Morellato buys French jewellery retailer Cleor for €50 million

By

Elena Passeri

Translated by
Nicola Mira

Published
Nov 15, 2019

Italian group Morellato, a European leader in the production and distribution of jewellery and watches, has announced the acquisition of French chain Cleor, one of the country's leading jewellery retailers. The investment for the acquisition was just shy of €50 million.

Through this new operation, the group led by Massimo Carraro continues to implement its ambitious international expansion plan, which kicked off in 2018 and has already resulted in the acquisition of Italian watch and jewellery e-tailer Kronoshop and French wholesaler Mister Watch. 

“With this major operation we have achieved a complete vertical integration of design, production and distribution, and we are able to reach consumers through an increasingly extensive online and physical retail network,” said the president of Morellato, Massimo Carraro. “We now operate 195 Bluespirit and Joyé stores in Italy and 140 Cleor stores in France, our second-largest market after Italy. This acquisition means our consolidated revenue exceeds €270 million, with a 2020 forecast close to €300 million, of which more than 60% is generated on markets [outside Italy],” added Carraro. 

The Cleor group employs 800 people, of whom 110 at its Evreux headquarters near Paris, and operates 140 monobrand stores in the leading shopping malls and commercial areas across France. In the 2019 financial year, the group generated a revenue of €80 million.

Cleor’s founder Gilles Bennejean will maintain his position as the chain's CEO and will sit on Morellato’s board of directors. The French group’s headquarters will remain in Evreux.

Morellato is currently present in over 70 countries with 1,300 employees (of whom 750 in Italy), and distributes its own brands Morellato, Sector No Limits, Philip Watch, Lucien Rochat, Chronostar, La Petite Story, Oui&Me and Bluespirit. It holds worldwide distribution licenses for Furla, Maserati and Trussardi, and it distributes also Scuderia Ferrari, Cluse and Paul Hewitt.