Commercial property company Socri rebrands as Ceiba to target international markets

Montpellier-based group Socri Limited has announced a change of identity to become Ceiba, a name registered in around thirty countries to support the group’s international ambitions.

The group notably operates the Polygone shopping centres in Béziers and Montpellier, the Galeries Lafayette department stores in Avignon and Béziers, and the La Coupole shopping centre in Nîmes.

“Ceiba is a logical step,” explained its chairman, Nicolas Chambon. “We are not changing what we do; we are embracing what we have become. This new name allows us to assert an identity that is clear, committed, and true to our values.”

The name Ceiba, taken from the sacred Latin American tree, had already been used by the group’s U.S. subsidiary. Its adoption at group level “forms part of a deliberate international trajectory,” according to the company, which was founded in 2023.

The group’s Nîmes shopping centre recently welcomed the opening of a Galeries Lafayette store, inaugurated on October 2. The opening is reported to have delivered a 45% increase in footfall at the 13,500-square-metre shopping centre at the start of autumn.