La Vie Claire: organic chain with 240 stores on an expansion path

After the organic association Biocoop, that has over 350 specialist wholefood stores, in terms of numbers La Vie Claire is in second place with 240 stores. In 2014, its growth in turnover came to 17 %, and the number of customers rose by 8.5 %. These positive figures confirm the management under Benoît Soury and Brunel Marmone and the owners of the company, the family of Régis Pelen, in their plan to continue the current investment strategy. The focus of investment is on opening its own stores in Paris and Lyons (Rhône-Alpes) but also on forging ahead with new franchise stores in the other regions of France, including its overseas territories. Of the 240 stores, three-quarters have been launched with franchise partners.

In 1948, the first La Vie Claire health food store was established in Paris, and by 1965 the number of stores had risen to 94. In 1996, Régis Pelen and the Distriborg Group joined the business. Later, in 2000, Pelen dispensed with Distriborg but retained the health food chain. 2011 marks another significant point in the company’s history: at the company headquarters in Montagny near Lyons a new building for the administration and storage was built. It covers 14,400 m², is a low-energy facility and has a 6,400 m² photovoltaic array on the roof.

In the first quarter of 2015 no fewer than seven stores have been opened under the banner of La Vie Claire. Three are in greater Paris; the most recent location in Levallois Perret, north-west of the centre, has a typical retail area of 250 m². The store is in the centre of the district and within easy reach for customers. In contrast to other organic supermarket chains, that prefer large-scale stores in business parks, La Vie Claire positions its outlets mainly in downtown locations. The retail area varies between 80 and 300 m², and it has been looking recently for central premises with  200 to 300 m² that are, however, difficult to find.

In the middle of February and at the beginning of March 2015 two further stores were launched in central locations in Ile de France. Four franchise stores were opened in other regions of France, one of which was on Corsica. Of the 240 stores, 56 are operated by the company itself and 184 has been set up by franchise partners. Interesting projects are currently being prepared for launch in the capital of French Guyana, Cayenne, in Beirut (Lebanon) and in Phnom Penh (Cambodia).

About a quarter of the 6,000 articles in the stores are sold under the La Vie Claire own brand, which means that the company has the highest proportion of own brand lines in France. Numerically, it is comparable to Alnatura in Germany (ca. 1,100 own brand articles). What is different from Alnatura is the fact that La Vie Claire does not focus on price but exclusively on quality. According to the employees in one of the stores in Lyons, the prices are not significantly different from those of manufacturers’ brands. Every month new products appear in the stores, amounting to several hundred a year. A changing product range, that includes basic food items, is offered at the entry price level - “Les petits prix bio” that covers a total of 60 lines.

All stores can take advantage of the regional range, that is being specifically developed. Some of the fruit and vegetables, cheese, honey, jams and bakery goods are sourced from a dozen producers. The emphasis in this specialist organic store – above average size for La Vie Claire – is on fresh food. “We’ve got a six-metre long fresh food counter with around 20 sorts of sausage, 40 sorts of cheese and a wide selection of antipasti,” says Aurélie Novel, from the organic store that was opened at the end of October 2014 in the Point du Jour district of Lyons. It was the forty ninth La Vie Claire store (300 m²) in the Rhône-Alpes region. The store also has two 6-metre closed chilled shelves for vacuum packed meat, dairy products and vegetarian foods.

The 30-year old very committed manager explains that the emphasis has been on fresh food for about five years. Before that, the health food chain created its profile mainly with a dry goods range and food supplements that were sold in a retail area measuring between 40 and 80 m². Now the successful transformation of a health food chain into a specialist organic chain has been completed. Unlike in Germany, in France there has never been a clear distinction between the two.

The new store in the district to the west of downtown Lyons is not only open from 9.00 to19.30 on weekdays and Saturdays but also from 9.00 to13.00 on Sundays. Whereas in the week 250 to 300 customers come into the store every day, on Sundays the number is beteen150 and 200. Since the store has made a good start, Aurélie Novel anticipates a doubling of customers in the next two years.

Novel points out that most La Vie Claire stores are closed on Sundays. The customers are very keen on the section with around 70 products where they can fill their own containers and bags. From cornflakes and biscuits to nuts dried fruit – all the basics are available as loose goods. There is particularly high demand for the various mueslis and rice. You can also buy good-value flour in 5 kg paper bags in the same department. “Customers can save a good 20 % when they serve themselves and take the quantities they want,” says Aurélie Novel. Although only about a third of customers bring their own containers and bags, which saves packaging, the rest rely on the paper bags provided by the store. But it still means that the store saves on labelling and, in most cases, on plastic bags. Loose goods account for 6 % of the organic chain’s turnover explains Lily Vergier, who is responsible for public relations. Last year alone, by expanding the product range, they raised turnover by 40 %.  Picture 8: Big selection for customers buying loose goods 

The turnover of the company amounted to 84 million euros in 2013 and 130 million euros came from the franchise business – a total of 214 million euros. In 2014, the equivalent figures were 98 million and 151 million euros. Just getting under way is a “click and collect” packing service. 48 hours in advance, interested customers can select and order from the whole product range via the online shop “Cliquez bio”. A box is packed in the store and customers come and collect. However, in most stores the number of orders is still in single digits; just a few stores in Paris are getting 20-30 order a week.