Presentation
Leading French catalogue and Internet retailer of household linens
Management
Marie-Françoise Kerhuel, CEO
Stéphane Poumailloux, Managing Director
Investment date
October 2006 / September 2010
Investment type
MBI, spin-off (Yves Rocher), build-up
Activa Capital’s role
Majority shareholder
Turnover 2010
€130M
Location
5 sites, 380 employees
Project
Created in 1982 by Yves Rocher, Françoise Saget is a distributor of household linens by catalogue and internet (through its dedicated internet site www.francoisesaget.com).
With more than 2000 product references in its catalogue, Françoise Saget serves about 1 million customers throughout Europe.
In 2006, Activa Capital organised the spin-off of Françoise Saget from Yves Rocher as an MBI. Yves Rocher remains a shareholder alongside Activa Capital and the management team.
Marie-Françoise Kerhuel, who was at the origin of the project, has left her position at Editions Atlas to lead the development of Françoise Saget as CEO and shareholder.
Build-up
In 2007, Activa Capital organised the merger of Françoise Saget with Linvosges. While the individuality of these two strong brands was retained, the merger created France’s leading mail order group specialising in household linens, with a turnover of €130M in 2009.
Exit
In September 2010, Activa Capital sold its stake in Françoise Saget Linvosges to Alpha Private Equity Fund 5.
