Paul is a French chain of bakery/café restaurants established in 1889 in the city of Croix, in Northern France, by Charlemagne Mayot.
Instantly recognised by its stylishly minimalist signage: elegant white lettering on a clean black background, bakery Paul boasts over 700 sales points on four continents and is still growing. Behind the brand is a remarkable entrepreneurial family business story with five generations of bakers practising their trade for over 130 years.
Paul did the unthinkable when they decided to abandon the conventional, small-business bakery format and expand into supermarkets and malls. The disruptive strategy paid off, and eventually, there was a Paul on every corner in France. Shortly after, they successfully moved to internationalise, first with locations in Japan then Morocco and beyond.
There was no stopping the Holders. In 1993, they acquired Ladurée, a 150-year-old luxury pastry shop and sweets house, which they transformed into one of the world’s leading brands and the pre-eminent producers of double-decker macarons. The Holder Group continues on its successful trajectory as it moves towards its sixth generation of family ownership.
