Univert

What Univert does

Univert is a French purchasing group (groupement d'achat) founded in 1984 that aggregates the procurement of independent retailers specializing in motoculture and green-space maintenance equipment. The entity is structured as a SARL (Société à responsabilité limitée) headquartered in Vienne le Château / Ste Menehould with approximately 34 permanent staff at headquarters, and it serves roughly 100 independent member businesses operating around 250 physical stores across France, Belgium, Luxembourg, and Switzerland. The group's primary function is to negotiate collective purchasing terms with suppliers and pass 100% of those conditions back to member retailers, who retain operational independence.

Univert's commercial offering combines its own private-label brand Sentar (covering mowers, brushcutters, chainsaws, trailers, wood splitters, compressors, generators, water pumps, scarifiers, and accessories) with a portfolio of 35+ third-party brands including Pramac, Kärcher, Metabo, Grillo, Briggs & Stratton, Honda, Kawasaki, Stiga, Loncin, Emak, and Loiseau. Products span outdoor power equipment (electric, gasoline, and battery-powered), ride-on mowers, robotic mowers (e.g., SUN-RTS series), micro-tractors and compact excavators, chainsaws and wood-processing machinery, generators and compressors, pressure washers, water pumps, sprayers, trailers, and accessories. Distribution runs through the physical member-store network plus dedicated e-commerce platforms: univert.fr for consumers and pro.univert.fr for professional landscapers and contractors.

The business model is fundamentally a B2B procurement-aggregation play monetized through margins on centralized purchasing, complemented by a B2C/B2B retail storefront operated by member businesses. Pricing is unit-based at fixed retail prices displayed in euros (e.g., €20.90 for a backpack sprayer to €9,490 for a Fieldtrac 927D micro-tractor), with free in-store pickup and paid home delivery. Customer segments are split between individual consumers and homeowners (primary) and professional landscapers, contractors, and green-space maintenance businesses (secondary), both served via the same network. The group is governed by member representatives through regional meetings and commissions, with Grégoire Juppin as coordinator and Bernard Rocha as President. No external investors, parent company, or acquisitions are indicated in the available data.

Name

Univert

Legal name

Société à responsabilité limitée

Website

https://univert.fr

Company type

Private

Founded year

1984

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Univert is a French purchasing group founded in 1984 that centralizes procurement for roughly 100 independent retailers operating about 250 stores across France, Belgium, Luxembourg, and Switzerland, selling garden and green-space equipment under its Sentar private label and 35+ third-party brands.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Garden Equipment Retail

NAICS

Hardware Retailers (444140), Home Centers (44411)

SIC

Retail-Retail Stores, Nec (5990)

akta.pro primary industry

Paint, Stain & Finishes Retail (Coatings, Sundries) (CRAIADAF)

Keywords

• Garden equipment retail
• Outdoor power equipment
• Green space machinery
• Landscaping tools
• Purchasing group

Headquarters

HQ city

Vienne le Château

HQ country

France

HQ region

Europe

Offices3 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

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

Revenue model

1. Equipment and machinery sales: Sale of garden equipment, green space maintenance machinery, trailers, and related accessories through physical retail stores and e-commerce. Products include lawn mowers, brushcutters, chainsaws, wood splitters, tractors, trailers, compressors, generators, and water pumps.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels4 records

Marketing channels5 records

Core offering

Univert is a French purchasing group and retail network specializing in garden and green space maintenance equipment, operating approximately 240–250 stores across France, Belgium, Luxembourg, and Switzerland. It distributes its own private label brand "Sentar" alongside 35+ third-party brands (Pramac, Kärcher, Metabo, Grillo, Briggs & Stratton, Honda, etc.) through physical member stores, a consumer e-commerce site (univert.fr), and an authenticated professional portal (pro.univert.fr). Product categories span lawn mowers, brushcutters, chainsaws, tractors, generators, compressors, pressure washers, water pumps, trailers, and related accessories for both individual consumers and professional landscapers.

Product overview

Univert is a French retail chain specializing in garden equipment and green space maintenance products, established in 1984. The company operates as a purchasing group with approximately 240 stores across France and also serves Belgium, Luxembourg, and Switzerland. Univert offers a comprehensive portfolio of outdoor power equipment through both its own private label brand Sentar and third-party manufacturers including Pramac, Karcher, Metabo, Grillo, Briggs & Stratton, Honda, Kawasaki, and others. The product lineup centers on lawn care equipment (mowers, robotic mowers, brush cutters, scarifiers), ground preparation machinery (cultivators, motor hoes, wood chippers), tree and land management tools (chainsaws, circular saws, wood splitters), and professional maintenance equipment (generators, air compressors, pressure washers, water pumps, trailers). Additional offerings include tractor attachments, tractor accessories, batteries and chargers, work clothing, and loading ramps. The company operates primarily as an e-commerce platform with physical store pickup options.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• Sentar: Private label brand created by Univert to address terrain-specific issues and meet the quality and usage expectations of their customers. Products include mowers, compressors, and sweepers.

Products and services

• Lawn Mowers (Tondeuses) Walk-behind and robotic lawn mowers in electric, gasoline, and battery power variants, available across multiple cutting widths to suit small gardens through large properties; sold to individual consumers and professional landscapers.
• Brush Cutters (Débroussailleuses) Brush cutters and grass trimmers for clearing weeds and thick vegetation in areas where lawn mowers cannot reach; includes trimmer heads and blades suited to consumer and professional use.
• Ride-on Mowers and Garden Tractors (Tracteurs à gazon / Autoportées) Sit-on lawn mowers and garden tractors with various cutting deck widths for large lawn areas; includes models with rear collection bags and hydrostatic transmission.
• Hedge Trimmers (Taille-haies) Powered hedge trimming tools, including battery-powered models, for maintaining hedges and shrubs with precision cutting; aimed at residential and professional users.
• Garden Cultivators (Motoculteurs) Motorized cultivators for breaking up and aerating soil in preparation for seeding; available with various engine options and working widths.
• Wood Chippers (Broyeurs de végétaux) Electric and gasoline-powered garden shredders and wood chippers that process branches and plant waste into compostable material, with various cutting capacities.
• Lawn Scarifiers (Scarificateurs) Equipment to remove moss and thatch and aerate grass for healthier lawns; aimed at homeowners maintaining established lawns.
• Chainsaws (Tronçonneuses) Chainsaws for cutting trees and shrubs, including battery, gasoline, and pole pruner models, suitable for both consumer firewood preparation and professional forestry work.
• Circular Saws (Scies circulaires) Electric circular saws for woodworking tasks including log cutting and lumber processing.
• Wood Splitters (Fendeuses à bois) Wood splitting machines for preparing firewood, available in splitting forces from 11 to 22 tons and including tractor-mounted variants for higher-volume professional use.
• Generators (Groupes électrogènes) Portable generators for providing power where electrical grid access is unavailable, with various wattage capacities and runtime specifications; some models are purchase-in-store only.
• Air Compressors (Compresseurs) Air compressors for powering pneumatic tools and equipment, available in belt-driven and coaxial configurations with various tank capacities.
• Pressure Washers (Nettoyeurs haute pression) High-pressure washers for cleaning surfaces such as terraces, walls, and equipment; available in electric and gasoline-powered models with various pressure ratings.
• Water Pumps (Pompes à eau) Water pumps for draining basements, filling pools, and water transfer applications, including gasoline-powered models for use in remote locations.
• Leaf and Debris Blowers (Souffleurs) Leaf and debris blowers for clearing pathways and outdoor spaces, available in battery-powered and gasoline-powered models.
• Trailers (Remorques) Trailers for transporting equipment and materials, including bagging trailers, platform trailers, and dump trailers with various load capacities.
• Motor Hoes (Motobineuses) Motor hoes for soil cultivation, weeding, and seedbed preparation, available with various working widths.
• Motorized Wheelbarrows (Brouettes motorisées) Motorized wheelbarrows for transporting heavy loads across difficult terrain, with various load capacities and one- or two-wheel drive configurations.
• Micro Tractors (Tracteurs) Microtractors for large-scale property management, equipped with various accessories for earthwork, cultivation, and material handling.
• Mini Excavators (Mini-pelles) Compact excavators for leveling, earthwork, and digging operations on properties.
• Earth Augers (Tarières) Earth augers for drilling holes for planting posts, trees, and fence posts, available with various bit sizes.
• Garden Sprayers (Pulvérisateurs) Garden and agricultural sprayers for treating plants and crops, available with various tank capacities and spray configurations.
• Thermal Weed Control Equipment (Désherbeurs thermiques) Thermal weed control equipment that uses heat to eliminate weeds without chemical herbicides.
• Sentar Private Label Brand Univert's proprietary brand of outdoor power equipment developed to address specific terrain challenges and customer needs, with custom product specifications covering mowers, brushcutters, chainsaws, trailers, wood splitters, compressors, generators, water pumps, scarifiers, tillers, and accessories.
• Work Clothing and Protective Gear (Vêtements de travail) Work clothing and protective gear designed for outdoor work environments, sold alongside equipment to consumer and professional customers.
• Loading Ramps (Rampes) Loading ramps for transporting equipment on trailers, available in steel and aluminum with various weight capacities, sold as standalone accessories.

Quantifiable outcome

• 14-day withdrawal period for online purchases
• +2 more outcomes

Named customers2 records

Segments2 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

Three partnerships are on record, tiered core.

• Sentar (Univert's own brand)coreOEM/ Whitelabel/ Licensing Partner · 1 January 1984Sentar is Univert's private label brand created specifically to address terrain challenges and customer needs. Univert develops custom specifications based on their market knowledge and customer requirements, then presumably partners with manufacturers to produce products under the Sentar name.
• Independent member businessescoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 1984Approximately 100 independent businesses operating around 250 stores that have joined the Univert purchasing group since 1984. Members benefit from collective purchasing power while maintaining independence. The group passes 100% of purchase conditions back to members.
• Grégoire Juppin (Coordinating Director)coreOthersCoordinator of the Univert purchasing group. Acts as the main liaison for member businesses and the privileged contact for referenced suppliers. Organizes logistics and remains attentive to member needs.

Scale indicators5 records

Recent moves5 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Broad incumbents

• Jardiland: Major French garden center chain operated by Teract. Overlaps with Univert on garden equipment and outdoor power tools but focuses on live plants and broader gardening categories, making it a broader specialty incumbent rather than a pure motoculture retailer.
• Leroy Merlin: France's leading home improvement big-box retailer (Adeo group). Competes with Univert on garden equipment assortment and pricing, but operates a much broader home improvement portfolio across larger stores, making it a broad incumbent rather than a direct motoculture specialist.
• Truffaut: French specialty garden and pet retail chain with nationwide stores. Overlaps with Univert in garden equipment and tools, but focuses more on plants and live goods, positioning it as a broader specialty incumbent.
• Brico Dépôt: Kingfisher-group discount home improvement retailer with significant French store footprint. Competes with Univert on price-conscious DIY and garden equipment purchases, but offers a much broader hardware and renovation product portfolio.

Direct peers

• Gamm Vert: France's largest garden center cooperative network, operating more than 1,000 stores nationwide. Directly comparable as a cooperative purchasing and retail structure serving amateur gardeners and rural property owners, with overlapping product categories in outdoor power equipment.
• Mr. Bricolage: French independent-adherent home improvement and garden retail network with a cooperative-style structure. Directly comparable to Univert as an independent-dealer purchasing organization, though with a broader hardware rather than motoculture focus.
• Point Vert (Agrial): French agricultural cooperative retail network affiliated with Agrial, serving gardeners, farmers and rural property owners. Directly comparable to Univert in cooperative purchasing structure and customer base, with overlapping equipment and motoculture offerings.

Emerging players

• Manomano: Paris-based pure-play online marketplace specializing in DIY, home improvement and garden equipment. Comparable as a competing channel for the same end customers, but operates digitally without physical service infrastructure.

Others

• Husqvarna Group: Global manufacturer of outdoor power equipment, robotic mowers and forestry tools. A key upstream supplier and brand partner for Univert's network; comparable because its products anchor the motoculture category Univert retails.
• STIHL: Leading global manufacturer of chainsaws and outdoor power equipment with a strong French dealer network. Comparable as a major brand partner whose products are distributed in part through Univert's member network.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat6 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/univertreseau

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles2 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 Univert