Formes & Sculptures façonne l’avenir avec Crédit Mutuel Equity

Formes & Sculptures is a French company known for designing merchandizing material for pop-up and permanent retail outlet POS, specializing in the luxury and cosmetics sectors. The group was founded in 1985 by Jacques Tenenhaus, and is now run by Mathias Tenenhaus, representing the second generation. The SMB has total sales of 35 M €, and, in opening its capital to an investor for the first time, wanted both to continue its overseas expansion, specifically by way of external growth operations, and also to federate its principal executives in order to build a real project which would take the group forward while retaining its independence.

Formes & Sculptures works mainly in the cosmetics, perfume and luxury industries, as they are the principal consumers of POS materials. This family-run business has the edge on its competitors due to agility in the design process. The manufacturing base is spread over 3 sites (France, Serbia and China) and is able to respond quickly whether the projects are large and international or small volume runs on local markets. Multi-material factories are grouped together and manufacture pop-up POS materials and permanent fittings offering excellent value for money and respecting eco-design principles. The company has integrated a highly innovative CSR process, which is still rare this sector, and it takes product life cycle into account, covering design, manufacture, installation and recycling stages.

Furthermore, Formes & Sculptures is internationally structured and one of the sector leaders, being present in China in particular, which allows preferential access to the Asian market. The group employs 150 people based in Bléré (in the Loire, south of Tours) where the R&D offices and a 18 000 m2 plant are located, and in Paris where the design studio and sales department are based.

« We would like a change of scale while strengthening our international presence, and to extend our business to the watchmaking and jewelry, and eyewear, markets. We are targeting the Swiss and Italian luxury brands by way of internal or external growth. The Crédit Mutuel Equity approach of working alongside us long term attracted us, in addition to their expertise, realism and networks, because they will provide us with tools for planning and this will help us in strategic decision-making. We aim to double turnover in 5 to 7 years » explains Mathias Tenenhaus.

« We are investing 7.3 Million € in this great, family-run SMB which, over the last 30 years, has been able to establish a portfolio containing 220 prestige brands in a demanding and challenging sector. We believe in the company’s development capability, particularly on an atomized market which is suitable for the type of acquisitions operations we specialize in. Formes & Sculptures has convincing arguements: high quality, a full service offer, it can respond to international calls for tender, its business model has proved solid and its top management provides complementarity by investing significantly in the operation. We feel that this positioning will allow Formes & Sculptures to continue its progress both in its historically proven market segments and in the new segments it is targeting. », Thierry Aubert and Romain Freismuth, Principals at Crédit Mutuel Equity.

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