Ricardo Albizu Larrucea He is 64 years old and has decided to close his perfume shop in Estelle (Navarre). There is no generational change and your body has also told you that you must take care of yourself.
THE Albizu Perfumery is located in the Place des Fueros 4 from the city of Ega. Very close to the other establishments that we have known in this local trade section.
As is the case, for example, of Angela’s pastry shop with its traditional espadrilles next to the church of San Juan Bautista, or of the Tadeo store that recently closed its doors on the same Plaza de los Fueros.
Ricardo Albizu This is the third generation of the family who opened the store, which in its early years was a pharmacy: “The store has been open for over a hundred years. We don’t know exactly, although I think it’s been over 110 years.”
“Before, everything was sold here.“It was a traditional pharmacy. In one part of the store, they made compounds, sulfates and mixtures with products for the field,” Ricardo explains.
“My grandfather Domingo Albizu started working around 1910 or 1912. Then my mother Miren and my father Ricardo, who worked in the store from the age of 12 until he died at the age of 76, took him in. “He just worked and worked.”
The Albizu family owned the store as well as a warehouse in Aralar and then in Morentin “where we sold in Pamplona and in the cities with street vendors,” explains the owner of the perfume shop.
Ricardo has already accumulated almost 40 years of work: “I have been selling, delivering and invoicing since 1988. In 2003 we opened another more elegant perfumery in Aralar and it operated until 2018.”
Due to the pandemic, due to the drop in sales, The store functioned as a warehouse for wholesale sales, It remained closed for several days because Ricardo was selling or distributing goods throughout Pamplona and the villages of Estella.
Ricardo Albizu will be 65 years old in July next year. The main reason for the closure is the lack of assistance, as well as the delicate health condition that prevents him from doing his job: “I have four children, the youngest is 16 and none of them want to continue. “I’ll last a year because I can’t do any physical effort either.”
Regarding the viability of the company, he assures: “I am alone here. My wife works, three of my children work and The place is ours, so you get a normal salary. “The good news is that I’m alone and I don’t pay rent,” Ricardo explains.
The announced closure saddens him: “I’m really sorry that no one is followingbut I see my children who finished work on Friday at three o’clock and who are celebrating,” he concludes.
The family of Ricardo Albizu from Estella has always been closely linked to handball. His son Aitor is one of Anitasuna’s most prominent players in the Asobal league. He recently signed two more years with the Pamplona club.
