Groupe Dubreuil is a diversified family holding company, including Air Caraïbes and French Bee.
History
The Groupe Dubreuil, first wholesaler of grocery stores and fuel distribution, was founded in 1924 by Henri Dubreuil in La Roche-sur-Yon.[1] After 1950, the company developed "a network of rural gas stations".[1] In 1961, the company partnered with the Spar (food wholesaler).[2]
In 1966, Henri Dubreuil died of a heart attack and his 24-year-old son, Jean-Paul Dubreuil, succeeded him.[1]
In 1973, two years after joining two Spar wholesalers to create Oedis, the company partnered with Wholesaler Disco (Oedisco). In 1974, Jean-Paul Dubreuil opened his first Bravo supermarket (now Hyper U thereafter), in a warehouse of his father-in-law.[1][2]
An aviator, Jean-Paul Dubreuil, who passed his pilot's license at age 17,[3] established a small taxi company, Air Vendée[4] in 1975. This allows him to manage the Disco wholesaler, whose sites are distributed throughout France.[1][5]
At the same time, the group opened its first brick-and-mortar store, Bricogite, in 1980 and its first Peugeot car dealership in 1987. In 1985, supermarket resale allowed the group to continue to develop in aviation.[4]
Air Vendée is bankrupt and partnering with other small local airlines (Airlec, etc.) to establish Regional Airlines in 1992.[1][4] It links provincial cities to larger European cities.[1][4]
In 1996, Regional Airlines was publicly traded. The 10.96 percent of the capital transferred allows the company to raise 33 million francs.[1]
In 1998, the company bought Air Caribbean to reduce the taxes of the Dubreuil Group, followed by Air Martinique, Air Guadeloupe, Air Saint-Martin and Air Saint-Barthely.[1]
In 2000, the group transferred its stake in Regional Airlines (70%) to Air France for EUR 42.7 million.[6][7]
At the end of 2003, following the judgment of Air Lib, another airline, the group purchased a long-haul from its subsidiary Air Caribbean for -150 million to connect Paris-Orly with the Caribbean. It offers 15% cheaper routes than Air France.[8] Seven years later, it holds 27% market share.[8]
In 2008, the company sold its oil trading subsidiary to invest in photovoltaic energy.[9][10]
In 2015, the group tried to buy back its competitor Corsair but eventually gave up.
The following year, Dubreuil Group established a low-cost long-haul airline, first named French blue, then French Bee.
In 2020, following the outbreak of COVID-19, the CMA CGM group is expected to take up 30% of the capital of Air Caribbean and French Bee, when a capital increase of EUR 50 million is achieved. The following year, the agreement was not reached.[11] The Dubreuil Group receives an EMP of 150 million.[12] At the end of December 2021, the two airline subsidiaries of the Group Dubreuil are recapitalized by the group itself at EUR 15 million each.[12]
At the end of June 2023, the Dubreuil group announced the departure of Jean-Paul Dubreuil and Marc Rochet, a duo that has been leading the group for 20 years. Jean-Paul Dubreuil, President of Groupe Dubreuil Aéro (GDA), gives his place to his son Paul-Henri Dubreuil, currently CEO of the family group Dubreuil. Christine Our-rnes-Widener will take over the position of Chief Executive Officer of Air Caribbean, Air Caribbean Atlantic, Frenchbee and Heline Cargo in place of Marc Rochet.[13]
