Meeting with Jean-Marc Conrad, director of franchising and development of the Marie Blachère group.
Around a billion. This is the turnover of Maison Blachère for 2024. Not far from the balloons celebrating the opening in Saint-Dionisy, Jean-Marc Conrad gives us some keys to the success of the group employing 13,000 employees. Originally a man. Bernard Blachère has built an empire and keeps a close watch from the head office in Châteaurenard in Bouches-du-Rhône. A group 100% owned by the Blachère family which gives its approval for each product selection.
« 3rd after McDonald's and Burger King »
In Saint-Dionisy, it's time for frank laughter, employees slalom between customers to offer cookies, the baker introduces the shaping of bread when a colleague demonstrates the workings of the oven. This inauguration marks the group's 28th franchise opening, 17 employees will be part of the adventure. Over the years, Maison Blachère has become the 3rd key player in fast food in France, “behind McDonald’s and Burger King”. In all, 830 bakeries crisscross France. “We had a lot of restaurants in the south which was the cradle at the beginning, now we have them everywhere, particularly in the Paris region, in Savoie, in the North of France…”, lists the development director who has been working within the group for five years.
830 bakeries, 13,000 employees
Marie Blachère also left her signature abroad: Belgium, United States… “We are going to open in Morocco and Canada. We have very active development in 2025 with around a hundred openings planned,” rejoices Jean-Marc Conrad. As for franchises, the ambition is to be close to 70 next year to “achieve a balance between 1/3 franchises and 2/3 integrated companies”. Why rely on franchising? Particularly because of cost control: “we have a lot of collaborators, we need very important management and strong intermediary staff”. It was in 2004 that Bernard Blachère decided to open a bakery in Salon-de-Provence. Before that, the native of a town near Aubenas worked as a market gardener. He quickly opened “Provenc’Halles” stores, then 300 “Mangeons frais” stores still within the group today. “We also have a partnership with 300 Grand Frais, in which you will find Marie Blachère”specifies Jean-Marc Conrad, whose father was also a baker.
Why this success?
What explains the queues in front of stores today? “It is above all the story of women and men, then good products, at the right prices”, explains Jean Marc Conrad, tackling in passing certain brands offering “average products with good prices”. The Blachère house buys the wheat and delivers it to millers who transform it into flour. “Marie Blachère’s secret is that all our breads are leavened, allowing very good conservation in the freezer,” confides our host. Not to mention the commercial offers with prizes on baguettes or other pastries. “A practice of Bernard at the time, when he was a market gardener, with 3 melons purchased, one offered for example”he compares. The products are selected in « circuit court » to promote eating well and the local economy. As for the bread, it is deliberately placed at the forefront, just as the prices are clearly displayed. “Previously, bread was behind in bakeries,” remembers the franchise director.
Overshadowing competition?
In the evening, half an hour before closing, products are on sale at 50%. Another strong argument for customer loyalty. The latter can also choose the cooking of their baguette at any time: white, golden or cooked. And don't tell Bernard Blachère that he is slowly killing artisan bakers with his group. In the magazine the Pointhe confides in January 2024: “When I started in 2004, there were around 30,000 bakeries in France. 20 years later, there are still just as many”. As for the challenge of the house, it lies in the human, “we must have a sufficient number of bakers, especially for us who are in perpetual development…”, concludes the group framework.
