With sales rising from EUR43 million to EUR63 million between 2019 and 2023, the Verpack Group is now looking to enter a new phase in its development! The company, chaired by Stéphane Viers, intends to capitalise on the strength of its industrial facilities and the support of Crédit Mutuel Equity, which owns 16% of its capital.
Ongoing industrial optimisation
Since it was founded in 1993, this specialist in secondary packaging for luxury brands, mainly perfumes and cosmetics (71% of sales), fashion (16%), wines & spirits (5%) and watches & jewellery (5%), has built its success through a series of targeted acquisitions, the development of its expertise and an ambitious investment plan, representing 6 to 7% of its turnover each year.
Between 2022 and 2024, Verpack will have installed new printing, die-cutting and gluing machines, and optimised equipment at its five plants in France [1]. In April, the company moved its workshop in Sousse, Tunisia, where large production runs requiring manual assembly are processed, to a new 5,000 m² site, thereby doubling production capacity.
As a further example, the latest site to join the Group, PLV 37 (renamed VP 37 Groupe Verpack), located in Neuillé-Pont-Pierre, near Tours, is now equipped with digital printing and finishing technologies. This has given the Group the operational agility it needs to respond to new market demands, particularly in terms of small and medium-sized production runs, ultra-fast orders, and delayed differentiation.
Thanks to this high level of industrial performance, combined with the flexibility and diversity of its production facilities, Verpack can meet the most demanding requirements of the premium and luxury markets.
“So far, the sites acquired in France and Tunisia have all helped us consolidate our global service offering. Through targeted investments, we have developed our expertise in printing and decoration techniques, as well as pushing forward our innovation in automation, coding, and other tamper-evident systems… This approach seems to have borne its fruits,” explains Stéphane Viers.
The Group has also managed to automate the production of a folding box to develop in France a packaging concept that was until now handmade in Asia. “Today, this signature product, a cross between a case and a box, is in the process of being standardised thanks to short, accessible, yet premium developments,” continues the CEO of the Verpack Group.
And to meet all needs, Verpack also has a purchasing office in Hong Kong and an industrial partner in China for the domestic market.
Heading for a new expansion phase
While 2024 should be a year of consolidation, marked as it is by slowed-down growth in China and a desire on the part of brands to clear their stocks, the Group intends to embark very quickly on a new phase in its development: on the one hand, by pursuing an “aggressive” organic expansion and, on the other, by finalising external growth projects.
“We believe that with our latest investments and our current production facilities, we can continue our organic growth trajectory up to sales of around EUR75 million. Beyond that mark, we will need acquisitions,” explains Bruno Lefebvre, Verpack’s Sales Director.
With this in mind, the 16% opening of the capital to Crédit Mutuel Equity in May 2020 was a key step, enabling the Group to consider an aggressive expansion strategy. The Group has already identified potential targets for acquisitions that would enable to achieve growth, both in its core business and in related areas. “Our minority shareholders are ready to follow us, and we are working internally on defining our projects and our vision for the future,” explains Stéphane Viers.
So 2025 could be a year of exciting announcements!
Meanwhile, at Luxe Pack Monaco, to be held from 30 September to 2 October 2024, Verpack will be presenting a collection of boxes and cases 100% made in France, including Clairefontaine paper. The Group will also be launching four standard formats of folding boxes with the option of delayed differentiation on the top of the box.
