JEAN-FRANCOIS LACAUX, KEDGE ALUMNUS WHOSE LIFE WAS CHANGED WHEN HE BECAME A BUSINESS OWNER ASSOCIATE OF “LES MOUSQUETAIRES” COMPANY

You were a sales manager at Proctor & Gamble after you finished at KEDGE. Six years later, you decided to leave that position to become an “Adhérent Intermarché”, a member of the Les Mousquetaires Group. What did you find appealing about this opportunity?

I don’t view entrepreneurship to be only a one-time opportunity, but more like a life project. When I was around 17 or 18, I already had ideas for businesses; for creating businesses of different types. But I obviously lacked the maturity needed to carry out any plans. I knew I had to prove myself at a big company, one that is very structured like Proctor & Gamble. I put all my energy in the position during those six years, but the entire time I knew that it was just a step in my professional career. I quickly realised that mass-distribution retail is what I was best suited for because I understood it. I had mastered the whys and the wherefores of how it worked, and I had the keys needed to succeed.

I wanted to open a mass-distribution business, but I first had to find a brand to start with. I studied the market and found that Intermarché offered the best return on my investment, and that it has a membership system that’s more democratic than that of its competitors. In fact, you don’t need a sponsor to become a “Mousquetaire”, and there is no minimum amount of time required before you can become a decision-maker in the group. All you need is a solid project and financial support, then you receive guidance and training before finally given a store to manage. The candidate with the best project is chosen.

As a Mousquetaire member, you are in charge of two Intermarchés in the Paris region, and at the same time you devote time to developing the group's strategy. How is this splitting of your time rewarding compared to that of salaried director position at a big box store?

If I was  to give a metaphor, it would be this: in rugby, there is a captain on the field who leads the team to win the match, but there is also a coach in the stands who can see the big picture. Being the head of a business and participating in the group's strategy means being captain and coach at the same time! You are “on the field” as the head of the business, while as an outsider you get an overview of the entire operation. You make decisions for the group, but you also associate with counterparts who manage other stores. You can share your problems and broaden your knowledge.

There is no other model in France where you control the direction of your business and turn it into something much bigger. At the Mousquetaires, this is called the "Tiers Temps” and it is extremely enriching. Because of them, I have a business, I manage it, and at the same time I have responsibility within the group. When I first became a member, I was involved in the development of several Express stores in Paris. It was thrilling. I learned a lot in fields that I didn’t know, like real estate, and I loved it. Today, I am in the Grocery Purchasing Department, and a decision-maker on a budget of about 1.2 billion euros. No other company could have offered me the exceptional experience of being both a company manager and a senior executive.

DO YOU WANT TO CHANGE YOUR LIFE BY BECOMING A MOUSQUETAIRE BUSINESS OWNER?

THE GROUP IS RECRUITING KEDGE GRADUATES!!

FIND OUT MORE ABOUT THE #CHANGERDEVIE PROGRAMME

ATTEND THE AFTERWORK IN BORDEAUX    

ATTEND THE AFTERWORK IN PARIS

It’s been five years since you joined Les Mousquetaires, which is now recruiting others with profiles like yours through our #ChangerDeVie programme.  In your opinion, what would future candidates for this post have to gain?  How would becoming a member of Les Mousquetaires change their lives?

In choosing to become a member of Les Mousquetaires, you are essentially leaving your “career path”, because it’s not a matter of moving up the career ladder, but it's more like choosing a life project. The first few years were a real test to my calling, because the store that I managed was open 6 to 7 days a week. So forget about the “metro – boulot – dodo” (subway – work – sleep) routine of 9 am to 7 pm. It's much more intense, and much more engaging. The adrenaline keeps you always on alert and makes you want to get up every day. To thrive in this lifestyle, it is important to fully understand all the issues before you start. Being a business owner is often a fantasy when you are a student, but when you become one, it’s different. There will be failures as well as amazing successes, so you must know how to build on your successes for the long-term.

Even though the day-to-day life of a business owner is demanding, there's nothing more motivating than being able to say that you are the only one who decides how to manage your life. You’re the one who gets out of bed to make your business grow, to succeed, to build other businesses, and so on. It’s an invigorating lifestyle that gives you an outlook that you would never have in a salaried position, which is why I could never go back to one.

Looking back, how did your KEDGE Business School education and what you learned there help you in the different positions you held? What skills do KEDGE graduates have that would enable them to  handle such a responsibility?

I think that KEDGE Business School offers a general education that exposes you to, and gives you a good foundation in, all areas. When you're a business owner, you must know about everything - how it's done on the floor, the business side of things, the accounting, HR, communications, logistics, etc. ... so you have to have a 360-degree field of vision. The education I received at KEDGE opened my eyes to all these essential areas. What also helped was that I chose a programme that had a focus on entrepreneurship, which included strategy and management concepts .

Other than that, I was extremely active in KEDGE’s student associations. Without that experience, I don’t think I would be as flexible as I am today. Flexibility is crucial if you are a business leader, and it’s something that you learn through participation in the student associations because of their resourcefulness and close-knit structures. It is very educational because you have to be creative on a daily basis. I see that experience as being as valuable as the classes I took.

DO YOU WANT TO CHANGE YOUR LIFE BY BECOMING A MOUSQUETAIRE BUSINESS OWNER?

THE GROUP IS RECRUITING KEDGE GRADUATES!!

FIND OUT MORE ABOUT THE #CHANGERDEVIE PROGRAMME

ATTEND THE AFTERWORK IN BORDEAUX    

ATTEND THE AFTERWORK IN PARIS

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