In August 2015, French company Lagardère Travel Retail announced that it had agreed to purchase Atlanta-based Paradies in a move that greatly enhanced the company’s North American presence. The $530 million deal, concluded in October 2015, resulted in the formation of Paradies Lagardère, the French firm’s North American division, with offices in both Atlanta and Toronto.
Gregg Paradies is heading up the new Paradies Lagardère as president and CEO and is based in Atlanta. Gerry Savaria is executive vice president, based in the Toronto office. ARN’s Carol Ward spoke with Paradies and Savaria about their visions for the company going forward.
Ward: What are the key synergies that you expect from the combination of LS Travel Retail (Lagardère) and Paradies?
Paradies: From a synergies standpoint, we complement each other very nicely, which is why I’m so excited about the merger. Geographically, Paradies has historically been very strong in the U.S., while Lagardère has been very strong in Canada. Our cultures are very much aligned, and that’s one thing that will not change. It’s a family culture where it’s a great place to work for strong performers. The brand portfolio is highly complementary. What is exciting from my standpoint, in addition to that, are the brands that Lagardère offers worldwide. A big part of Lagardere’s business internationally is the duty free business, and with the duty free business come the international ‘wow’ brands. We’re looking forward to leveraging the relationships that Lagardère has built over the years to bring those brands to North America. What is also very interesting is the strategies of the two companies. Gerry and I recently attended worldwide meetings of Lagardère with their CEOs from over 30 different countries. We heard the strategic objectives of Lagardère corporate, and they align very well with what Paradies and LS’ strategic objectives have been. A big part of it is food and beverage growth. Lagardère is now a EUR500 million-plus (US$537.4M) food business worldwide. We’re looking forward to leveraging many of the food brands that Lagardère operates internationally that would fit in Canada and the U.S.
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