Willemse France

What Willemse France does

Willemse France (Willemse SAS) is a French online garden center founded around 1960 by André Willemse and headquartered in Northern France. The company operates willemsefrance.fr, a Shopify-based e-commerce platform selling plants, seeds, bulbs, shrubs, roses, fruit trees, garden equipment, and accessories to B2C home gardeners and B2B professional buyers across France, Belgium, and Luxembourg. Its catalog spans more than 5,000 plant varieties and over 5,173 individual products in the plants collection alone, positioning it as a sizable specialist online garden retailer in the French market. The company is privately held, operates as a family business, and has no disclosed parent company, institutional investors, or private equity backing.

The platform runs on Shopify infrastructure with integrated content management, customer reviews, a loyalty wallet (Cagnotte Willemse), and a separate gardening advice blog (conseils-jardin.willemsefrance.fr). Value-added products include the free LE + végétal 30-day plant recovery guarantee and a paid Garantie Main Verte (€3.90 per plant) covering up to 6 months of plant recovery. A complementary mobile application, Groww (developed externally and promoted by Willemse), delivers personalized plant care advice based on geolocation and weather. Distribution relies on third-party carriers (Mondial Relay point relais, Colissimo, DPD) for last-mile delivery, with pallet shipping available for B2B bulk orders. The company's professional B2B division, Willemse Pro, operates a dedicated sales channel with custom quoting, flexible delivery scheduling, and B2B payment terms (30% deposit, 70% at 30 days).

Willemse's revenue model is predominantly transactional unit-pricing on plants (typically €4.99–€30 per item), supplemented by warranty add-on fees, gift cards, and B2B contracts. Delivery is priced from €4.49, with free delivery on orders above €69. Marketing is content-led, leveraging SEO, the advice blog, an email newsletter (offering 15% off first order), social media, paid display, and the Trusted Shops verified review widget. The company was elected Capital magazine's Best E-commerce Site in the Garden Centers (Jardineries) category for 2026, holds the BeHappy Logistics label, is Trusted Shops certified, and is a member of FEVAD. A virtual gardening assistant, Fred, provides mid-funnel product selection guidance on the website.

Name

Willemse France

Legal name

Willemse SAS

Website

https://willemsefrance.fr

Company type

Private

Founded year

1960

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

51–100 employees

Short description

Willemse France (Willemse SAS) is a privately held French online garden center founded circa 1960, operating a Shopify-based e-commerce platform selling 5,000+ plant varieties, seeds, and equipment to B2C home gardeners and B2B professionals across France, Belgium, and Luxembourg.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Online Garden Retail

NAICS

Nursery, Garden Center, and Farm Supply Retailers (444240), Lawn and Garden Equipment and Supplies Retailers (4442)

SIC

Retail-Building Materials, Hardware, Garden Supply (5200)

akta.pro primary industry

Plants, Seeds & Nursery Retail (Garden Centers) (CRAIAIAB)

Keywords

• Online plant retail
• Garden center
• Plant nursery
• Gardening supplies
• B2B landscaping services

Headquarters

HQ city

Neuville-en-ferrain

HQ country

France

HQ region

Europe

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B and B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Supply Chain, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Personnel, Technology or R&D

Revenue model

1. Online Retail of Plants and Garden Products: Willemse France generates revenue by selling plants, seeds, bulbs, shrubs, roses, fruit trees, garden equipment, and accessories directly through its e-commerce website. Revenue is primarily one-time transaction-based per order, with a loyalty wallet (cagnotte) system incentivizing repeat purchases. A professional B2B division (Willemse Pro) handles bulk orders with custom pricing and payment terms.
2. Gift Cards (Carte Cadeau): Willemse offers gift cards in fixed denominations (e.g., 20 euros) as an additional revenue stream and gifting option for customers.
3. Main Verte Warranty (Paid Add-on): Customers can purchase the optional Main Verte warranty at 3.90 euros per plant, covering plant recovery for up to 6 months. This generates additional revenue per transaction and enhances customer confidence.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels5 records

Marketing channels8 records

Core offering

Willemse France is an online garden center that sells plants, seeds, bulbs, shrubs, fruit trees, roses, garden equipment and accessories directly to consumers and professional buyers through its e-commerce website. The company also operates Willemse Pro, a dedicated B2B service offering more than 5,000 plant varieties, custom quotes, flexible delivery scheduling and professional payment terms to landscapers, municipalities and businesses across France, Belgium and Luxembourg.

Product overview

Willemse France is an online gardening retail platform offering a unified e-commerce experience for home gardeners and professional buyers. The core offering combines an e-commerce platform for individual consumers with Willemse Pro, a dedicated B2B service for landscape professionals. The product portfolio spans plants (shrubs, perennials, annuals, fruit trees, roses, bulbs, climbing plants, trees, aquatic and indoor plants with over 5,000 varieties), vegetable garden supplies (seeds, potato plants, aromatic herbs), and gardening equipment (fertilizers, soil, pots, tools). Value-added services include the free LE + végétal by Willemse 30-day guarantee and the paid Garantie Main Verte 6-month plant insurance, the Groww mobile app for personalized plant care, and the Blog Conseils Jardin for gardening guidance. The platform delivers across France, Belgium, and Luxembourg with various shipping options.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• Groww: Free mobile application providing plant care advice tailored to seasons, geolocation, and weather conditions
• Willemse Pro

Products and services

• Willemse France E-commerce Platform Online gardening retail platform for individual consumers offering a comprehensive catalog of plants, vegetable garden supplies and gardening equipment, with filters for plant type, use case, season, climate and exposure, customer reviews, gift cards and delivery across France, Belgium and Luxembourg.
• Willemse Pro (B2B Service)

Quantifiable outcome

• Free delivery on orders above 69 euros across France, Belgium, and Luxembourg
• +2 more outcomes

Named customers4 records

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature3 records

Partnerships

Four partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• Mondial RelaycoreChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorMondial Relay is a parcel delivery network used by Willemse for point relais (pickup point) delivery across France. Rates start at 4.49 euros for orders under 69 euros, with free delivery for orders over 69 euros (parcels under 1 meter).
• ColissimocoreChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorColissimo (La Poste) is used for standard home parcel delivery across France, including Corsica. Standard delivery takes 5-7 days. Corsica rate: 8.49 euros.
• DPDcoreChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorDPD is used for faster home delivery options. Corsica delivery: 28.49 euros (2-4 days). DPD serves as an alternative to Colissimo for faster delivery where available.
• FEVADminorOthersWillemse is a member of FEVAD (Fédération du E-commerce et de la Vente à Distance), the French e-commerce federation. Membership demonstrates adherence to industry best practices and consumer protection standards.

Scale indicators5 records

Recent moves5 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• Truffaut: Major French garden center chain with a strong e-commerce site selling plants, garden equipment, and outdoor living products to both consumers and professionals. Closely comparable category, customer base, and product breadth, though it adds a physical-store omnichannel layer Willemse lacks.
• Jardiland: French specialty garden retailer operating physical stores alongside a sizeable online catalog of plants, seeds, and gardening equipment. Direct competitor on assortment, target audience (home gardeners), and French geographic footprint.
• Botanic: French garden-center chain with a strong emphasis on organic and eco-responsible gardening, selling plants and equipment online and in-store. Comparable assortment, sustainability positioning, and consumer gardener focus.
• Gamm Vert: Network of French rural garden centers with an established e-commerce platform offering plants, vegetable seeds, and outdoor equipment. Highly comparable B2C plant-retail motion across France, with additional physical footprint.
• Promesse de Fleurs: French online plant specialist focusing on perennials, shrubs, and roses direct from the grower. Closest pure-play online plant-retail peer to Willemse, with comparable catalog depth and home-gardener target.
• Bakker: Long-established European mail-order and online plant retailer (historically linked to the Willemse group in some markets). Closely comparable online plant catalog, multi-country European delivery, and amateur-gardener positioning.
• Plantes & Jardins: French online garden center offering plants, vegetable seeds, fruit trees, and outdoor equipment with delivery across France. Same online-only model and amateur gardener customer base.
• Graines Baumaux: French online specialist in vegetable and flower seeds, with strong potager and amateur-gardener positioning. Comparable online-only seed and plant retail model, focused on the same hobbyist segment.

Broad incumbents

• ManoMano: Large French-led online marketplace for DIY, home, and gardening products including plants, tools, and equipment. Competes on breadth and traffic rather than specialist horticultural expertise, but increasingly overlaps with Willemse's catalog and audience.

Emerging players

• Meilland Richardier: French rose breeder and online rose retailer with deep horticultural expertise and a B2C plus professional channel. Comparable specialist plant focus, particularly in roses and shrubs, though narrower in overall catalog breadth.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/WillemseFrance
• Facebookfacebook.com/WillemseFrance
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/willemse-france

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles1 record

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Willemse France