Paris: No matter where French consumers shop, real estate billionaire Alain Taravella is seeking a piece of the action.
Taravella made a €100 million (Dh519.3 million) offer for internet retailer Rue du Commerce that will expand Altarea SCA, his Paris-based company, from owning malls into virtual shopping centres.
"The bet is to invest in a sector that's doubling every five years and to gain a know-how of these new technologies," Taravella said by telephone.
"The economic outlook is gloomy and we face the prospect of weak consumer spending, but we are sure that e-commerce will grow."
French President Nicolas Sarkozy appeared on television Sunday night to announce €8 billion of additional budget cuts to support the country's credit rating. He predicted the economy's growth will slow to about 1 per cent.
Taravella's bet is that while retail sales prospects are lacklustre, Altarea can still make money from changes taking place in how and where people shop in France. On average, French consumers spent €445 on online purchases last year, Forrester Research estimates.
Online sales
That's 14 per cent less than the average for the 17 European Union countries in the west of the continent. French online sales will probably rise to €20 billion in 2015 from €11 billion last year, the company predicted.
Rue du Commerce was France's 13th most-visited retail website in the second quarter with 4.5 million visits a month, according to industry group Fevad.
The company is expanding its product range from just electronics in a bid to double sales. Altarea said yesterday it will start its €9-a-share offer for Rue du Commerce on December 16. The offer will run through January 19.
