Business transfers

Nov 2019

Formes & Sculptures is shaping the future with CM-CIC Investissement

Customers and counterparties

Formes & Sculptures primarily targets the cosmetics, perfume and luxury industries, the main consumers of POS displays. The family group’s agility in the creation process sets it apart from its competitors. Production facilities located at three sites (France, Serbia and China) are able to quickly handle large international projects as well as short runs for local markets. They include multi-equipment plants at which temporary POS displays and permanent units are produced at the best quality-price ratio based on eco-design principles. The company has developed a highly innovative integrated CSR approach – still rare in this sector – which takes into account the product’s life cycle from design, manufacture and installation to recycling.

In addition, Formes & Sculptures is a leader in the international formal sector, particularly in China, which gives it broad access to the Asian market. The group’s 150 employees are based in Bléré (37), which houses an engineering department and an 18,000 m2 factory, and Paris, home to the creative studio and commercial services.

“We would like to scale up by increasing our international presence and expanding our business to include the watch, jewellery and eyewear markets. Switzerland and Italy are targets for expansion among luxury firms, through internal or external growth. CM-CIC Investissement’s long-term supportive approach, its expertise, its pragmatism and its network appealed to us, because they give us relevant analysis tools that help us make strategic choices. We plan to double sales in five to seven years,” explains Mathias Tenenhaus.
“We are investing €7.3 million in this outstanding family-owned SME, which in 30 years has been able to build a portfolio of 220 prestigious brands in a demanding and challenged sector. We believe in its development capacity, particularly in a fragmented market conducive to acquisitions in which we will be sure to participate. Formes & Sculptures’ strong selling points include its high quality, its full service offering, its ability to respond to international calls for tender, its robust business model and the complementary strengths of its top management, which is investing heavily in the transaction. We believe this positioning will enable Formes & Sculptures to continue to grow both in its historical market segments and in the new targeted sectors,” explain Thierry Aubert and Romain Freismuth, Investment Managers at CM-CIC Investissement.

Associate members