“
We are not new to fish and Asian cuisine
”.
For Denis Lambert, chairman of the board of the LDC group (Poulets Loué et le Gaulois, Maître Coq, Marie ...), the recent acquisition made by the Sarthe group in sushi is not a revolution.
And yet, the poultry farm better known for its chicken breasts or its Marie ready meals, is entering an unexpected turning point.
At the beginning of November, the group, savior of Doux in 2018 and leader of the poultry sector in France, thus acquired 60% of Asia General Food from its founders.
It is a specialist in sushi and Asian cuisine kiosk concessions in supermarkets, under the Sushi Master brand.
A concept that exploded in the early 2000s, with hypermarkets seeing it as a way to animate and support traffic in their declining stores.
80 corners within 5 years
LDC does not communicate on the amount of the transaction, but displays its ambitions for its new subsidiary, which achieves 11 million euros in turnover with around thirty bars in supermarkets in France.
“
Within 5 years, we are targeting 80 corners and 40 million euros in turnover
,” explains Denis Lambert.
This is a small diversification for LDC and its 4.4 billion euros in sales.
But the group has relied on the undeniable taste of the French for twenty years for a simple and balanced dish.
Beyond restaurant chains, sales of sushi in supermarkets represent 21% of sushi purchases in France (222 million euros), according to panels of distributors.
“
Even though we already buy a lot of fish for our catering activities (15% of the activity) or for our Asian brands like Traditions d'Asie, the idea is to acquire know-how on this offer which requires freshness extreme and last-minute preparation,
explains the manager
.
We are also learning a new profession of franchisee
”.
According to the results, an extension of this concept of bar, to its original trade of poultry could be studied.
"
But rather in a second step
", specifies Denis Lambert.
Mature market in hypermarkets
To win, however, the group will have to compete with the historical ones in the sector: Sushi Daily and Sushi Gourmet, which have already installed their logos in several hundred supermarkets in France.
Or Sushi Shop, the restaurant chain that has also tried this format.
In hypermarkets, after several years of exploding these bars, the concept remains a classic but the market seems to have reached saturation point.
At Carrefour for example, one of the first to have tried these stands, 172 of the 200 French hypermarkets are already equipped.
Despite everything,
"sales continue to grow year after year on this concept"
, testifies a spokesperson for Carrefour.
Retailers and sushi chains are now studying the potential in supermarkets and convenience stores.
Formats acclaimed since the start of the crisis.