, admitting that thinking about them now is emotional. “I start thinking also about how long I have served at the shop.”

The rise of online shopping and shifting habits

While the decision to close is ultimately tied to retirement, Mr Zampa is candid about the broader changes that have reshaped the industry.

“Yes, online shopping,” he says when asked about the biggest disruption. “I resisted it a lot, to not close earlier because of it, because we have a lot of clients and we carry a lot of sizes, so we catered to a large group of people.”

The COVID-19 pandemic marked a turning point. “Since Covid, online shopping only got stronger, because everyone was at home on their laptops. People tried and experimented. We felt it.”

Interestingly, the immediate post-pandemic period brought a temporary boost. With many retailers hesitant to reopen or fulfil orders, Frenchie’s found itself well stocked and ready. “When the shops opened again we were doing very well,” he explains. “But then the sales started to diminish bit by bit.”

For Mr Zampa, the most difficult part of closing is not the operational side, but the human one. “The connection with customers and suppliers,” he says, is what the couple will miss most.

Over the years, suppliers became more than just business partners. “I have suppliers that became like family,” he notes. The emotional weight of the closure became clear when he saw the public reaction. “I started seeing the comments that people were leaving on our post announcing the closure. I didn’t expect that reaction.”

Unlike many retailers, Frenchie’s operated with a hands-on approach to sourcing. The couple worked directly with factories rather than wholesalers, allowing him to tailor collections to local tastes.

“I could choose what I am going to sell better, and I could specify what I want and any changes that I would like to be done,” he explains. “Because I know what colours, for example, the Maltese market wants and likes.”

In some cases, their input even influenced wider production. “Sometimes the factories liked the amendments and started selling those then because people were liking them.”

A changing industry

Looking ahead, Mr Zampa offers a measured but cautious outlook for independent retailers. “On retail, I can only say that things are becoming difficult nowadays,” he says. “Especially if you’re autonomous and not part of a group.”

He points to changing consumer behaviour, with buyers increasingly drawn to internationally recognised brands. “Few people are buying things because it suits them, but because it is popular.”

At the same time, the production landscape has shifted. Much of Frenchie’s stock was sourced from Europe, but even that has become harder to sustain. “A lot of clothing factories in Europe closed down because the machine operators and workers go from one country to another for better pay,” he explains, noting that certain items such as jackets and rainwear are now largely produced in Asia.

After years spent building a business defined by personal relationships, careful curation and an intuitive understanding of local tastes, Frenchie’s is closing not with abrupt decline, but with a sense of completion.