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Case Study

The Mulliez Family Business: Unlocking the secrets of entrepreneurial DNA (A)

Though little-known outside of its home country of France, the Mulliez family enterprise is one of the largest privately held business networks in the world. The Association Familiale Mulliez (AFM) unites over 1,000 family shareholders and oversees a portfolio of more than 90 companies operating across retail, services and other sectors. Its fla…

Family Business

By Peter Vogel and Anouk Lavoie

The Mulliez Family Business: Unlocking the secrets of entrepreneurial DNA (A)

By Peter Vogel and Anouk Lavoie
Case reference: IMD-2748 ©2026

Summary

Though little-known outside of its home country of France, the Mulliez family enterprise is one of the largest privately held business networks in the world. The Association Familiale Mulliez (AFM) unites over 1,000 family shareholders and oversees a portfolio of more than 90 companies operating across retail, services and other sectors. Its flagship companies include Decathlon, Auchan, Leroy Merlin, Cultura, Kiabi, Pimkie, Norauto/ATU and Flunch. Collectively, these businesses employ over 700,000 people in 80 countries and generate estimated revenues of nearly €100 billion annually. Case A begins in 1905, when Louis Mulliez founded a yarn twisting factory in northern France. This modest textile operation laid the foundation for what would become one of Europe’s most influential family businesses. Over the decades, the family diversified beyond textiles, entering retail in 1961 when Gérard Mulliez opened the first Auchan store in Roubaix. The hallmark of the Mulliez dynasty is its collective ownership model. In 1968 the family enshrined its ‘Everyone in everything’ (Tous dans tout) approach in a family constitution and launched an association to oversee its constellation of family-owned companies. Its governance model – anchored in principles of solidarity, long-term orientation and entrepreneurial spirit – has enabled the Mulliez family to remain competitive while sustaining cohesion and entrepreneurial vitality across generations. The case reveals some of the biggest challenges that enterprising families must overcome to survive as well as how to build enough trust to traverse delicate moments such as generational successions. Case A ends in 1992, as the family experiences a crisis of confidence and must decide whether it should sell off all its businesses.

Reference IMD-2748

Copyright owner IMD Copyright

Organization Association Familiale Mulliez

Available Languages English

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Case Study

Co-CEOs at Handtmann: Can the family business be led in tandem? (B)

The Handtmann case examines the co-CEO leadership model in the context of family business. Based on interviews with three key executives – the co-CEOs and the President of the Advisory Board – the case focuses on how Handtmann handled the leadership transition to the next generation. In Case B of “Co-CEOs at Handtmann: Can the Family Business be…

Family Business Corporate Governance Leadership

By Peter Vogel and Anouk Lavoie

Case Study

Co-CEOs at Handtmann: Can the family business be led in tandem? (A)

The Handtmann case examines the co-CEO leadership model in the context of family business. Based on interviews with three key executives – the co-CEOs and the president of the advisory board – the case focuses on how Handtmann handled the leadership transition to the next generation. Starting with a history of the five generations at the head o…

Family Business Corporate Governance Leadership

By Peter Vogel and Anouk Lavoie

Case Study

Sea2see: Seastainable vision

BARCELONA, JANUARY 2023. What started in 2016 as a humble entrepreneurial attempt to contribute to a more sustainable future had turned into a solid eyewear brand present in major Western markets. François van den Abeele was even more excited by the rapid development of the Sea2see Foundation, which he set up in Ghana. But success brought its ow…

Entrepreneurship Family Business General Management Global Business Marketing Sustainability

By Benoit F. Leleux and Thomas Brochier

Sea2see: Seastainable vision

By Benoit F. Leleux and Thomas Brochier
Case reference: IMD-7-2564 ©2024

Summary

BARCELONA, JANUARY 2023. What started in 2016 as a humble entrepreneurial attempt to contribute to a more sustainable future had turned into a solid eyewear brand present in major Western markets. François van den Abeele was even more excited by the rapid development of the Sea2see Foundation, which he set up in Ghana. But success brought its own new questions and issues. From the start, he had relied on the superb craftmanship and dedication of an Italian frame manufacturer. Over time that relationship had turned into a mutual dependency: He was now one of its major clients but, reciprocally, had developed a key supplier risk. What if something happened to that relationship? Should he develop a broader set of suppliers and, if so, how could that be done without antagonizing a great working relationship? Recycling very much set the stage for the brand’s sustainability claims, but it also took massive amounts of time to manage. As other companies started to develop their own fishing net recycling supply chains, did it still make sense to invest so much time in the upstream phase or should he pour his energy into his beloved brand? Finally, maybe it was also time to revisit the growth/profitability dilemma and open up the capital to increase the speed of growth, all for the benefit of the environment as impact fed on scale.

Reference IMD-7-2564

Copyright owner IMD Copyright

Organization Sea2see

Industry Consumer Goods, Optical Products

Available Languages English

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Research Information & Knowledge Hub for additional information on IMD publications