Elba
ORA-ELBA Group (Elba) is a French retail experience design firm founded ~20 years ago by Thibaut de Malezieux, serving enterprise luxury and premium retail brands with integrated services spanning design, digital media, events, merchandising, scenography, and deployment across 36 countries.
- Company typePrivate
- Founded2004
- HeadquartersSartrouville, France
- Headcount251–500
- GTM typeB2B
- OfferingServices
What Elba does
ORA-ELBA Group (referred to in the input as "Elba") is a privately held French retail experience design company founded approximately 20 years ago by Thibaut de Malezieux. The firm is headquartered in Sartrouville, France, and employs roughly 300 staff across 16 subsidiaries organized around six integrated expertises: design and creation, digital and immersive media, event and brand experience, activation and merchandising, scenography and windows, and retail deployment. It targets enterprise clients in the luxury and premium retail segments — described as "committed brands" — and positions itself around a "responsible retail" thesis that frames physical retail as a brand expression and "care" space rather than a purely transactional channel.
The company operates a vertically integrated production model: it owns factories in France and Southern Europe and maintains a partner-factory network across Europe, the Middle East, Asia, and North America, enabling installation and deployment in 36 countries. Service delivery spans the full lifecycle from strategy through design, digital content, events, merchandising, scenography, and physical installation. The firm also runs "The Oratory," a branded thought-leadership platform housed on its corporate website, and advocates Made in France production tied to low-carbon energy.
Commercially, ORA-ELBA generates revenue through professional services engagements with enterprise brand clients. It discloses an annual turnover of approximately €75 million, with no public pricing model, no disclosed subscription or productized revenue line, and no venture or external institutional investment. Distribution is direct-to-enterprise, supported by LinkedIn, Instagram, and corporate website presence. The company has no public listing, no disclosed AI/ML capability layer, and no documented M&A activity in the available data.
Elba firmographics
Firmographics- Name
- Elba
- Legal name
- ORA-ELBA Group
- Website
- https://groupe-elba.com
- Company type
- Private
- Founded year
- 2004
- Operating status
- Operating
- Headcount range
- 251–500 employees
- Short description
- ORA-ELBA Group (Elba) is a French retail experience design firm founded ~20 years ago by Thibaut de Malezieux, serving enterprise luxury and premium retail brands with integrated services spanning design, digital media, events, merchandising, scenography, and deployment across 36 countries.
- Ownership category
- akta.pro rank
Elba industry classification
Industry- Product category
- Retail Experience Design Services
- NAICS
- Industrial Design Services (54142), Electrical Equipment, Appliance, and Component Manufacturing (335), Graphic Design Services (54143)
- SIC
- Services-Management Consulting Services (8742)
- akta.pro primary industry
- Event Strategy & Experience Design (BPAFAGAA)
- akta.pro secondary industries
- Brand Activations & Experiential Campaign Design (MPAAAGAA), Retail Execution Technology & Services (SFA, Planogram, Image Recognition) (MPAAAJAM), Activation/Experiential Creative Agencies (MPAAAAAO)
Keywords
Where Elba is headquartered
LocationHeadquarters
- HQ city
- Sartrouville
- HQ country
- France
- HQ region
- Europe
Offices3 records
Markets served
Elba business model
Business model- GTM type
- B2B
- Offering type
- Services
- Cost components
- Personnel, Operations, Supply Chain, Technology or R&D, Marketing or Sales, Infrastructure
Revenue model
- Professional Services: ORA-ELBA generates revenue through providing integrated retail services including strategy, design, creation, digital media, events, brand experiences, activation, merchandising, scenography, and installation services. The company operates own factories in France and Southern Europe with partner factories across Europe, Middle East, Asia, and North America.
Go-to-market motion1 record
Distribution channels1 record
Marketing channels3 records
Elba product offering
Product offeringCore offering
Elba, operating as part of ORA-ELBA Group, delivers fully integrated retail experience design services to enterprise brands, spanning design and creation, digital and immersive media, event and brand experience, activation and merchandising, scenography and windows, through to full retail deployment. The group owns production factories in France and Southern Europe and leverages partner factories across Europe, the Middle East, Asia, and North America to install retail concepts in 36 countries. The core promise is end-to-end accountability—from strategy and concept to in-store execution—under a responsible, Made in France craftsmanship ethos.
Product overview
ORA-ELBA Group is a French retail experience design company operating as a single unified service offering. The company provides six integrated expertises (design & creation, digital & immersive media, event & brand experience, activation & merchandising, scenography & windows, and retail) unified under one roof from strategy to deployment. The company operates own factories in France and Southern Europe and partner factories globally, with installation and deployment capabilities across 36 countries.
Differentiator
Problem solved
Functional benefit
Products and services
- Integrated Retail Experience Design Services
Companies that use Elba
Customer profileNamed customers1 record
Segments1 record
Ideal customer profiles1 record
Elba technology and API
TechnologyTechnology focussed No
API detail
- Has API
- No
- API docs
- API detail
Core technology
AI maturity
App detail
Elba partnerships and signals
Strategic signalScale indicators5 records
Recent moves5 records
Expansion highlights4 records
Elba competitors and assessment
Company assessmentDirect peers
- Landor & Fitch: Global brand and retail experience consultancy under WPP that integrates brand strategy, retail design, and experience activation for enterprise clients — directly comparable to ORA's strategy-to-deployment model.
- FITCH: Retail design and brand experience agency (also part of WPP) specializing in store environment, retail strategy, and design — closely aligned with ORA's scenography, windows, and retail deployment offerings.
- Chute Gerdeman: Retail design and shopper marketing agency working with consumer brands on store experience, visual merchandising, and retail strategy — a focused direct peer in retail activation design.
- Household Design: UK-based retail design consultancy specializing in store concepts, retail branding, and visual merchandising — comparable boutique-sized competitor serving European retail brands.
- King Retail Solutions: North American retail design and merchandising manufacturer offering in-store displays, fixtures, and retail experience design — comparable vertical integration from design through production.
- Mustang Creative: German retail design and brand activation agency offering POS, store design, and shopper marketing — comparable European retail experience specialist with full execution capability.
- Sheridan Retail: Retail design agency focused on store planning, visual merchandising, and brand experience for global retail clients — comparable niche peer in retail design services.
- Haygarth: UK-based brand activation and shopper marketing agency delivering experiential campaigns and retail activations — comparable peer in experiential design and brand experience delivery.
Broad incumbents
- Gensler: Global architecture and design firm with a sizable retail practice covering store design, experience, and brand environments — broader scope than ORA but frequently competing for the same retail mandates.
Emerging players
- IDEO: Global design consultancy with retail and consumer experience work, emphasizing innovation and human-centered design — adjacent peer with overlap on immersive and digital experience areas of ORA's offering.
Market position
Strengths5 records
Weaknesses5 records
Competitive moat4 records
Key risks6 records
Key highlights6 records
Customer concentration
Elba social profiles
Digital presenceElba financial estimates
Financial estimateRevenue estimate
Valuation estimate
Elba leadership team
Management profileNumber of profiles
Profiles1 record
Elba subsidiaries and ownership
Company hierarchySubsidiaries1 record
Elba funding detail
Funding detailFunding overview
Funding rounds
Investors
Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Elba M&A and investment
M&A and investmentM&A
Investments
M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Frequently asked questions about Elba
What does Elba do?
Elba, operating as part of ORA-ELBA Group, delivers fully integrated retail experience design services to enterprise brands, spanning design and creation, digital and immersive media, event and brand experience, activation and merchandising, scenography and windows, through to full retail deployment. The group owns production factories in France and Southern Europe and leverages partner factories across Europe, the Middle East, Asia, and North America to install retail concepts in 36 countries. The core promise is end-to-end accountability—from strategy and concept to in-store execution—under a responsible, Made in France craftsmanship ethos.
Is Elba a public or private company?
Elba is a private company. It is classified as founder individual operated bootstrapped and is currently operating.
When was Elba founded?
Elba was founded in 2004. It employs 251 to 500 people.
Where is Elba based?
Elba is headquartered in Sartrouville, France, in the Europe region.
How does Elba make money?
One revenue line is on record: professional Services.
Who are Elba's main competitors?
Direct peers on record are Landor & Fitch, FITCH, Chute Gerdeman, Household Design, King Retail Solutions, Mustang Creative, Sheridan Retail and Haygarth. Gensler is listed as a broad incumbent. IDEO is listed as an emerging player.
Does Elba have an API?
No public API is recorded for Elba.
What industry is Elba in?
Elba's product category is Retail Experience Design Services. Its primary akta.pro industry code is BPAFAGAA, Event Strategy & Experience Design, with a secondary code of MPAAAGAA, Brand Activations & Experiential Campaign Design. Its NAICS code is 54142 and its SIC code is 8742.