The history of the agency
1967. René Tardieu, a Tropezien who has since become one of the pillars of a fishing village then only at the beginning of a meteoric rise, sets out to conquer the property business. In his brother’s commercial premises adjoining the pharmacy on the port, he installs the offices of “L’Agence du Port” in winter, and moves out each summer to wherever prices allow him to go. This, however, precedes long years of work begun very young.
From journalism at Nice-Matin to the mise en place at L’Esquinade, by way of the creation of La Voile Rouge, of the restaurant Le Fait-Tout and then of the Hôtel des Lices, not forgetting his Chevignon and 103 boutiques, time passed and experience accumulated.
Though he had no difficulty in enjoying his youth, he was soon at work, and assiduously so, with values that took on their full meaning in the times then unfolding. A few years earlier, “BB” had settled at Les Canebiers, and since then no one has remained indifferent. Least of all property prices. International stars, political figures, great fortunes… many pass almost of necessity through the capital of tourism on this coast. As Saint-Tropez took root as the destination for every extravagance, the straightness and the discretion of the agency’s founder would quickly serve him well.
Drawn in particular to the business of building properties, and with the transformations of the village with the world-famous bell tower making themselves felt, he put the business on a professional footing and launched his company, renamed “Tardieu Immobilier” by his son Patrick. He then bought as offices what is now the synagogue. Very soon the desire for new experience and the pull of abroad called for travel, whether for shopping arcades in the United States and the Dominican Republic, or a residential building in Côte d’Ivoire.
If his quick mind, his particularly rigorous working method and his sense of commitment lie behind a success that became a family one, he was also fortunate to meet along the way Odette Scagliola, André Thérond, Alex Samama, François Gilis, Lucien Soules and Michel Bizet, who would advance with him on many projects. It was with them that his Tropezian clientele came to be joined by numerous influential figures.
Humble and modest, it is nonetheless the work of his life that gives Tardieu Immobilier its standing as an essential reference on the Saint-Tropez peninsula. It is his ability to take the turns of his time, in supporting the agency’s digitalisation strategy initiated by his younger son Antony, that has made it possible to adapt. As you will have gathered, it is also and above all a family story, his two sons having taken over the business. Be that as it may, René Tardieu endures in his opinions and his counsel within what remains, to this day, his offices.
