Experienced Capital takes 43% stake in Sessùn

It is the first time that Sessùn opens its capital to an external investor. The company's founder and CEO, Emma François, will hold the remaining 57% stake.

Launched in January 2016 by Frédéric Biousse, Elie Kouby and Emmanuel Pradère, Experienced Capital invests from a €78m fund focusing on the retail sector, targeting "affordable luxury" brands. The GP is aiming to invest in around 10 companies with the vehicle, of which seven have already been completed. Investors in Experienced Capital include BNP Paribas and a number of French entrepreneurs and family offices.

Experienced Capital has previously backed retail companies Balibaris, Soeur, Maison Standards, Le Slip Français, Figaret and Jimmy Fairly.

Sessùn will look to expand its network of boutiques across France and abroad. The brand owns nine shops located in Paris, Marseille, Bordeaux, Toulouse, Avignon and Aix-en-Provence, as well as two franchises in Germany and Belgium. It also distributes its products via a network of 800 partner shops.

Over the next six years, Sessùn hopes to see the number of its boutiques grow to 40, with new openings planned in various countries. It also targets revenues of €70-100m by then – a significant step-up for the current €20m.

Company
Launched in Marseille in 1995, Sessùn first started as a wholesale company before it opened its first shop in Paris in 2004. The brand mostly focuses on female clothing, jewellery, shoes and accessories, but recently also launched a wedding collection and an interior decoration line.

Sessùn sells its products via a network of nine boutiques, as well as through franchises and partner shops, in France, Germany and Belgium. It currently generates €20m in revenues with €2m in EBITDA, and employs 80 people.

People
Experienced Capital – Frédéric Biousse, Elie Kouby, Emmanuel Pradère (co-founders).

Advisers
Equity – Goodwin, Jérôme Jouhanneaud, Simon Servan-Schreiber (legal).
Target – BBLM & Associés, Fabien de Saint-Seine, Bernard Dumas (legal).

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• Topics
• Expansion
• France
• Consumer
• France