Dominique Bouché, pdt. du groupe Artezia
Four years after having first been set up, Artezia is the only French franchise network specialising in amicable or legal debt recovery. And its rise has been rapid: in 2006 it grew by 182% in terms of new cases and 179% in terms of turnover. “We are now one of the largest debt recovery firms in the French market. Only the international companies are bigger than us,” says Dominique Bouché, Managing Director of a franchise he built up from his Anglet-based agency in South-West France.
Although Artezia presently has around twenty franchises in various locations around France, the company is intent on pursuing its expansion strategy and boosting that figure to approximately fifty over the course of the next 3-4 four years. In order to achieve this target, Artezia is looking for people capable of opening and running new offices.
Ideal candidates must, of course, have at least some familiarity with the law, but even more to the point, they must display an aptitude for business and a developed sense of entrepreneurship. Candidates are required to invest 43,000 euros ex-VAT plus an annual fee, the rate of which decreases in function of turnover and, of course, of the location of the pre-mises. “But in this kind of business, flash offices are unnecessary, which makes it possible to keep initial investment costs to a minimum,” says Dominique Bouché.
In return, Artezia franchisees receive a complete, four week training course covering sales techniques and methods, debt recovery, the software recently developed by the company, and running and managing an office.
They also benefit from Artezia’s image, the impact of the brand, and its sheer volume of business, factors which are always essential when it comes to negotiating with partners from the legal profession. Lastly, they receive permanent backup in terms of staff training, equipment maintenance, and IT, commercial and legal support.
Amicable negotiations
So far, the market has been kind to Artezia, which has enjoyed a double figure growth rate ever since it started trading. And the future is looking rosy too. Not only for legislative reasons (in both EU and French law, new provisions covering business debt have recently been introduced), but also because the number and quantity of unpaid debts is, for structural economic reasons, almost certain to rise.
“When economic conditions deteriorate, the number of debts increases as a matter of course. When, on the other hand, conditions improve, households tend to consume more than is strictly reasonable, sometimes going into debt and accumulating unpaid bills,” says Mr Bouché, adding: “We are aware of the difficulties faced by debtors. And we respect them.”
That is why Artezia makes it a point of honour to do its utmost to ensure that, wherever possible, problems are resolved on an amicable basis, and that legal proceedings are always the last option. An option presently taken, according to Mr Bouché, in only 6% of cases.
English 
