Groupe-schertz.

What Groupe-schertz. does

Groupe Schertz is a family-owned French group headquartered in Strasbourg, operating a dual-rail business in optical and hearing care. The first rail consists of 51 directly-operated retail points of sale across the Grand Est and Île de France regions, comprising five regional optical brands (Maurice Frères, Pieraut, Balouzat, Lunettestore, Optique Amé) and 15 Audition Conseil hearing centers staffed by state-certified audiologists. These stores delivered €36M in disclosed store revenue (CA Magasins) and emphasize personalized, expertise-driven service such as visagism, face morphology analysis, and on-site custom lens cutting. The second rail is Centrale LUZ, a wholly-owned purchasing cooperative acquired in 2001 that serves 2,200 independent optician stores across France and transacts €215M in annual purchasing volume, generating revenue through negotiated supplier terms, procurement logistics, cash flow advances, and business support services.

The group's revenue mechanics combine one-time retail optical and hearing aid sales with transaction-fee-based B2B cooperative services. Distribution is overwhelmingly physical and regional: 51 owned storefronts anchor the consumer business, while the Centrale LUZ network functions as a B2B channel reaching thousands of independent retailers the group does not own or operate. Go-to-market mixes direct-to-consumer retail with a channel-partner model through LUZ. Pricing is not publicly disclosed and is determined at store level based on individual customer needs.

Ownership remains within the Schertz family following the 2020 death of founder André Schertz, with Jérôme Schertz serving as President/Director General and Grégory Schertz as co-director. In April 2024, the group appointed Maxime Kouchnir as Director General with a stated mandate to unify direction across all activities and amplify synergies between the LUZ cooperative and the owned retail network. The group operates as a privately held SAS (Société par Actions Simplifiée) with no public funding rounds disclosed and no AI/ML capabilities evident across products, services, or technology infrastructure.

Name

Groupe-schertz.

Legal name

GROUPE SCHERTZ SAS

Website

https://groupe-schertz.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

1977

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

251–500 employees

Short description

Groupe Schertz is a family-owned French group operating 51 owned optical and hearing retail stores across Grand Est and Île de France, alongside Centrale LUZ, a purchasing cooperative serving 2,200 independent optician stores nationwide. It combines direct-to-consumer optical retail with B2B procurement services.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Optical Retail and Hearing Care Services

NAICS

Optical Goods Retailers (456130), Ophthalmic Goods Merchant Wholesalers (42346)

SIC

Ophthalmic Goods (3851)

akta.pro primary industry

Optical Dispensing & Eyewear Retail (Glasses/Frames/Lenses) (HLAKAKAL)

Keywords

• Optical retail services
• Hearing aid centers
• Purchasing cooperative
• Independent opticians
• Vision care products

Headquarters

HQ city

Strasbourg

HQ country

France

HQ region

Europe

Offices5 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B and B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

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

Revenue model

1. Retail Optical Sales: Revenue from direct sales of optical products (eyeglasses, frames, lenses) and services through owned retail stores under Maurice Frères, Pieraut, Balouzat, Lunettestore, and Optique Amé brands. Store revenue reported at 36 M€.
2. Audio/Hearing Center Revenue: Revenue from hearing aid sales and audiology services through Audition Conseil centers, with 15 audio centers integrated within the retail network.
3. Centrale LUZ Purchasing Services: Centralized purchasing services for 2,200 independent optician stores. 215 M€ of purchases transit through the central annually, generating revenue through volume-based negotiated terms with suppliers.

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels2 records

Marketing channels3 records

Core offering

Groupe Schertz operates owned optical retail stores and hearing aid centers under multiple regional brands (Maurice Frères, Pieraut, Balouzat, Lunettestore, Optique Amé, Audition Conseil), while Centrale LUZ functions as a purchasing cooperative providing supplier negotiation, procurement services, and business support to 2,200 independent optician stores across France. The group combines direct retail of eyewear and hearing aids with B2B cooperative services for the independent optics sector.

Product overview

Groupe Schertz is a family-owned group operating a multi-brand retail portfolio of independent optical stores and hearing centers, combined with a purchasing cooperative (Centrale LUZ) serving independent opticians across France. The retail operations include five regional optical brands (Maurice Frères, Pieraut, Balouzat, Lunettestore, and Optique Amé) and the Audition Conseil hearing center network. The LUZ purchasing cooperative, the group's core differentiator, serves 2,200 independent optical stores, providing negotiated supplier pricing, logistics, cash flow management, and business support services. This integrated model combines owned retail operations with a B2B cooperative services arm, enabling the group to leverage retail expertise while scaling through the independent optician network.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• Maurice Frères: Independent optical retail brand offering personalized eye care services with custom-cut lenses in-store
• Pieraut
• Balouzat
• Lunettestore
• Optique Amé
• Audition Conseil
• Centrale LUZ

Quantifiable outcome

• 215 M€ of purchases through Centrale LUZ demonstrates scale of independent optician network support

Named customers5 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

Feature1 record

Partnerships

Four partnerships are on record, tiered minor and core.

• Kassoumayé! (Sénégal Humanitarian Project)minorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2006Humanitarian vision screening project initiated by founder André Schertz at Saint-Joseph dispensary in Lyndiane, Ziguinchor, Senegal. Annual screening and eyewear provision for children and adults without access to ophthalmological care. Has created local jobs and developed an autonomous medical center.
• Vision SolidaritéminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerAssociation supporting vision health access for people in precarious situations. Groupe Schertz supports with an antenna in Strasbourg and Vandœuvres-lès-Nancy, hosting monthly action days for local beneficiaries. Opticians provide skills sponsorship (mécénat de compétences) to serve the most vulnerable.
• ENVISminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerPluridisciplinary association representing vision health specialists including professors, doctors, surgeons, and scientists. Created by Chantal Milleret (neuroscientist at Collège de France) and Jérôme Schertz (PDG of Groupe Schertz, Vice-President of the association). Objective: promote vision world development and medical research advances.
• Audition ConseilcoreChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorHearing care network of which Groupe Schertz audio centers are members. Provides methodology, training, and brand support for audiologists. Group operates 15 audio centers under this banner.

Scale indicators8 records

Recent moves9 records

Expansion highlights4 records

Direct peers

• Alain Afflelou: Major French optical retail chain with ~1,400 stores globally and strong brand recognition. Comparable as a multi-region optical retailer targeting similar consumer demographics.
• Optic 2000: One of France's largest optical retail chains with over 1,200 stores, including affiliated independents. Direct retail competitor to Groupe Schertz's owned banners in shared French geographies.
• Krys Group: France's largest optical cooperative, combining 1,500+ member stores with branded retail banners (Krys, Vision Plus). Most directly comparable to Groupe Schertz given its dual retail-plus-cooperative model.
• Générale d'Optique: French optical retail chain (GrandVision group) with broad national presence and value positioning. Competes with Groupe Schertz's owned stores in Île de France and elsewhere.
• Lissac: French family-owned optical retail chain with ~150 stores. Comparable in positioning and independent-operator ethos, though smaller and without a purchasing cooperative arm.
• Les Opticiens Atol: French optical cooperative serving independent opticians with centralized purchasing and branded retail support — a near-mirror of the Centrale LUZ / owned-store model, though with a single primary retail brand.
• Ecouter Voir: French independent-optical cooperative with affiliated stores. Closely comparable to Centrale LUZ's cooperative role for independents.
• Audika (part of Demant): Leading French hearing-aid retail network. Directly comparable to Groupe Schertz's Audition Conseil audio centers and competes for the same demographic and audiology customer base.

Broad incumbents

• Fielmann: Europe's largest optical retailer, primarily operating in Germany but expanding across Europe. Comparable as a multi-country optical retail benchmark and potential indirect competitor if it expands further into France.

Emerging players

• Hans Anders: Dutch value-oriented optical chain expanding across Western Europe. Comparable as a regional optical retail operator with growing European footprint and similar target demographic.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/le-groupe-schertz

Compliance1 record

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles10 records

Subsidiaries7 records

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 Groupe-schertz.