Crédit Agricole Private Equity sells its shareholding in MonShowroom.com to Groupe Casino

For immediate release – February 28, 2012

Crédit Agricole Private Equity has sold its stake in MonShowroom.com to Groupe Casino – now a minority shareholder alongside the company’s founders. Crédit Agricole Private Equity’s venture capital team has been very active over the past 12 months. This deal represents the eighth disposal completed by the team during the period.

MonShowroom.com is an online web site selling womenswear and fashion accessories. It offers inseason collections from a large number of ready-to-wear brands. Founded in September 2006 by two young entrepreneurs–Séverine Grégoire and Chloé Ramade–the company now sells items from around 200 different brands, has 30 employees and attracts 500,000 unique visitors to its web site every month.

In early 2009, when the online fashion site generated sales of just €2 million, Crédit Agricole Private Equity invested €1.6 million in the company. The success it achieved in womenswear, backed up by the launch of menswear and childrenswear ranges and of its own brands, paved the way for MonShowroom.com to generate sales of over €20 million in 2011, with sustained profitability.

“This strategic combination represents the culmination of MonShowroom.com’s flawless development track record. It reflects the professionalism, perseverance and common sense that the two founders have demonstrated consistently since the inception of the business. They have shown that it is possible to deliver both strong growth and profitability”, commented Michel de Lempdes, Director at Crédit Agricole Private Equity.

“Crédit Agricole Private Equity has supported us with our tremendous development over the past three years. The ready-to-wear universe is now reaching maturity, making it a good time for us to join forces with an industry player in order to support and accelerate MonShowroom.com’s expansion. We are now moving on to a new phase in our development”, added Séverine Grégoire, co-founder of the web site.

 

Investment representatives

Crédit Agricole Private Equity
Michel de Lempdes, Director
François-Xavier Dedde, Investment Manager

Advisers

Crédit Agricole Private Equity and MonShowroom.com:
Transaction R (Pierpaolo Carpinelli, Jennifer Johns, Marguerite Mell)
Cabinet Reed Smith (Lucas d’Orgeval, Indranee Dursun)

About Crédit Agricole Private Equity

Crédit Agricole Private Equity is a key player in the private equity market, dedicated to financing SMEs. Crédit Agricole Private Equity provides companies with the equity needed to expand at every stage of their development: LBO & Expansion, Venture Capital, Mezzanine, Co-Investment, Renewable Energy and PPP Infrastructure.
Crédit Agricole Private Equity has signed up to the United Nations’ Principles for Responsible Investment (PRI).

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