1997 to today The law of economics

Closures, profitability and takeover bids

The board of directors meeting of February 21, 1997, took note of the group's disastrous results (743 million francs in losses during the 1996 financial year) and the conclusions of an audit commissioned from an American company and published in a clumsy manner. The directors decided to amend the company's statutes. Serge TRIGANO lost operational management of the Club and was appointed chairman of the supervisory board, an honorary position without power. Philippe BOURGUIGNON, former CEO of Eurodisney, was appointed head of the management board.

On July 17, 1997, Serge Trigano left the Club. This date marked the end of a story. The story that followed would be different.

Philippe Bourguignon's goal is to get Club Med out of the red. An ambitious but risky transformation plan is implemented. This begins with cost savings. Buffets are limited, and the opulence of previous years is gone. Budgets are limited, and resorts are tightening their belts. Club Med One is sold. Ideas are tested to attract a young clientele. Oyyo, Bysatis, and the two Club Med World hotels in Paris and Montreal are opened. The initiative will either not be very successful or will be a financial drain. At the same time, the Club buys the tour operator Jet Tours for 485 million francs.

In December 2002, following poor results (70 million euros in losses), the AGNELLI family once again shook up the Club's management. Philippe BOURGUIGNON was dismissed and replaced by his right-hand man, Henri GISCARD D'ESTAING. HGE, as everyone called him, implemented a policy aimed at eliminating the many sources of loss and initiated the brand's move upmarket. The hut villages were abandoned one by one, the two unprofitable tridents were closed and sometimes sold, if there were buyers, to clubs like the MMV group. Village sales were also carried out. The new owners took charge of the renovation work, and the Club became an operator (Les Boucaniers is one example among others). The Oyyo and Byssatis experiences were also over, and the Club Med World in Montreal and then Paris disappeared. Jet Tours was sold to Thomas Cook in 2008.

At the same time, other villages are opening, such as the Palmyre Atlantique, the Palmeraie and the Riad in Marrakech, and the Plantation d'Albion in Mauritius. The Club is even establishing itself in China with three villages. Most of the new villages are high-end and offer integrated 5-Trident spaces, or even villas.

As you can see, Club Med is now targeting a high-end clientele, but behind the scenes, a different story is being played. Capital is changing hands, and shareholders are playing musical chairs.

Until 2004, the Agnellis (Fiat Group) held more than 20% of Club Med's capital. Upon Giovanni Agnelli's death, the group withdrew and sold its shares to the French hotel group Accor. Accor remained the main shareholder for two years before reducing its stake in 2006.

The arrival of the Chinese "Fosun"

On June 13, 2010, the Chinese group Fosun gradually entered the fray. Fosun, aided by the Axa group (Gallion Invest 2), struck a major blow on May 27, 2013, by filing a public takeover bid for Club Med.
A battle of offers and counteroffers then began between Fosun/Axa (Gallion Invest II) on one side, and on the other the Italian group Bonomi, also interested and aided by Serge TRIGANO and KKR, shook the Club and the stock markets.

On February 9, 2015, after two years of often fierce battles, making this takeover bid the longest ever, the Chinese group Fosun won after the Bonomi group withdrew. End of Act 3!!

Here is the list of the Club's main shareholders in 2015 following the Gaillon Invest II takeover bid

The villages of tents, huts, the atmosphere of the sixties and seventies, the informality, the bar necklaces, and the tanned people are now to be relegated to the souvenir section, but the club remains Club Med. New customers discover it, and for old customers like yours truly, Club Med will always remain in their memories.