Retail
Europe's Big Perfume Chain Gets a New Owner
Marionnaud, with nearly seven hundred perfume shops in eight countries, now belongs to the owner of a rival chain.
If you have bought perfume in Paris, Vienna or Zurich, there is a fair chance you bought it at Marionnaud. The chain, with 687 stores in eight countries and nearly 4,200 employees, has a new owner.
David Konckier, the main shareholder of the French beauty group Bogart, has completed his purchase of Marionnaud from the Hong Kong conglomerate CK Hutchison, which had owned it for more than twenty years through its A.S. Watson retail arm. The deal was first announced in July and closed last week. No price was given.
Put the two together and one man now controls more than eleven hundred perfume counters.
A personal purchase, with a plan
The twist is that Konckier bought Marionnaud himself, through his own holding company, rather than through Bogart. But the plan is clearly to work the two together. Bogart already runs about 450 perfumeries and drugstores in Europe and the Middle East under names like April and DI in France and HC Parfümerie in Germany. Put the two together and one man now controls more than eleven hundred perfume counters. Marionnaud brings in roughly 650 million euros a year in sales, several times what Bogart’s own shops do.
Why it matters
Bogart also makes fragrances under its own brands, and the company has said it expects a much larger shop network for them. For the big designer houses, a buyer with this much shelf space is someone they will want to keep happy. For travelers, Marionnaud is keeping its name, and there is no sign yet of changes in the stores.