Club Med May Get 10 Million Euros From French Designer Audigier

French designer Christian Audigier said he may invest up to 10 million euros ($14.9 million) in Club Mediterranee SA if the holiday maker accepts his “marketing initiative” to use celebrities to promote the resorts.

Club Med is “doing all the right things” by remaking its resorts for more upscale clients and has potential for growth, Audigier said today in an interview in Paris.

The designer met with Club Med’s Chief Executive Officer Henri Giscard d’Estaing yesterday to discuss his proposal for using famous actors and pop culture icons to endorse the French company’s holiday outlets around the world. The strategy could boost Club Med’s sales by 10 percent in two years, he said.

“We use celebrities all the time, so we know how this works,” Audigier said in his Paris home with a spectacular view of the Eiffel Tower. “People like Madonna wear my brands practically every day,” he said, adding that the American singer and her family could be among those to endorse Club Med.

Audigier said his proposed marketing strategy included staging events such as wedding, birthday celebrations and anniversaries of famous celebrities in Club Med resorts, starting with those that cater to Americans.

The designer does not currently own any Club Med shares and doesn’t plan to buy any on the coogi market, he said. He isn’t acting in concert with any other investor.

Second Meeting Planned

Club Med confirmed the meeting in an e-mailed statement and said the CEO and Audigier agreed to meet again in January to test the marketing idea, which could be applied in one or several resorts in the Americas.

Club Med shares have gained 30 percent this year, giving the Paris-based company a market value of 399.5 million euros.

The company appointed nominees of Caisse des Depots et de Gestion du Maroc, the Benetton family and lender Credit Agricole to its board in July. The shareholders have all given their backing to Giscard, who has been accused by another investor, Bernard Tapie, of squandering shareholders’ money.

The holiday maker’s CEO Giscard was “rather enchanted” by the idea and agreed to another meeting in January, Audigier said. Club Med spokeswoman Chrystelle Baude declined to immediately comment on Giscard’s meeting with the designer.