PPR S.A.

Type	Société Anonyme
Traded as	Euronext: PP
Industry	Retailing
Founded	1963
Founder(s)	François Pinault
Headquarters	Paris, France
Key people	François-Henri Pinault (Chairman and CEO)
Products	Luxury and sporting goods, mail order, store retail
Revenue	€14.61 billion (2010)[1]
Operating income	€1.337 billion (2010)[1]
Profit	€964.5 million (2010)[1]
Total assets	€24.69 billion (end 2010)[1]
Total equity	€11.65 billion (end 2010)[1]
Employees	50,245 (FTE average, 2010)[1]
Subsidiaries	fnac, Gucci Group, Puma (majority stake), Redcats
Website	www.ppr.com

PPR (previously known as Pinault-Printemps-Redoute until 18 May 2005) is a French multinational holding company which develop a worldwide brand portfolio (luxury, sport & lifestyle divisions and retail brands) distributed in 120 countries. The company was founded in 1963 by the businessman François Pinault and is now run by his son François-Henri Pinault. It is quoted on Euronext Paris and is a constituent of the CAC 40 index.

History[link]

Wood trade negotiation, the group’s origins[link]

On the 2nd June 1962, François Pinault officially opened the Etablissements Pinault, specialized in wood trade negotiation, and then in construction material. First a company from Bretagne, it grew organically and thanks to successive acquisitions, it reached national recognition. In 1987, the Pinault group took control of the paper-maker La Chapelle d’Arblay, which faced economic difficulties. It was then sold out to Finnish group Kymmene. Pinault SA was listed in the Second Marché of Bourse de Paris in 1988, and allowed institutions such as the Crédit Lyonnais or the AGF to invest in its company.

A diversification towards retail[link]

In March 1990, François Pinault was elected president of CFAO, which specialized in electrical material distribution and negotiation in Africa.

In April 1991, Pinault SA entered the retail distribution market, with the takeover of Conforama.

In 1992, the Group sold the Compagnie Industrielle d’Ameublement (kitchen furniture), of Ordo (office furniture) and Isoroy (wood panel makers). During the same year, The Pinault-Printemps Group was born out of the Au printemps SA takeover, which owned 54 % of La Redoute and Finaref. In 1993, the Armand Thierry company, bought by Le Printemps, was sold. Disco (Food-industry retailer) was also sold.

In 1994, La Redoute was absorbed by Pinault-Printemps, and renamed Pinault-Printemps-La Redoute. In July, the group took control of French retailer Fnac.

In 1995, the Group launched its first Website: www.laredoute.fr.

In 1996, CFAO bought SCOA, the main pharmaceutical distributor in West Africa. The same year, PPR created Orcanta, a lingerie distributor.

Over the following years, PPR continued to develop its activities in retail and home shopping sectors. In 1997, [[Redcats (PPR’s home shopping retailer, built around La Redoute) took control of Ellos, Scandinavia’s home shopping leader. The same year, Fnac created Fnac Junior, a concept-store which targets young people under 12.

In 1998, PPR continued its acquisitions in the home shopping sector: Redcats acquired 49, 9 % of Brylane (home shopping company in the United States). PPR also took control of Guilbert (specialized in office furniture retailing).

In 1999, Fnac launched its Website: www.fnac.com

Luxury sector strategy[link]

The year 1999 is the year when PPR first invested in the luxury sector, with a 42 % acquisition of Gucci Group NV. More acquisitions followed to build a stronger luxury identity for the Group: Yves Saint Laurent, YSL Beauty, Sergio Rossi. Then in 2000 the jeweller Boucheron, and the watchmaker Bedat & Cie. At the same time, PPR launched Citadium, a new sports boutique, and bought Surcouf.

In 2001, more luxury brand acquisitions followed: Gucci Group bought Bottega Veneta and Balenciaga, and signed partnership deals with Stella McCartney and Alexander McQueen. Between 2001 and 2004, PPR reinforced its capital participation in Gucci Group.

In 2002, PPR sold Facet, the subsidiary company of Conforama’s private card, to BNP Paribas, and Finaref, its financial services subsidiary, to Crédit Agricole. The same year, Guilbert’s home shopping activities were sold to Staples, while the following year its office-furniture negotiation activities were sold to Office Depot.

In 2003, PPR sold its Pinault Bois et Matériaux company to the British group Wolseley. After symbolizing the very first step of the Group in the wood trade sector, and becoming a famous French retailer in wood material construction, import and transformation, Pinault Bois was sold for 565 million euros.

In 2004, PPR sold the electrical material manufacturer Rexel. After a public bid, Pinault-Printemps-Redoute increased its shares to 99. 4 % of Gucci Group’s capital.

The 18 May 2005, Pinault-Printemps-Redoute changed its name to become simply PPR.

Progressive repositioning on Luxury and ‘Sport & Lifestyle’[link]

In 2006, PPR made a certain number of disposals, for example the sale of 51% of France Printemps (with brands such as Made in Sport and Citadium) to RREEF and the Borletti Group, as well as the lingerie company Orcanta, bought by Chantelle. Meanwhile, Redcats (which comprises La Redoute and many other home shopping companies) bought The Sportman’s Guide Inc.

With the acquisition of a control participation in Puma in 2007 (of 27, 1 %) and after acquiring a 62, 1 % share of Puma, the Group consolidated its position in the Sport & Lifestyle sector.In March 2007, PPR sold Kadéos to the Accor group.

In 2008 PPR sold YSL beauty to L’Oréal for 1,15 billion euros.

In 2009, Gucci Group sold Bedat & Cie, a Swiss watchmaker to Luxury Concepts. Then, PPR floated its subsidiary CFAO and gave up control (58 %). On December the 9th 2010, PPR announced that it was in exclusive negotiation with South-African company Steinhoff, in order to divest Conforama. On the 18 March 2011, the Group completed its disposal of Conforama to Steinhoff International, marking a new stage towards the Group’s evolution towards the Luxury and ‘Sport & Lifestyle’ sectors.

Bédat & Co - on February 25, 2009 Gucci announced a definitive agreement for the sale of Bédat & Co to Luxury Concepts Watches & Jewellery Sdn Bhd, the Malaysia-based brand management company, in partnership with Viviane Fankhauser, then acting CEO of the firm.^[2]

Conforama - sale to Steinhoff International Holdings agreed on 31 January 2011.^[3]

PPR, through its Puma subsidiary, bought into Wilderness Safaris, a South African company specialized in green luxury tourism (a fair-trade clothes line was launched building on the company’s image), and leading golf equipment manufacturer Cobra in 2010^[4]

On the 3rd May 2011, the Group launched a friendly bid for Volcom, a company specialized in action sports. This acquisition reinforces PPR’s new positioning. As François-Henri Pinault said : “PPR’s Sport & Lifestyle Group is well-positioned to develop in the promising segment of action sport, thanks to Volcom’s outstanding brand with strong identity and unique heritage,”.

In July 2011, PPR took control of the Sowind Group, the Swiss watchmaker, whose brands include Girard-Perregaux and JeanRichard.

In January 2012, PPR acquired Brioni.^[5]

Organization (January 2012)[link]

Organization and the Group’s brands[link]

PPR is made up of four operational branches: Luxury, Sport & Lifestyle, Fnac and Redcats. In 2012, the main brands of the Group are:

• The Luxury division comprising brands which design, make and sell luxury products, especially in the leather-good, shoe, ready-to-wear, watches and jewellery sectors. The brands are Gucci (100% share), Yves Saint Laurent (100% share), Sergio Rossi (100 %), Boucheron (100% share), Bottega Veneta (100 % share), Stella McCartney ( 50 % share), Alexander McQueen (51 % share), Brioni (100 % share), and Sowind Group (51 % share) with Girard-Perregaux and JeanRichard
• The ‘Sport & Lifestyle’ division comprises Puma (75 % share),apparel brand Tretorn and golf equipment specialist Cobra, action sport brand Volcom (100 % share) and Electric
• Redcats (100% share) is an American and European group of brands specialized in home shopping on the Internet. The brands are : La Redoute, Ellos, Brylane, Cyrillus, Vertbaudet, Somewhere, Daxon, Chadwick's and Castaluna, OneStopPlus.com, BrylaneHome, Woman Within, Jessica London, Roaman's, King Size, The Sportsman's Guide and The Golfwarehouse.
• Fnac (100 % share) is a leader in retailing, specialized in cultural goods (music, literature, cinema and video games), and electronics (Hi-Fi, computers, television) in France and in six countries including Belgium, Spain, Portugal, Brazil, Switzerland

Board of Directors[link]

• François Pinault - Honorary Chairman
• François-Henri Pinault - Chairman and CEO
• Jean-François Palus- Deputy CEO, CFO
• Patricia Barbizet -Vice-Chair of the Board of Directors
• Baudouin Prot- Director
• Philippe Lagayette - Director
• Caroline Puel – Director

amongst whom the Independent Directors are :

• Aditya Mittal
• Luca Cordero di Montezemolo
• Jean-Philippe Thierry
• Jean-Pierre Denis
• Laurence Boone
• Yseulys Costes

Executive Committee[link]

• François-Henri Pinault – Chairman and CEO
• Jean-François Palus – Deputy CEO, CFO
• Laurent Claquin – Head of PPR Americas
• Alexandre Bompard – Chairman and CEO, Fnac
• Philippe Decressac – Senior vice-president-Human Resources, PPR
• Jean-Michel Noir – Chairman and CEO, Redcats
• Jochen Zeitz – CEO of PPR’s Sport & Lifestyle division - Executive chairman of Puma SE- PPR’s Chief Sustainability Officer
• Fabien Sfez – E-business Senior Vice President
• Louise Beveridge – Head of Corporate Communication

Source : www.ppr.com

Competitors[link]

PPR's chief competitors in luxury goods conglomerates are LVMH and Richemont.

Financial and market data[link]

Financial data[link]

Sales which had an impact on the Group with the associated key dates :

• 2006 Sale of Le Printemps
• 2007 Acquisition of Puma
• 2008 Selling of YSL Beauté
• 2009 Sale of CFAO
• 2010 Sale of Conforama

PPR complies with the MSI 20000 financial standards.

Market data[link]

• Date of IPO : 25 October 1988, Second Marché
• Shares listed on the Bourse de Paris
• Member of the CAC 40 index since 9 February 1995
• Nominal value = euro
• Main shareholders :
  • Artémis 40,8 %

Commitments[link]

Home[link]

In 2009, François-Henri Pinault and PPR supported Home, a movie by Yann Arthus-Bertrand and co-produced by Luc Besson. To celebrate the movie’s official launch (on 5 June 2009), free screenings were made available across 100 countries: on television (France 2 on the night of its launch at 8:35pm in France), for the Internet ( via YouTube and a dedicated Website), and finally for movies and DVD and finally in several cities around the globe, including the Champ de Mars in Paris during open air projections. Home was seen by over 400 million people around the world ^[10]

PPR HOME[link]

In March 2011, PPR launched PPR Home For The Long Run, or PPR Home, under Jochen Zeitz’s responsibility.^[11] By moving beyond the traditional Corporate Social Responsibility model, this initiative sets a new standard in sustainability and business practice in the Luxury, Sport & Lifestyle and Retail sectors. “The deep conviction that Sustainability creates value is part of my strategic vision for PPR. Sustainability can – and must – give rise to new, highly ambitious business models and become a lever of competitiveness for our brands. PPR HOME will provide us with novel, more sustainable approaches to contribute to a better world for the long run“, said Francois- Henri Pinault, CEO of PPR.

PPR Foundation[link]

PPR launched PPR Corporate Foundation For Women’s Dignity And Rights in 2008, as part of PPR Home. Under the management of Céline Bonnaire, the PPR Foundation for Women’s Dignity and Rights develops and supports solidarity projects in partnership with Non-Governmental Organisations (NGOs) for women around the world. It is organized around five key pillars:

• Supporting projects that address violence against women
• Supporting projects that empower women
• Micro-finance
• Social entrepreneurs sponsorship
• Awareness raising and prevention programmes

References[link]

1. ^ ^{a b c d e f g} "Annual Report 2010". PPR. http://www.ppr.com/sites/default/files/fckfile/Document_financier_2010_VA.pdf. Retrieved 20 February 2011. 
2. ^ http://www.ppr.com/DataUploadFiles/publications/8671/Bedat%20&%20Co%20press%20release%2025%2002%2009.pdf
3. ^ Roberts, Andrew (31 January 2011). "Steinhoff Agrees to Buy PPR’s Conforama for 1.2 Billion Euros". Bloomberg Businessweek. Bloomberg. http://www.businessweek.com/news/2011-01-31/steinhoff-agrees-to-buy-ppr-s-conforama-for-1-2-billion-euros.html. Retrieved 20 February 2011. 
4. ^ http://www.reuters.com/article/2010/03/10/us-fortune-idUSTRE6293GS20100310
5. ^ http://votreargent.lexpress.fr/bourse/fiches-valeurs/ppr-finalise-l-acquisition-de-brioni-depeche_173771.html
6. ^ ^{a b c} Sources 2007 and 2008 and 2009
7. ^ http://www.ppr.com/en/finance/key-figures
8. ^ ^{a b} Source 2008 et 2009 : Document Financier PPR 2009
9. ^ http://www.ppr.com/fr
10. ^ http://www.homethemovie.org/en/informations-about-the-movie/fact-sheet
11. ^ http://uk.fashionmag.com/news-161311-PPR-launches-sustainability-initiative-with-PPR-Home-

External links[link]

Companies portal

• Official website

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