Alain Némarq, CEO of French jeweller Mauboussin, in negotiations to become owner

The CEO of French jeweller Mauboussin, Alain Némarq, who has a 15% stake in the company, told the AFP agency on Wednesday he has started exclusive negotiations with Mauboussin’s holding company to acquire a majority interest in the jeweller.

Mauboussin, a family business founded in 1827, was bought by Swiss entrepreneur Dominique Frémont in 2002, when Némarq took charge as CEO. Némarq, 66, currently holds a 15.7% stake in Mauboussin, while Dominique Frémont, via his DPF holding company, owns the remaining 84.3%.

In a press release issued on Wednesday, “Alain Némarq, CEO of Mauboussin, announced he has entered exclusive negotiations with DPF Holding, owner of Mauboussin, in order to acquire a majority stake in Mauboussin.”

No details were given about the value of the operation, or its terms.

After taking charge in 2002, Némarq reorganised and relaunched the jewellery brand, which reported a revenue of €75 million for 2018, and operates about sixty stores and retail corners in France.

Némarq did not hesitate to break with industry tradition as soon as he joined Mauboussin, making it the first jeweller to post the price of its products on its advertisements, blanketing the Paris underground with them.

Each year, Mauboussin sells about 60,000 pieces of jewellery - with rings priced from €395, for the ‘Capsule d'émotions’ model - and just under 25,000 watches. A high jewellery line was also launched in 2017.

Four years ago, the brand began to relocate its production in France and Europe, at a time when 30% of its output was made in China, 25% in India and 20% in Thailand. “I brought back to Europe 98% of our jewellery production, over 70% of it in France. It was a deliberate policy, when some competitors were instead delocalising. I wanted to improve service, cut my logistics costs and benefit from a shorter time to market,” said Némarq to the AFP agency in October 2018.