PAX CORPORATE FINANCE, is pleased to announce that the shareholders and founders of the OPTICAL DISCOUNT group have agreed to join the ALAIN AFFLELOU group. The terms and conditions of the transaction are confidential.
Founded 25 years ago by GILLES MERIDJEN and STEPHANE LALOUM, OPTICAL DISCOUNT is a chain of franchised optical stores with over 90 stores as of the transaction date. The positioning of the chain is an offer of quality products at discount prices: glasses, lenses and optical products. The company’s developed turnover is in the order of 35 million euros in 2014.
For its part, the ALAIN AFFLELOU group launched an “entry-level” chain of stores in 2010 under the name CLARO, with 65 stores by the end of 2014. The CLARO boutiques are at the end of this transaction, destined to quickly join OPTICAL DISCOUNT. The acquisition of OPTICAL DISCOUNT gives the ALAIN AFFLELOU group a leading brand in the discount segment. The OPTICAL DISCOUNT network thus becomes the 7th network at national level.
Frédéric Poux, Chairman of the ALAIN AFFLELOU group, said: “Within 3 years, the brand’s ambition is to expand this network to around 300 boutiques in France and also to have an international presence in Spain, Portugal and Belgium.
Karine Curtis Osorovitz, Partner PAX CF in charge of the transaction added “We are very honoured and happy at PAX to have been able to lead this synergistic transaction between Gilles and Stéphane’s group, the 2 extremely talented founders of OPTICAL DISCOUNT and the ALAIN AFFLELOU group; we are convinced that this association will bring rapid growth”.
