Frojo is integrated into the Marseille-based holding Seline. Offering jewelry and watches, the company operates four shops, two in Marseille and one each in St. Tropez and Val d’Isère.
In addition to Frojo, the holding unites four more companies. These are Ellines, Ardile, Ceced and Nesli. Ellines is a franchisee from Mauboussin with two shops and two corners.
Ardile specializes in Rolex watches which are exclusively sold at the company’s own shop in Marseille while Ceced focuses on the design and production of the Chalet brand. Ceced distributes its products via partners. Nesli is a franchisee for the APM brand, specializing in premium fashion jewellery and silver pieces.
The company distributes its products via its own shop and soon its two new corners. “Thanks to our diversification strategy we have a foothold in several market sectors,” explains Mr. Frojo, who represents the fifth family generation. “This makes us more independent of fluctuations in the different fields. Depending on the respective company, we sell our own pieces together with external brands or we exclusively focus on just one label, such as Ardile. Originally, we were rooted in Frojo. Here, we sell several major brands such as Rolex or Cartier. But we also create our own pieces of jewellery such as diamond rings or charms. All pieces are first-class.”
The company’s franchise brand Mauboussin also targets the upper end of the market. Under the umbrella of Ceced, the company cooperates with an external designer, Magalie Pont. She creates the jewellery for Charlet wich is sold through several jewellers in France and the Frojo shops.
“Charlet boasts traditional jewellery which has been re-invented and modernized,” explains Mr. Frojo. “Often, these are pieces from the 1930s or the 1950s with new details. Mostly, the collections encompass gold jewellery with stones for the medium and upper segment of the market. Yet, Charlet is not as luxurious as Frojo.”
The latest addition to the group is the AMP franchise business. AMP boasts fanciful silver jewellery. Only recently, the company opened the doors of its first shop. Thanks to the diversification of its product portfolio, Frojo serves a broad clientele, young and old people alike.
“Our business is strongly influenced by the seasons,” says the Managing Director. “December and July are particularly strong months. In the luxury market, we have been enjoying tremendous growth rates in the last months. There are strong concentration tendencies in the upper market sector and the brand manufacturers become more selective. They prefer to sell their products via only a few elitist shops. Their demands are extremely high, too. As a result, the boutiques have to restructure in order to be able to meet these increasing requirements. The medium market sector had its boost in 2007/2008. Since then it has been stable. The offer is huge and competition is high. Yet, we believe that the medium market will undergo a shakeout in some years, too. In the fantasy and fashion market, there are many structural players who established retail chains or franchise systems. APM is one of them. Again, we are positive that we will see a market adjustment in a few years.”
The roots of the traditional business date back to 1854 when Eugenio Frojo, the great great grandfather of Edouard Frojo, established a small shop. When Edouard Frojo entered the business he started to diversify the company’s activities and established the holding structure.
Today, Frojo has a staff of 50 employees and achieves an annual turnover of approximately 20 million EUR.
“We draw on many years of experience in the market and know it by heart, “ Mr. Frojo explains the company’s success. “We have an excellent reputation and invest much in communication and events. Last but not least, we are diversified and well-structured.”
Frojo has all reasons to stay true to its strategy in the coming years, too. “We are a family-run company and lay great emphasis on values and long-term oriented goals,” says Mr. Frojo. “We do not aim at short-term profit but at sustainability. Our strategy made us what we are today and gives us economic stability. Therefore, we will continue our diversification concept. We will enhance our structure in the different market sectors to become even more independent. We believe in communications. We are engaged in several social and sports events, for example. Also, our communications department centrally organises marketing and PR events. Altogether, we are optimistic that we will be able to enhance our market position in the coming years. We enjoy an excellent reputation for our styles and this is a great precondition for further growth.”
