FRANCE/INTERNATIONAL. Lagardère Travel Retail has entered into an agreement to acquire Marché, the international multi-brand food services company. The Paris-based travel retailer will acquire 100% of the shares in Marché International, the holding company of the Marché group, headquartered in Switzerland.
Through the transaction, which is expected to complete by Q1 2023, Lagardère Travel Retail will take over the restaurant network of Marché in six countries: Germany, Austria, Croatia, Slovenia, the Czech Republic and Singapore. The agreement does not include franchised Marché operations in its home market of Switzerland.
The move marks a further strengthening of the Lagardère foodservice portfolio and extends its portfolio of dining brands. The company said it “confirms its long-standing strategic ambition to grow across all segments of activities in travel retail and dining to holistically cover landlord and traveller needs”.
Marché operates in travel and leisure locations including airports, railway and motorway stations, zoos and downtown malls. The company’s diverse portfolio of brands and concepts includes the Marché brand, Palavrion, Cindy’s diner and the White Monkey, and covers a broad range of customer needs and budgets.
Lagardère Travel Retail highlighted the “freshness and quality” of the Marché food offering. It noted that this represents an opportunity to strengthen Lagardère Travel Retail’s foodservice European network, in Germany in particular. It will also enable Lagardère Travel Retail to diversify its operations in Singapore by adding F&B to existing travel essentials and duty free & fashion stores. With the transaction, Lagardère Travel Retail will expand its geographical footprint to Slovenia.
Lagardère Travel Retail Chairman & CEO Dag Rasmussen said: “We are very happy to be integrating Marché’s network of innovative and creative concepts to further consolidate our global F&B expertise in Europe and Asia. Our two companies share a commitment to deliver world-class dining experiences to travellers, with a focus on the highest possible standards of quality and customer service.
“Drinking and dining is an essential part of the traveller’s journey which is why we have steadily invested into our foodservice growth and expertise over the past few years. In today’s environment, landlords and travellers expect we approach their needs holistically. We firmly believe that with our long-standing focus on strategically growing travel essentials, duty free and foodservice, we are uniquely positioned to make the most of changing market dynamics and efficiently achieve sales growth.”
In 2019, the Lagardère Travel Retail foodservice business achieved over €1 billion in sales, doubling its turnover in three years.
