It all started in 1966 when André Guichard asked his son Jean-Pierre to join him in creating the first catalogue sales company in France. Over the years, the small company has evolved to become a 'mid-cap' company on a European scale, with 25 subsidiaries and over 800,000 items available!
Acquisition of Findel, specialist in educational resources in the UK
15 subsidiaries among the Group have achieved Great Place to Work® certification.
Creation of Manutan Holding
Manutan acquires a majority interest in startup Zack.
New headquater and logistics platform for Papeteries Pichon and extention of the warehouse of Gonesse.
Manutan France, Manutan Belgium, IronmongeryDirect and ElectricalDirect are certified 'Best Workplaces'
Repositioning of the Manutan brand for the 'Businesses' division: 'Well-working'
Acquisition of Kruizinga, specialist in the online distribution of storage and handling equipment in Benelux
Launch of Manutan’s own brand
Strengthened presence on the British tradespeople market with the acquisition of Essex Electrical Wholesalers
Acquisition of Papeteries Pichon, specialist in the distribution of school supplies to nurseries and primary schools in France
Acquisition of IronmongeryDirect in the United Kingdom, specialist in the distribution of hardware products to tradespeople, and Ikaros Cleantech in Sweden and Finland, specialist in environmental protection products
Acquisition of Sports et Loisirs (Casal Sport), specialist in sports equipment for schools, local councils and federations in France
Opening of the Group’s European Centre in Gonesse (France), symbol of the Group’s uniqueness, ambitions and business, human and environmental vision
Strengthened presence on the local authorities market with the acquisition of Camif Collectivités in France, which is renamed as Manutan Collectivités
Acquisition of Rapid Racking in the United Kingdom, specialist in shelving and storage solutions
The symbolic milestone of 500 million euros in turnover is passed
Establishment in Spain, Hungary, Slovakia and Poland
Creation of the first range of European products
Launch of the first commercial websites and provision of e-procurement solutions for Key Accounts
Acquisition of Plus in the Czech Republic, Fabritec in Switzerland and Euroquipment in the United Kingdom and founding of the company Witre OY in Finland
Founding of the Portuguese subsidiary
Acquisition of Overtoom, market leader in the Netherlands and Belgium, and establishment of Witre in Denmark
Acquisition of Witre AB in Sweden and Witre A/S in Norway
Founding of the German subsidiary
Founding of the Italian subsidiary
Founding of Manutan in Belgium
Founding of the subsidiary Key Industrial Equipment in the United Kingdom
Founding of Manutan, the first French industrial equipment catalogue sales company, by André and Jean-Pierre Guichard