LThe specialist frozen food brand Picard, which is celebrating 50 years since its first store this year, is about to fall completely by the first quarter of 2025 in the hands of businessman Moez-Alexandre Zouari, who has already been present in his capital since 2020 . .
“We are very happy and very proud to see this great company returning to the return of a French family”: the distribution expert Moez-Alexandre Zouari, whose company so far owns 49% of the Picard capital, is happy about the Monday. upcoming repurchase of the rest of the brand equity.
Invest Groupe Zouari (IGZ), a company controlled by the Zouari family, “signed a purchase commitment to acquire the entire share of its co-shareholder Lion Capital”, an investment fund that owns 51% of Picard Surgelés, according to its press release Monday.
Increased participation
Due to the completion of the transaction, which is expected “during the first quarter of 2025”, the British fund will leave “after 15 years of presence in the capital of Picard Surgelés”.
“This new step is a continuation of the work that began four years ago and allows us to further increase our commitment to Picard’s success,” said Moez-Alexandre Zouari, the Casino group’s major franchisee and owner of the Maxi Bazar and Stokomani bazaar brands .
Also a shareholder of the distributor Teract (Gamm Vert, Jardiland, Boulangeries Louise), he was for a while also a candidate for the takeover of the Casino group, together with businessmen Xavier Niel and Matthieu Pigasse. Czech billionaire Daniel Kretinsky eventually took over the group with the Monoprix, Franprix and CDiscount brands.
“I look forward to working even more closely with management and employees, to continue the ambitious development strategy we have defined for Picard and thus work towards its success in France and internationally,” said Moez-Alexandre .
Old “ice boxes”
As a famous brand, Picard is celebrating this year “the 50th anniversary of its first frozen products store, which opened in 1974 in Paris”. She pointed out in March that it was a “key date, after 1906, the year of the creation of the company Les Glacières de Fontainebleau”, her forefathers supplying ice cakes to Paris cafes, and “1920, the year . of the purchase of the company by Mr. Picard who gave it his name.
Picard, chaired by former head of Franprix Cécile Guillou, today has 1,185 points of sale, for approximately 1.7 billion euros in annual turnover during the latest known financial year, closed on March 31, 2023, and employs approximately 4,500 a person The brand is present in Europe, the Middle East and Asia with dedicated stores or spaces (“corners”).
The brand specializes in essentially marketing products that have set recipes and specifications under their own brands, a model that is generally more profitable than selling products from major national brands.
In addition, freezing losses are greatly reduced and some food retailers envy the brand’s margins. Picard is the market leader in frozen food specialists, well ahead of its competitor Thiriet.
Outgoing Lion Capital fund managing director Lyndon Lea said he was “proud of the role” his fund had played “in Picard’s evolution over the last 15 years”.
“As usual, we are leaving our partner with a profitable company, well positioned in the market and ready to continue its growth,” he said, looking forward to “offering a very good result to our investors.”