Multiplying its sales by three in five years may seem ambitious. But that doesn't scare brothers Frédéric and Philippe Corbo. At the helm of FP Mercure located in Saint-Marcellin, Isère, since December 2014, the managers have already succeeded in transforming the six-person commercial printer into a 20-employee company specializing in packaging and large format. Sales have risen from 600,000 to 3 million euros. "Today's company is nothing like yesterday's company" confirms Frédéric Corbo, the co-director of FP Mercure.
The printers have decided to carry out all the printing in digital, and since a few months also the finishing and the cutting. And it works. The last three years have been record years: sales have doubled between 2019 and 2021, thanks to the increase in demand for POP and other large format printing. The managers are now aiming for 10 million euros by 2026, a strategy called Cap'Ten within the company.
To reach the symbolic 10 million mark, the company is counting on the development of its two specialties, packaging and large format, in particular via its online sales platform, Smilepack.
"We have a somewhat unique offering, says the company manager. We don't go into the markets of our colleagues who produce large volumes; with our small and medium-sized series and our management of multi-references, we are complementary. And there are few of us in France who offer in-line packaging, which is produced in the same factory. So we are fast and this is undoubtedly one of our strengths."
This platform currently accounts for about 50% of the company's sales. Within five years, it should account for 80 to 90% of the company's sales.
On the commercial side, FP Mercure intends to continue to rely on word-of-mouth. "Our clients' recommendations carry us a lot. We maintain a close relationship with them, that's how we like to work."
FT Mercure has also recently invested in two digital machines, a JETvarnish from MGI and a Sei Laser and was equipped in July, a second production site in Barberaz near Chambéry. New investments are not excluded.
