All this has left us a little time he smiles

He dreamed to dethrone eBay, they succeeded! The scale of the sector, this is a small revolution has announced, last week, the Federation of distance (Fevad) selling, indicating that the French PriceMinister is was hoisted, during the second quarter, at the forefront of e-commerce sites most visited in France. First, which means before its eBay competitor, the American giant sales auction on the Internet... Ten years after its creation, we measure the path taken by this company, whose first purpose was to connect buyers and sellers of CDs or books. Suitcases at the time, its founder, Pierre Kosciusko-Morizet, his associates and colleagues lined up in a small apartment in rue Quincampoix in Paris. His idea: imitate the US site Half an opportunity online library which person or almost had heard of this side of the Atlantic. The success exceeded expectations: installed in 2,000 metres square boulevard de la Villette, Paris, PriceMinister now 200 employees and claiming 11 million unique visitors per month. A key, an annual business volume of 500 million, generated by the exchanges between users. The business fare this year, with each completed transaction commissions, a near turnover of EUR 50 million.

These figures, and more overall success PriceMinister model who has been able to diversify, including real estate ads or travel, were sooner or later lead to covetous. June 17, the Rakuten, Japanese leader of e-commerce group, bought all of the capital of the company for EUR 200 million, of which 40 are returned to the founders. A change which is not really a since the buyer is committed to letting the current management in place for five years...

In the global world of electronic commerce, dominated by the American giants Amazon and eBay, PriceMinister success could pass for an isolated case. There is nothing. Over the past ten years, many other sites have emerged in France and was a place on this very disputed niche. Parties are also zero, booming Internet, they have the name Cdiscount, sale-privacy, Pixmania, RueDuCommerce, Spartoo or Sarenza. All are among the fifteen sites the most popular Internet - French but also, increasingly, European - resistant as well to the powerful American competitors to more aggressive offensives mail-order companies and distributors, anxious to catch a market become colossal...

A benign environment

As a start-up Internet French knew to move such rank, and especially to maintain while competition is raging, that one must be extremely reactive and that a client lost due to bad service is well rarely recovered, is "a situation unique in Europe", observes Marc Lolivier, Delegate General of the Fevad. The "pure players" German or British e-commerce be counted on the fingers of a hand, indeed.

The "French exception", the co-founder of the site for the sale of consumer electronics products Pixmania, Jean - Emile Rosenblum explains in the first place by a "favourable starting environment". "". Amazon development was hampered here by Act Galland prohibition of the sale at a loss, or the unique price of the book, he recalls. "At the same time, distributors such as FNAC, Darty had difficulty passing the corner of the Internet", victims of a war internal having seen opposing proponents of e-commerce employees in traditional stores, who feared losing their jobs. "All this has left us a little time", he smiles. Another positive element: the timidity of the "véadistes" traditional, such as La Redoute or 3 Swiss, at the beginning of the rise of the Internet: "they have enough invested, argues Pierre Kosciusko-Morizet, simply to manage the transition from the paper catalog to the Web, without increasing their market share. And they have not been able to attract good engineers who preferred to participate on an adventure of a Parisian start-up that work to Roubaix... "Buyer of Sarenza, a site for the sale of moribund shoes, that it has restated, and which is now almost equal game with its French rival Spartoo, Stéphane Treppoz advance as a third argument:" once installed on their huge domestic market, the Americans attacked Europe, but first to Britain for cultural reasons, then the Germany. ".

A benign environment, therefore. But which does not explain everything. "All these entrepreneurs have one thing in common, says an observer: they are charismatic individuals, who were able to develop their business and embody it, but also individuals magnet work in a team, like the Rosenblum at Pixmania brothers, three brothers Charles of Cdiscount or of three founding partners of Spartoo.". A description in which Jacques-Antoine Granjon is quite, too. Millionaire CEO-founder of sale-Privacy - one of the most beautiful French successes of e-commerce with a turnover without doubt close to 800 million euros this year and more than 1,300 employees , the character grows its originality. With its look of rock star 70's, his beard to the Gainsbourg, her hair falling on the shoulders and his ring finger, this baroque contractor had fortune at the time of the explosion of the Internet. He then faced the world for textile end of series products for resale to a discounters. Then he had the idea to adapt this job to the digital world, by organizing sales private on the Web, but caring the slightest detail as if it were a fashion show. In the old industrial buildings that it was redeveloped in huge loft, it crosses models, photographers, designers and engineers, in a constant search for innovation and staging. "Thanks to this tool, we recognise the value to the end-of cycle products brands want to get rid, commented on it. With our 11 million members in Europe, which will be on site a given average of 50 to 70, we are able to sell hundreds of thousands of pieces of the same mark in a single day.

How, for its part, the amazing journey of the French leaders in e-commerce The response is unexpected, but quite reassuring. "The Anglo-Saxons developed the trade in large distribution groups." The Germans have done, but on a smaller scale. The French, they are very creative and have a mentality of contractor.

But all is not rosy for... Because experience shows: the hexagonal shoots are fairly quickly restricted in their development, while they have a vital need to reach the critical size. Result: either by need for capital to go to the onslaught of new markets or to take advantage of the power of purchasing a larger Player size, number of French start-up as PriceMinister, chosen to sell to an industrialist. CDiscount resumed by Casino, who thus learns the trade. Jean-Charles Naouri, the pattern of the Saint-Etienne Distributor, has also acquired a 10 ticket in the capital of RueDuCommerce, one of the few companies to be traded. And Fotovista, Pixmania mother house, is passed under majority control of the British IMSB, number two European distribution of engineering.

Of course, in many cases, French e-commerce entrepreneurs received the purchaser remain at the controls. But their fate is to pass under the Cup another if they want to accelerate their growth "Today, remain alone is impossible, noted Jean - Emile Rosenblum, with two exceptions: the American Amazon, protected by its size, and sale-Privacy French used by the originality of its model." Jacques - Antoine Granjon which contradict is not: "virtually, it says that my site is from 1 to 3 billion euros, entrusts the pattern of sales-privacy. This is the bonus to our development potential is huge. "But human ensures not be interested in an introduction on the stock market, still less by an assignment. "My strategy". Become a registered global, capable medium term release all European brands, summarizes. And work on the long term. We are still at the beginning of the development of e-commerce, the rest adventure writing.

Illustrated chart: quarterly balance sheet of the e-commerce on lesechos.fr/tvlesechos.fr/tv