Lagardère Group
Lagardère is a multinational media conglomerate headquartered in the 16th arrondissement of Paris. The group was created in 1992 as Matra, Hachette & Lagardère and once covered a broad range of industries. It is now largely focused on the media sector, in which it is one of the world's leading companies. Headed by Arnaud Lagardère, the firm does business in almost 40 countries and is structured around four main business lines: its book and electronic publishing division includes the major imprint Hachette Livre. The Lagardère Travel Retail unit includes store retail, largely in airports and railway stations while the Lagardère Active unit encompasses newspaper, digital media and magazine publishing, radio and television broadcasting and production and advertising sales. Lagardère Sports and Entertainment engages in sports and talent management, sports academies, event management, marketing of sports broadcast rights and management of sports venues.
History
Hachette and Matra, the foundation of Lagardère
’s 1826 acquisition of Parisian bookstore Brédif was the starting point for what would one day be the Lagardère Group. Hachette published magazines dedicated to public entertainment, and also took part in publishing the Dictionnaire de la Langue française with his friend Littré beginning in 1863. In 1953, Hachette launched Le Livre de Poche with Henri Filipacchi.Created in 1945, Matra was the company behind several technological projects: creating a twin-engine airplane prototype able to travel at 800 km/h, breaking the sound barrier at Mach 1.4 in vertical flight for the first time in Europe. In 1990, Matra Espace and the aerospace division of Gec Marconi came together to create Matra Marconi Space. Matra Hautes Technologies joined the aerospace industry, and officially became Aerospatiale Matra on June 11, 1999. EADS, or the European Aeronautic Defence and Space Company, later Airbus, was founded on July 10, 2000, from the merger of Aérospatiale Matra SA, Aeronauticas SA, and DaimlerChrysler Aerospace AG. It officially launched the A380 program that same year. The aircraft would make its first flight in 2005.
Jean-Luc Lagardère and the birth of the group
In 1963, Jean-Luc Lagardère was appointed Chief Executive Officer of Matra, with 1,450 employees. In 1981, he became head of Hachette. In 1988, the group's first overseas acquisition was of Grolier Encyclopedias in the United States. In 1992, after a major year-long restructuring, Matra Hachette and Lagardère group were created. In 1990, Jean-Luc Lagardère turned to television, and became head of La Cinq, which had been suffering from financial problems since it began operations in 1986. The network's financial problems would worsen after Lagardère took control, and La Cinq ultimately ceased operations on 12 April 1992.Arnaud Lagardère and the group's refocus on media
In 1994, Hachette Livre launched the first multimedia encyclopedia, Axis. Also in 1994, Matra Hachette Multimedia presented EPSIS, the first image-substitution process for advertising. In 1998, Hachette Multimedia was born of the consolidation of the multimedia division of Hachette Livre and Grolier Interactive. A strategic agreement signed in 2000 by Lagardère and Deutsche Telekom to provide Internet service led to the merger of T-Online and Club-Internet.In 1995 Hachette acquired UCS, Canada's leading newsstand chain, and became the third largest operator in the international retail press trade. In 1996, Hachette Livre acquired the Hatier Group. In 1997, Hachette Livre won a string of literary prizes, including the Prix Goncourt and the Prix de l'Académie française with La Bataille by Patrick Rambaud. That same year, Europe 1 and Club-Internet launched Europe Info. In 2000, Hachette Distribution Services created Relay, an international brand specializing in selling media products at public points of sale. That same year, Lagardère and Canal+ got into digital television. In 2001, Lagardère acquired the Virgin Stores brand and Virgin Megastore in France. Hachette Filipacchi Médias has continued its growth by taking a 42% stake in the Marie-Claire Group.
From a conglomerate to a media-diversified group
With the death of Jean-Luc Lagardère on March 14, 2003, Arnaud Lagardère was appointed General Partner of Lagardère SCA. That same year, Lagardère sold off its interest in Renault as well as its automotive engineering business. In 2004, the Group acquired Vivendi Universal Publishing. After antitrust review, Lagardère kept 40% of the company, including the imprints Larousse, Dalloz, Dunod, Nathan, Armand Colin, and Sedes, and the Spanish division Grupo Anaya. The remainder was sold in 2004 under the name of Editis. Lagardère took advantage of the growth of TNT to launch the youth channel Gulli in partnership with France Télévisions.In 2006, Arnaud Lagardère created Lagardère Sports, a new subsidiary of the Group specializing in sports economics and sporting rights. Lagardère also became the new franchisee of the Croix-Catelan and the Rue Eblé sports and recreation sites, for a twenty-year period. On May 31, 2010, Lagardère Sports changed its name and became Lagardère Unlimited, a new branch of the group specializing in sport industry and entertainment.
On July 8, 2015, Lagardère Services was renamed Lagardère Travel Retail. On September 15, 2015, agencies of the Lagardère Group announced that they are being renamed under a common corporate brand: Lagardère Sports and Entertainment. This new brand will replace the brand of Lagardère Unlimited as one of the four divisions of the Lagardère Group. In addition, all sports marketing agencies within this division, including Sportfive, World Sport Group, IEC in Sports, Sports Marketing and Management and Lagardère Unlimited Inc., will now be unified under a single commercial brand, being Lagardère Sports with all entertainment businesses under the brand Lagardère Live Entertainment.
2010 shareholders meeting
Seventeen years after the creation of the limited partnership disputed by an American activist, the SCA was confirmed by nearly 80% of shareholders at the Shareholders Meeting on April 27, 2010.Agreement between Lagardère SCA and Hearst Corporation
On March 28, 2011, Lagardère SCA signed a contract for the sale of its international magazine business totaling 102 titles to Hearst Corporation for €651 million. The transaction includes a Master License Agreement relating to the ELLE trademark in the 15 countries affected by the transfer, in return for which the Group will receive an annual recurring royalty payment. Lagardère will retain complete ownership of its magazine business operations in France and of its ELLE trademark throughout the world. The closing of the transaction remains subject to approval by local partners in certain countries as well as to certain customary governmental approvals and antitrust clearances in certain jurisdictions.Sale of endurance sports division to WTC
In January 2016, Lagardère sold the endurance sports division to the World Triathlon Corporation. The transaction includes the ITU World Triathlon Series races in Hamburg, Abu Dhabi, Kapstadt, Leeds, and Stockholm; other running events like the Hamburg-Marathon, Hawkes Bay International Marathon, Marathon de Bordeaux, Queenstown Marathon and The Music Runs; and cycling events like the Cyclassics Hamburg, Velothon Berlin, Velothon Wales, Velothon Copenhagen, Velothon Stockholm, Velothon Stuttgart.Sale of most of the media assets
Since the first half of 2018, a plan to sell the Group's media assets has been underway at Lagardère Active. The Group has already divested a large number of assets, including international radio operations, the main digital assets, the interest in Marie Claire, most of the magazine publishing titles in France and the TV unit .Recent acquisitions
Lagardère Publishing acquired Perseus Books, Bookouture, La Plage and Worthy Publishing Group. Lagardère Travel Retail completed the acquisitions of Paradies as well as Hojeij Branded Foods.Management
The management structure of Lagardère reflects its status as a société en commandite par actions : the firm is led by general and managing partner Arnaud Lagardère who heads an executive committee comprising two co-managing partners, spokesperson and chief of external relations Ramzi Khiroun and chief financial officer Gérard Adsuar.Each of the four main divisions of the company has its own chairman and CEO, with Lagardère Publishing led by Arnaud Nourry, Lagardère Travel Retail by Dag Rasmussen and Lagardère Sports and Entertainment by Andrew Georgiou. In 2018, Denis Olivennes left Lagardère Active, and joins CMI France as Chairman.
The company is overseen by a largely independent supervisory board, which has been chaired by Xavier de Sarrau since April 2010. Its other members are Nathalie Andrieux, Soumia Belaidi Malinbaum, Martine Chêne, François David, Yves Guillemot, Jamal Benomar, Hélène Molinari, Gilles Petit, Aline Sylla-Walbaum, Susan M. Tolson and Patrick Valroff.
Business lines
- Lagardère Publishing
- Lagardère Travel Retail
End of 2013 Lagardère acquired the Dutch company: Gerzon Schiphol, Gerzon Duty Free and Gerzon Import. Gerzon has a long term concession for Fashion, Leather & Travel and holds stores at Amsterdam Schiphol Airport, among them Hermes, Burberry, Victoria Secret, Ralph Lauren and 9 multi brands in Fashion and Leather & Travel. With this step Lagardère is the first major travel retail company to set foot on Amsterdam Schiphol Airport. With the renovation of terminal 2 completing in Q1 2015 extra stores will be added like: Botega Veneta, Hermes, Burberry and Gucci. Gerzon has opened the 3rd location of Victoria's Secret in the Netherlands at Amsterdam Central Railway station. From the 1st of December 2015 Gerzon will become Lagardère Travel Retail the Netherlands.
In 2015, Lagardère Travel Retail acquired The Paradies Shops in North America, signing the agreement in August, and completing the acquisition in October. Paradies and Lagardère Travel Retail in North America were combined as Paradies Lagardère.
- Lagardère Sports and Entertainment
The division promotes the WTA Finals and operates the Casino de Paris. Among notable clients are the International Olympic Committee, Asian Football Confederation, Confédération Africaine de Football, Commonwealth Games, over 70 European football clubs, over 50 golf players and over 50 tennis players.
- Lagardère Active
Jean-Luc Lagardère Foundation
Since 1989, the Jean-Luc Lagardère Foundation has encouraged and supported creativity and diversity through partnerships in the spheres of culture, solidarity and sport. Each year, the Foundation awards grants to gifted young people with bold, creative projects in the culture and media world.It has rewarded young filmproducers like Carole Scotta founder of Haut et Court movie company, scriptwriters like Phil Ox who became producer in France and England, novelwriters including Agnes Desarthe, photographers like Emily Buzin and Tiane Doan Na Champassak and also journalists like Stephane Edelson that wrote in 1993 about the economist and banker Muhammad Yunus and the influence of his work on the empowerment of women.
Financial data
/| Year | 2018 |
| France | 31% |
| Western Europe | 25% |
| Eastern Europe | 11% |
| United States and Canada | 21% |
| Asia-Pacific | 9% |
| Others countries | 3% |
Lagardère shares are listed at Euronext Paris.