When did the company start ?

The company was set up in 2007 and my son Tarik is the manager, in fact the chairman of L’Ecrevisse SAS. We were then joined by my son-in-law Baptiste. And three months’ later the team expanded with the arrival of my wife Renate (in charge of accounts, management and administrative tasks), my nephew Thibault, a cousin Rémi, and Didier, and ex-salesman at Les Halles, who retired in 2010. Today, the company has about twenty employees. It’s a young, professional team. We have two bases, one of which is reserved for cutting and filleting.

How did the business develop ?

We had a history and some references under the Seafood Pavilion to back us up. As the company name indicates, we started by selling crayfish and lobsters. As regards crayfish, we handle the signal crayfish (Pacifastacus leniusculus), native to the Pacific, particularly British Columbia, which was introduced to Northern Europe in the 1960s and to France a bit later. Today, our crayfish supplies come from the UK. We are the only ones handling a half-ton per week in the pavilion.  This lovely product (80g /100g per unit) is mainly bought by restaurants. In the 1980s, ten tons a week used to be sold on certain stalls. As for the lobster, we deal with the “blue” lobster which is now called the European lobster, which comes from Brittany, Ireland or Scotland too.  We sell about two tons of lobster a week. Lobster is our flagship product, which can be found in our five tanks. We also handle spiny lobsters, Saint-Jacques scallops, good fish caught by small boats off the coast and shellfish and Marennes oysters. We also sell caviar from Asia (Schrenki).

Who are your clients ?

We sell to an upmarket clientele that includes the catering trade (60%), retail fishmongers (30%) and exports (10%). In catering this includes the top restaurants and luxury hotels (Ritz, Crillon, Plaza-Athénée, Loiseau, Pré Catelan, Louis XV in Monaco, Troisgros), mainly in the Paris region, Côte d’Azur, the Champagne region and top hotels in the mountains. For exports, we mostly work with Asia. We have managed to build up a loyal clientele because our products and services are top quality.

Do you have a strategy of development ?

Our development strategy is geared to a greater parity and synergy between our various sales channels. We would like to increase our sales on the producers’ floor by 25%. Similarly, we would like to increase exports to Asia to 25%. Lastly, we want to increase the Paris and provincial restaurant business in equal proportions, in order to maintain a balance between these two markets depending on the seasons.

What is your opinion of the market for seafood products ?

This market is both fluctuating and a bit saturated, due to the changes in domestic eating habits, with people cooking less than before, particularly seafood. Furthermore, the decrease in fish resources adds to the market fluctuations. In fact, the growing demand from the catering trade helps to regulate this market better.

What do you think of Rungis Market ?

Rungis is a market who fame has been built on top quality products, a broad range and good professionals. You can find everything at Rungis. It’s an exceptional quality centre and logistics hub. As a strategic place, Rungis Market is carried by a wave of quality.