A bit of history
2015 experienced a tectonic change in the Chargeurs shareholding with 28% of the equity changing hands (see Governance section). This brought to an end about 25 years of management by Mr Eduardo Malone backed by the historical main shareholder of Chargeurs, Mr Seydoux. Both then exercised their control through convertibles that were converted in September 2015. An ad hoc grouping of investors named Columbus Holding SAS has since been the new “reference” shareholder. Columbus has been set up for the sole purpose of owning Chargeurs shares and is managed by Mr Michaël Fribourg who also acts as the Chairman and CEO of Chargeurs SA. The relative weights of the Columbus shareholders remain unknown but Mr Fribourg made it clear by early 2019 that he had gained the “vast majority” of Columbus. Columbus itself may be geared to some extent as Chargeurs has established a proactive dividend policy.
Convincing drive
The big change introduced by the new owner and manager is to pursue a clear line of profitable growth across the existing four lines of business. They are identified as niche businesses but big enough, due to the world reach of Chargeurs, to offer considerable earnings/dividends prospects provided there is a process to address that growth potential.
Over the last five years, it is clear that the new governance has whipped into positive action existing businesses and managed to surround itself with a new breed of entrepreneurial managers at headquarter level. This appears to result in a positive mixture of extracting more from existing operations through a development logic (as opposed to the cost-paring obsessions of too many managers) and preparing the group for quality growth through well-prepared acquisitions.
Next big step
Chargeurs’ drive for growth has set a 2024 target at €800m with a 9% to 10% EBITDA margin and a €1bn target as of 2025. This will require a combination of organic growth and a contribution from acquired growth in luxury goods.
