Ki-trouve.fr buys DirectGrossiste.com and DirectdeStock.com
French general free ads site Ki-trouve.fr has made a bid for the B2B market with the purchase of DirectGrossiste.com and DirectdeStock.com both of which specialists in B2B wholesale, liquidation sales and surplus inventory disposal.
Between them the two B2B sites feature over 90,000 ads and a joint visitor total approaching 3 million a year.
Ageo raises €700,000 for new online venture
Ageo, owner of French general classifieds site Trèfle.com, has raised €700,000 courtesy of investor OTC Asset Management. It will use the money to create a series of consumer sites called “Quel” (‘Which’) intended to guide purchases item by item. The first such site, Quellavelinge.com (‘which washing machine’) is already online and Quellavevaiselle.com (‘which dishwasher’) is due to join it next.
Cédric Gourbault, Ageo’s founder declares that, “the goal is to bring a new brand – Quel – to the public at large”.
PriceMinister makes move on auto market
The French car classifieds market has a new player as general sales portal PriceMinister diversifies into motoring.
PriceMinister has 9,000 cars available from the outset and claims that 300 dealers have signed up. It’s free to place small ads, but a ‘Seller Pack’ (improved visibility, photos, etc.) costs €39 ($51 U.S.).
The French market is dominated by established players such as Caradisiac and the all-conquering LeBonCoin, so PriceMinister will have its work cut out to make its mark, but there is plenty of evidence of a well thought out strategy. The site is a partnership with insurance company AssurOne.com and finance provider Cetelem who offer their services to buyers. To head the new sector PriceMinister has called in Claude Schwab, the one-time CEO of Trader Classified Media in France.
New rival for Leboncoin
Just as 2Xmoinscher closes its doors, another French pretender to Leboncoin’s crown throws its hat into the ring. Given the success of Schibsted’s market leading C-2-C sales site, it is hardly surprising that a number of parties are interested in a market that has proven Ebay is not immune to local rivals.
This time the new contender is Troc Europe, a company with 182 shops in France for sale and exchange of goods. It goes online in direct opposition to Leboncoin, as its site Troc.com proposes C-2-C sales.
“The buying/selling site for individuals isn’t intended to replace our shops,” explains Dominique Munier, managing director of Troc Europe. “It’s a complementary service alongside that offered by our shops. With this site the customer can search for products region by region to find bargains close to home.”
Troc Europe is owned (as of October 2011) by Luxemburg based Saphir Capital Partners.
Acheter-Louer.fr raises €1.2 million
French property site Acheter-Louer.fr has just raised €1.2 million ($1.5 million U.S.) as a war chest for online growth.
The money came from a number of investors, including MD Fabrice Rosset, but the main source was Elixis, the principal shareholder of the company who contributed €264,000.
The property portal is moving into a diversification of online services, including direct marketing services and mobile apps for real estate professionals.
Online recruitment suffers downturn in France
Despite gains for Europe as a whole of around ten percent year-on-year, France is experiencing a decline in online recruitment, according to the latest monthly reading of the Monster Employment Index. The Monster Index shows online recruitment dropped four percent from Febr. 2011 to Febr. 2012. In January the drop was still only one percent. So, the negative trend seems to be picking up speed. Continue reading
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