With her big, blue eyes full of sensitivity and her gentle voice, with occasional bursts of laughter, Geraldine Cuet brings an unsuspected and unusual charm to the fruit and vegetable business. As a teenager she used to dream of sunshine and far horizons. “I wanted to be an airline stewardess,” she admits, “but unfortunately I was too short. After my baccalaureat, I did a two-year diploma (BTS) in tourism. Yet when Mr L’harmeroult, the company’s founder, retired, my father wanted to have someone he could trust to work with him. So that’s how I ended up joining the company in September 1992.” This company dates back to the days of Les Halles de Paris! Although a salesman for many years, Mr Jacky Cuet, Géraldine’s father, eventually became an equal partner with M. L’harmeroult and the company changed its name to L’harmeroult-Cuet SA. When his partner left, Jacky Cuet stayed on as sole manager of the company. Then when he retired in 2000 he handed the business over to his two daughters and also invited Mrs Mauricette Lepetit to take a stake in the company’s capital. Today, Géraldine Cuet is managing director and board member of the company, Shirley Cuet (her younger sister who joined the company in 1998) is general secretary and board member, Mauricette Lepetit is deputy managing director and board member. She is in charge of sales because of her considerable experience in the business. All three are backed up by a dynamic, professional team composed of three sales staff, four assistants and a cashier. The majority of the clientele (75%) is comprised of non sedentary retailers, with the remainder divided between restaurant owners (5%), wholesalers and semi-wholesalers (10%) and retailers with stores (10%).

“The clients have been loyal to us for a long time. Nevertheless, while business is now tougher than before, it is primarily due to the development of large and medium-sized supermarkets, because people no longer shop at outdoor markets very often. Rungis nevertheless remains a useful, important place for exchanges. Rungis’ strength lies in the diversity and quality of its products. Our fruit and vegetable line covers about 250 listed products, not including exotic products, organic products and potatoes. Oranges (110 tons/week), clementines (100 tons/week) and tomatoes are among the products we sell most. Apples and pears are also a significant market. We primarily sell Spanish and Moroccan produce, but also Italian (25% of volumes, including grapes, melon, tomatoes, parsley, onions and watermelon). “It’s going well,” concludes this smiling company director, whose passion for skiing, travelling, reading and even rugby gives her the strength to hold her own in a man’s world.”.