“Bringing together specialists, each in their own field, and with exclusivity, because we don’t want any competition between us.” Jean-Marc Rigaud, manager of CepheImmo, a commercial real estate agency that has been operating in Luxembourg for over eight years, is one of the founding members of Horeca Connect, which was officially launched a few days ago.
Despite sharing a name with a platform active in the Netherlands (of which the creators of the Luxembourg twin were, incidentally, unaware), no link exists between the two structures.
A network approach
This new entity brings together more than 20 service providers covering all the needs associated with opening or managing an establishment: real estate, cash register software, payment terminals, professional equipment such as kitchen equipment, insurance, accounting, legal and digital marketing. “The aim is to get together and share our network,” explains Rigaud. Although the idea was hatched long before the covid pandemic, the crisis delayed the operational launch. “We started up again at the beginning of the year, and now we’re off and running. The idea is clearly to do business.”
Legal structuring is underway to establish the project’s identity, which will most likely be some form of an ASBL. The positioning is aimed at both local entrepreneurs and foreign groups. “Many French and Belgian companies want to set up in Luxembourg for obvious reasons, but they don’t know the market or have the necessary contacts. With our network, we are in a position to provide them with everything they need.”
Horeca Connect also intends to make itself useful to operators already established faced with issues such as renewing equipment or recruiting staff.
A service at no extra cost to customers
The business model is based on a business porting mechanism, with no direct billing to end customers. “We provide them with a list of companies that are competent, serious, work together and are known on the market. We are very vigilant about who wants to join us. For example, we don’t want a brasserie, because that could be a conflict of interest,” explains Rigaud.
The welcome given by some restaurant groups is seen as an encouraging signal. “If we’ve done it, believe me, it’s because there's a real need. And when you see the response, you can be sure that the idea is a good one and that it will work. Our ambition is to advise our customers and help them as best we can to make a success of their establishment here, so that the restaurant industry does a little better than it is doing today.”
Horesca federation not in the loop
When questioned, the Horesca trade federation had not yet been made aware of the approach. “I have nothing against it. When people want to help the sector, I think it’s not a bad thing,” comments its secretary general, .
The executive, , points out, however, that “the House of Entrepreneurship is undertaking the same kind of work” and remains cautious. “We’ll have to see over time how this new structure sees things.”
This article was originally published in .