DIY Superstore VILLIERS-SUR-MARNE BRICORAMA

Bricorama is a French chain of retail specialized in DIY, now based in Villiers-sur-Marne. The brand was acquired by the Les Mousquetaires group in January 2018.

The first store of the chain opened its doors in 1968, in Rouen¹, on the site of a material trade owned by SCAC (Société commerciale d'Afrique centrale). It had several subsidiaries including SCAC Transport, SCAC Bois, SCAC Voyage. The SCAC Matériaux subsidiary created, under the impetus of Michel Monier, the first modern DIY store as we know it today.

At the end of the 1970s, the brand expanded by opening owned stores and franchising traditional hardware stores that sought to modernize their business.

In the early 1980s, a new general manager was appointed by SCAC. But the group encountered serious internal problems; it was then bought by Vincent Bolloré who dismantled it.

In 1975, Jean-Claude Bourrelier opened a first DIY store, with a partner, in Paris, Place d'Italie, La Maison du 13^th. In 1980 the brand Batkor was created.

Vincent Bolloré then dismantled the group he had bought. Bricorama, a subsidiary selling DIY materials of the group, passed under the control of Carrefour-Euromarché-Euroloisir then Castorama which was obliged (anti-monopoly law) to separate from a few stores. In 1992, taking advantage of the dismantling, Jean-Claude Bourrelier bought about fifteen stores and the name Bricorama.

In 1995, La Bricaillerie, specializing in small DIY, was acquired. In 1997, the continental branch (located in the Benelux) of the British group Wickes was acquired. In 1998, Outirama was acquired.

In 2001, Bricorama acquired the six Bricostore stores^2,3,4.

In 2009, Bricorama opened a store in Tunisia⁵. It was a franchise granted to Med Business Holdings owned by Imed Trabelsi, a member of the Ben Ali clan. After the fall of the Ben Ali regime in 2011, the Tunisian state took control of the company as part of the confiscation law. In 2016, the company lost its franchise rights on Tunisia and Libya⁶.

2010s

In October 2012, the Versailles Court of Appeal rendered a judgment that condemned Bricorama, in application of the so-called "Maillié" law of 10 August 2009 which reaffirms the principle of Sunday rest, to close on Sundays 32 stores in Île-de-France⁷.

In October 2013, Jean-Claude Bourrelier denounced the impunity enjoyed by his competitors on the issue of Sunday store closures⁸. A decree of 31 December 2013 authorized certain DIY stores to open on Sundays until 1 July 2015⁹.

On 12 February 2014, the authorization was suspended by the judge of summary proceedings of the Council of State¹⁰.

On July 5, 2017, the group of independent distributors Les Mousquetaires, known for its Intermarché and Bricomarché brands, entered into exclusive negotiations to buy Bricorama to create the number three DIY in France. In a joint statement, Bricorama and ITM Équipement de la maison, a subsidiary of the Les Mousquetaires group that operates Bricomarché and Brico Cash, announced that they have signed a non-binding and preliminary agreement providing for ITM to acquire the French and Spanish activities of Bricorama, as well as its Asian sourcing office. Bricorama's activities in Belgium would thus not be sold nor the store walls¹¹.

At the end of 2017, the brand was bought by the Les Mousquetaires group via its subsidiary ITM Equipement de la Maison¹².

The acquisition was authorized on December 18 by the High Authority subject to the commitment of the sale of five Bricorama outlets and a franchise agreement. For these outlets, indeed, and in these catchment areas, it considered that the acquisition created "serious doubts about competition" (there are 164 Bricorama stores in France, including 107 integrated and 57 franchised)¹³.

The stores concerned are located in Cahors (Lot), Belley (Ain), Gourdan-Polignan (Haute-Garonne), Lannion (Côtes d'Armor), and Soissons (Aisne). As for the franchised store, it is the one in Saint-Aignan (Loir-et-Cher)¹⁴.