INTERNATIONAL. Open D Group has sold its European business and concluded a global agreement with fellow branding, design and brand experience company Lonsdale.
The two independent companies have joined forces to offer clients a global and integrated service across their areas of expertise in corporate, consumer, retail and digital branding.
Open D Group will drive the alliance in the Middle East, Asia and the USA), regions where it already generates the major part of its US$22 million billing.
 |
Lonsdale Chairman Frederic Messian (left) and Open D Group CEO Laurent Cauce |
 |
Lonsdale (a US$21 million operation) will manage the partnership in Europe. The group has acquired a majority share of the Paris office of Sparkle, a design agency specialised in premium brands, and the Paris and Geneva offices of Retail Access, a design agency dedicated to retail architecture.
The opening of new offices is slated for 2016, in Europe or Latin America.
Lonsdale said: “Through this deal, Lonsdale can immediately propose to its clients a local servicing in their strategic hubs (Dubai, Singapore, Hong Kong and New York).
“Sparkle will fuel further the specific service “˜Beautiful Brands’, dedicated to luxury and premium brands and initiated a year ago. The integration of the Retail Access French and Swiss teams will allow [the group] to fully control all the value adding of retail branding (concepts creation, merchandising, roll-out).
 |
Open D Group will still provide its international clients with roll-out opportunities in Europe under Lonsdale responsibility.
Open D Group Chairman and CEO Laurent Caucé said: “I am really looking forward to the next evolution of Open D Group, focused from the start towards an international growth. This alliance will allow us to consolidate our European expertise and probably speed up the opening of new offices.”
Lonsdale Chairman Frédéric Messian said: “Lonsdale, was achieving from Paris close to 20% of its revenue with projects outside France. Thanks to this win-win agreement between two independent groups managed by entrepreneurs sharing the same values, we can actively contribute to the global growth of all our clients’ brands.”
