Online retailer CDiscounts creates 50 jobs


18 Jun 2009

Leading online retailer CDiscount is to create 50 jobs in Dundalk, Co Louth, where it is to establish its regional headquarters for Ireland and the UK.

Bordeaux-headquartered CDiscount SA is a leading player in the European online marketplace.

The company is the online trading division of Groupe Casino of France, which has global revenues of over €28.7bn and more than 10,000 stores worldwide employing 200,000 people in key brands such as Casino Supermarkets, Monoprix, Big C and Libertad.

The Dundalk headquarters will operate as one of two distribution centres for the UK and Ireland, and also as the business support and management centre with activities including finance, marketing, supply-chain management, and IT.

The new business is a joint venture between CDiscount SA and NCBH Limited, an investment company owned by RIG Investments, a leading Dutch venture capital house and Ciaran O’Donoghue, a well-known local entrepreneur in Dundalk.

RIG Investments is the investment vehicle run by Dutch television’s Dragons’ Den programme judge, Henk Keilman.

“This is excellent news for Dundalk and the whole north east, and demonstrates further the attractiveness of the region for companies seeking a location from which to develop and grow their European business,” the Tánaiste and Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment, Mary Coughlan TD, said.

“The efforts in recent years by all parties involved locally in the development of the region as an attractive location for inward investment continues to show excellent results with this latest success.”

CDiscount retails over 60,000 different items across many product sectors from electronics, fashion, sports, DIY and wine. It built its reputation in France and Germany on low price with superior customer service.

“CDiscount are pleased to confirm Dundalk as the regional headquarters for this very important phase of our European expansion,” said Herve Charle, CDiscount’s founder.

“We were extremely impressed with the attitude of the Irish Government, and its functional business development arms, in their strong commitment to encouraging entrepreneurial activities and their supportiveness of new business activities. This very much fits with the CDiscount culture throughout Europe.

“We look forward to establishing CDiscount as an online leader in Ireland and the UK, as we are in France,” Charle added.

By John Kennedy