Variantes

What Variantes does

Variantes is a Paris-based specialist retailer of board games, chess and Go equipment, puzzles, playing cards, tarot, and poker supplies, operating continuously since 1991. The company runs a single physical boutique at 29 rue Saint-André-des-Arts in the 6th arrondissement, open seven days a week, alongside a PrestaShop-powered e-commerce site at variantes.com that supports home delivery, Click & Collect, and international shipping via Colissimo, DHL, FedEx, and EMS. Its catalog spans seven core categories — chess (pieces, boards, electronic chess, clocks, multilingual books, software), Go, traditional strategy games (Shogi, Xiang Qi, Mah-Jong, Backgammon), modern board games (strategy, exploration, deduction, party, solo), puzzles and brain teasers, cards and tarot, and poker/casino — including award-winning titles such as Colt Express (Spiel des Jahres 2015) and the Unlock! escape-room series, with forward preorders into trading card games such as Riftbound.

The business model is straightforward unit-based D2C retail with no subscription component. Products are individually priced across a wide range — from €9.99 budget titles to €164.90 premium games — with quantity discounts starting at three units for club and bulk buyers. Free standard shipping applies within France for orders over €60, and the company is GDPR/CCPA-compliant and registered with the CNIL. Payment processing runs through LCL (CB/Visa/Mastercard with SSL encryption) and PayPal. The underlying technology stack is conventional: PrestaShop e-commerce, Google Analytics, Google Ads/AdSense/Remarketing, Affilinet for affiliate tracking, and embedded YouTube and Maps widgets. Customer segments are a primary long-tail of individual consumers (families, hobbyists, enthusiasts) and a secondary base of chess clubs and game associations purchasing equipment in bulk. There is no disclosed revenue, no external funding, no AI/ML capability, and no identified parent company; the responsible publication is listed as Julien Vahanian, and the entity is Variantes SAS with €8,000 share capital.

Name

Variantes

Legal name

Variantes SAS

Website

https://variantes.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

1991

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

Variantes is a Paris-based specialist retailer founded in 1991 selling board games, chess and Go equipment, puzzles, cards, tarot, and poker supplies through a single boutique and an e-commerce site serving individual consumers and chess clubs.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Specialty Game Retail (Board Games, Chess, Go, and Strategy Games)

NAICS

Hobby, Toy, and Game Retailers (45912)

SIC

Retail-Hobby, Toy & Game Shops (5945)

akta.pro primary industry

Board Game & Puzzle Specialty Retailers (CRALALAA)

akta.pro secondary industries

Strategy/Euro Board Games Retail (CRALALAC), Collectible Card Games (CCGs/LCGs) Retail (CRALALAG)

Keywords

• Chess equipment retail
• Board games specialist
• Go game sets
• Strategy games retail
• Puzzles and tarot cards

Headquarters

HQ city

Paris

HQ country

France

HQ region

Europe

Offices2 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

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

Revenue model

1. Retail Product Sales: The company generates revenue through the sale of physical board games, chess equipment, Go sets, puzzles, playing cards, tarot cards, poker supplies, and related accessories. Products are sold at fixed retail prices with no subscription component. The company also stocks books on chess strategy and game literature.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels4 records

Core offering

Variantes retails a curated catalog of board games, chess equipment, Go sets, strategy games (Shogi, Mah-Jong, Backgammon), puzzles, playing cards, tarot, and poker/casino supplies through a physical boutique in central Paris and an e-commerce storefront. The product range spans entry-level family titles to premium hobbyist games, includes chess literature and software in multiple languages, and serves individual consumers as well as chess clubs and associations with bulk and volume-discount options.

Product overview

Variantes is a specialist retail boutique for board games, chess, Go, and strategy games operating since 1991, located at 29 rue Saint André des Arts in Paris 6ème. The company offers a comprehensive catalog across multiple categories: chess equipment (pieces, boards, electronic chess, clocks, books, software), Go game sets, board games (strategy, exploration, combat, deduction, party games), puzzles and brain teasers, playing cards and tarot, and poker/casino supplies. The product portfolio includes internationally acclaimed titles like Colt Express (Spiel des Jahres 2015), the Unlock! escape room card game series, and 7 Wonders Architects, alongside specialty items such as chess literature in multiple languages and traditional strategy games (Shogi, Xiang Qi, Mah-Jong). The store operates both as an e-commerce platform and physical boutique with 7-day-per-week opening hours.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Chess Equipment and Accessories Complete range of chess products including wooden and Staunton-style pieces, chessboards, travel sets, electronic chess boards, clocks, books in multiple languages, and chess software (game programs, databases, opening references, endgame references, grandmaster literature). Dedicated sub-categories include club equipment (pieces, sets, clocks, boards) for organized chess clubs.
• Go Game Equipment Go game sets including goban boards, stones, bowls, French and foreign-language Go books, and Go software, plus a dedicated sub-category for Go clubs.
• Traditional Strategy Games (Jeux de Réflexion) Traditional strategy games including Shogi (Japanese chess), Xiang Qi (Chinese chess), Mah-Jong, Backgammon, modern tactical games, and other traditional titles such as Chinese checkers, French checkers, dominoes, and Awélé, plus related books.
• Board Games (Jeux de Société) Wide selection of modern board games including strategy, exploration and development, combat, deduction and escape games, party/ambiance games, travel games, two-player games, solo games, letter and number games, children's games, and collectible card games (TCG/JCC), plus related books and accessories.
• Puzzles and Brain Teasers Puzzle and brain-teaser assortment including art puzzles, landscape puzzles, humorous puzzles, cinema/series/BD puzzles, children's puzzles, wooden puzzles, magic cubes, secret boxes, and wooden and metal brain-teaser puzzles, plus accessories and books.
• Playing Cards and Tarot Playing cards including classic and regional decks, Bicycle cards, magic cards, "7 Families" card games, themed collectible cards (history, medieval, arts/cinema/literature, monuments/regions, animals/nature, erotica), tarot playing cards, divination tarot, and oracles, plus card mats, card sets, and books.
• Poker and Casino Supplies Poker and casino supplies including poker sets, card shufflers, dice and dice tracks, casino games, plus related books and DVDs.

Segments2 records

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Integration10 records

Scale indicators2 records

Recent moves5 records

Expansion highlights4 records

Broad incumbents

• Cultura: National French retail chain carrying books, hobby supplies, and board games across physical stores and e-commerce. Comparable as a much larger incumbent that competes with Variantes on mainstream hobby and game SKUs at scale.
• Amazon France: Global e-commerce incumbent with the largest board game and chess equipment catalog in France. Comparable as the dominant alternative channel for the same customers, especially on price and delivery speed.
• Fnac: Major French retailer (and broader European) with a sizable board game, toys, and games category online and in-store. Comparable as a broad incumbent overlapping with Variantes on chess, board games, and games-related books.

Others

• IELLO: French board game publisher of titles Variantes actively stocks (e.g., Athlètes de Compètes, Terrorscape). Comparable as a domestic publisher partner rather than a retail competitor.
• Asmodee: Largest French/European board game publisher and distributor (Catan, 7 Wonders, Star Wars games). Comparable as a major counterparty that supplies Variantes and shapes which independent retailers get favorable allocations on key releases.

Direct peers

• Philibert: Leading French online specialist retailer of board games, puzzles, and hobby games. Directly comparable to Variantes in product mix, target audience (French hobby gamers and families), and pure-play specialist positioning, though at significantly larger scale.
• Magic Bazar: French specialist retailer focused on trading card games (Magic, Pokémon, Yu-Gi-Oh!) and board games. Comparable to Variantes on the TCG/CCG and board game overlap and the French hobby-enthusiast customer base.
• Yellow Mountain Imports: Specialist retailer focused on Go equipment (boards, stones, bowls) and Asian strategy games. Comparable to Variantes on the Go and traditional strategy-game specialist axis, though primarily serving the international English-speaking market.
• Chess & Bridge: Long-established UK-based specialist chess retailer carrying equipment, books, and software. Comparable to Variantes on the chess-equipment specialist axis with similar depth of catalog and an international mail-order channel.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat3 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/variantes

Compliance2 records

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 Variantes