Shopinvest group

Shopinvest group is a French e-commerce holding company founded by Karine Schrenzel and Olivier Gensburger. The group's origins trace to 2006, when Karine Schrenzel launched MenCorner.com, an online retailer focused on men's grooming and beauty products. After spotting a gap in the market for men who wanted to shop for skincare and cosmetics without visiting physical stores, she built a successful vertical e-commerce site. In 2011, her husband Olivier Gensburger, an HEC and bar-trained graduate with a finance background, joined the venture. Together they raised funds in a record two months to finance the group's first acquisitions, and Shopinvest was born. The group's strategy is to develop e-commerce through acquisition and the pooling of resources across its portfolio of specialised online stores. Rather than competing head-on with generalist giants like Amazon, Shopinvest focuses on vertical niches where expert curation and a dedicated customer experience can win loyalty. Its portfolio has included sites in beauty, fashion, and other consumer segments, with MenCorner.com as its founding brand. Shopinvest is privately held and headquartered in Paris, France. It operates primarily in the French market and has expanded through both organic growth and acquisitions. The group continues to recruit talent to support its growth, as indicated by its ongoing hiring efforts across teams. Its leadership combines experience in e-commerce, private equity, and finance, which informs its acquisition-driven model.

Shopinvest group's history begins with Karine Schrenzel's entrepreneurial journey. After graduating from ESCP and working at Goldman Sachs, McKinsey, and the private equity firm Cinven, she launched her first e-commerce site, MenCorner.com, in 2006. The idea came from a dinner conversation where she heard a man say he wanted to try a real men's cream but could not find one in stores, and another complain about stealing his wife's moisturiser. She realised men faced two barriers to beauty products: reluctance to spend a Saturday browsing shops and discomfort asking sales assistants for advice. Already a fan of online shopping, she built MenCorner.com to serve this underserved market. The site was an immediate success. In 2011, her husband Olivier Gensburger, a graduate of HEC and a member of the bar, left his finance job to join the venture. Convinced by the relevance of an e-commerce development model based on acquisition and the pooling of resources, the couple raised funds in just two months to finance the first acquisitions. Together they founded the SHOPINVEST group, positioning it as a specialist in vertical e-commerce. The group's model was to identify and acquire specialised online retailers, then support them with shared services and expertise, rather than competing directly with generalist players like Amazon. Since its founding, Shopinvest has grown through acquisitions and continues to expand its portfolio of e-commerce sites. The group remains privately held and is based in France. It regularly recruits to support its growth, seeking competent and motivated individuals to join its various teams. The leadership's combined experience in e-commerce, private equity, and finance continues to drive the group's acquisition-led strategy.

• 2011

  Olivier Gensburger joins the venture; the couple raises funds in two months and founds the SHOPINVEST group.

• 2006

  Karine Schrenzel launches MenCorner.com, her first e-commerce site.

Specialised vertical e-commerce group that grows through acquisitions and shared resources, avoiding direct competition with generalist marketplaces.

• MenCorner.com

  Online retailer for men's grooming and beauty products, the group's founding site.

1. 1Shopinvest official websiteshopinvest.fr
2. 2Shopinvest - Aboutshopinvest.fr
3. 3Shopinvest group - Wikidatawikidata.org