Lagardère S.A. is an international group with operations in over 40 countries. Based in the 16th arrondissement of Paris, the group was founded and created in 1992 by Jean-Luc Lagardère under the name Matra, Hachette & Lagardère.
Headed by Arnaud Lagardère, it is focused around two main divisions: Lagardère Publishing and Lagardère Travel Retail. While its book and e-publishing division (Lagardère Publishing) includes the major imprint Hachette Livre, its Travel Retail (Lagardère Travel Retail) unit includes store retail, largely in airports[5] and railway stations.
The group's business scope also comprises other activities, mainly including Lagardère News (Le Journal du Dimanche and the Elle brand licence), Lagardère Radio (Europe 1, Europe 2, RFM), Lagardère Live Entertainment (production of concerts and shows and venue management) and Lagardère Paris Racing (sports club).
On November 21, 2023, Vivendi completed the purchase of a majority stake (60%) in Lagardère.[6][7][8]
By the following year, Vivendi announced a major breakup of its businesses. As a result, Vivendi's shares in Lagadère were transferred to Louis Hachette Group prior to its listing on December of that year.[9][10]
History
Hachette and Matra, the foundation of Lagardère
The starting point for what would become the Lagardère Group was Louis Hachette's acquisition of Parisian bookstore Brédif in 1826. Hachette published magazines dedicated to public entertainment (Le Journal pour Tous ["Everyone's Newspaper"], 1855) and also took part in publishing the Dictionnaire de la Langue française ("Dictionary of the French Language") with his friend Littré, starting in 1863. In 1953, Hachette launched Le Livre de Poche with Henri Filipacchi.[11]
Created in 1945, Matra (Mechanics/Aviation/Traction) was the company behind several technological projects, including creating a twin-engine aeroplane prototype able to travel at 800 km/h and breaking the sound barrier at Mach 1.4 in vertical flight for the first time in Europe. In 1990, Matra Espace and the aerospace division of Gec Marconi came together to create Matra Marconi Space.[12] Matra Hautes Technologies joined the aerospace industry and officially became Aerospatiale Matra on June 11, 1999.
Management
Until 30 June 2021, the management structure of Lagardère reflects its status as a société en commandite par actions (partnership limited by shares): the firm is led by general and managing partner Arnaud Lagardère,[50][51] who heads an executive committee comprising two co-managing partners (Pierre Leroy and Thierry Funck-Brentano), spokesperson and chief of external relations Ramzi Khiroun and chief financial officer Sophie Stabile.
Since the conversion of the company into a joint-stock company with a board of directors on 30 June 2021, Arnaud Lagardère was appointed as chairman and chief executive officer.[52]
The company is overseen by a board of directors, which has been chaired by Arnaud Lagardère since July 2021. Its other members are Valérie Bernis, Yannick Bolloré, Fatima Fikree, Marie Flavion (director representing employees), Pascal Jouen (director representing employees), Valérie Hortefeux, Véronique Morali, Arnaud de Puyfontaine, Michèle Reiser and Nicolas Sarkozy.[53]
Business lines
Lagardère Publishing
Lagardère Publishing is among the world's largest trade book publishers for the general public and educational markets, operating under the Hachette Livre imprint.[54] The division is a federation of publishing houses which specialise in education, general literature, illustrated books, part works, dictionaries, youth works, book distribution, etc.
Lagardère Publishing operates predominantly in English, French, and Spanish.
The division also invested in leisure activities adjacent to the world of publishing with the acquisition of companies specialised in mobile games (Neon Play[55] and Brainbow[56] in 2016), board games (Gigamic[57] and Blackrock Games[58]
Sustainability
In 2018, Lagardère Travel Retail committed to eliminating cage eggs from its global supply chain by 2025.[67]
Financial data
(*Excluding non-recurring/non-operating items ) / (**Restated for IFRS 15) / (***Restated for IFRS 16).
Lagardère shares are listed at Euronext Paris.
See also
- List of multinational corporations
- List of French companies