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FNAC-Darty says it is looking for a deal as electronics retailers are looking to increase market share in Europe and expand customer service.
Enrique Martinez said the Paris-based company was looking for consumer and business services or industry-integrated trading opportunities 12 months after purchasing Unieuro, Italy.
FNAC-Darty sells products such as mobile phones, laptops, consumer electronics and related support services in several European markets, including France and Spain, as well as parts of Africa and the Middle East.
Ahead of the launch of FNAC-Darty’s new five-year strategy, Martinez told the Financial Times: “This group has a financial profile where we can see opportunities, and that’s certainly true, we are ambitious.
Martinez, who has been the CEO since 2017 and has worked at FNAC-Darty for nearly 30 years, said that although he is already interested in “strong brands” of certain sizes, there is room for expansion.
Regarding the market, he added, “We feel very European and we are very focused on this western Mediterranean axis.”
Martinez isn’t just looking for deals in the retail sector. Last year, activist hedge fund Elliott Management abandoned its attempts to buy British electronics retailer Curries, a rival to FNAC-Darty, and said “multiple” efforts to engage with the company’s board were denied.
When asked if he was interested in Curries, Martinez said, “In theory, everything is possible, but that’s not the subject of today.”
Martinez has announced FNAC-Darty’s third multi-year strategy to make the company 2030, and plans to double the number of subscribers to service programs such as electronic device repairs to 4mn.
He also proposes increasing capital investments to an average annual rate of 200 million euros as the company spends its stores and technologies such as robotics and artificial intelligence.
FNAC-Darty has targeted an operating profit margin of at least 3% by 2030, and cumulative free cash flow of over 1.2 billion euros between 2025 and 2030.
We seek a dividend payment rate of at least 40% of our net profit.
Martinez sets the company’s goals in a challenging economic and financial background.
It is expected that the French parliament will be struggling to approve the 2026 budget.
Martinez said the need for sophisticated products and support services for FNAC-Darty products means that if the US closes China from the US through punitive tariffs, the company will be protected from potential Chinese dumping in the European market.
However, he accepted that the trust of French consumers was hit.
“At the end of the year, I felt the dynamics were very positive, but I felt some cooling since March, when the trade war was more concerned,” he said, adding “There’s a lot of salvation and poor consumer sentiment in France.”
With the completion of the Unieuro transaction, Martinez predicted that the majority of future FNAC-Darty revenue growth will come from outside the domestic market, including countries such as Italy and Portugal.
“It’s clear that relying on France from a strategic perspective is not the best,” he said. “But France will remain our domestic market and a large market.”
