Le Manoir, a local retailer of premium wines and gastronomy, has opened the first Michel Cluizel chocolate shop in Bucharest with an investment of some EUR 200,000.

This is the first Michel Cluizel unit opened under franchise in the world, the other shops in Paris, Neuilly-sur-Seine, and New York being owned directly by the company. Michel Cluizel is a famous French chocolatier from Normandy. He started with a shop in Paris and then expanded to the US.

Petite Manufacture Cluziel, located on Episcopiei street, offers a wide range of products, such as bars, chocolate bonbons, pralines and truffles, all made from natural ingredients. Its offer also includes festive creations that can be offered as gifts, such as Santa Claus and Christmas Trees figurines, the bars with a festive décor, and the Crystal Star bonbons.

In the future, the chocolate shop in Bucharest will also include a department of raw materials (chocolate petals, cocoa powder), and decorations for professional and amateur confectioneries. Le Manoir might also open a second Michel Cluziel shop in Bucharest next year.

Le Manoir is owned by local entrepreneur Cristian Preotu. The company runs six Comptesse du Barry gastronomy shops (Three in Bucharest, and the rest in Constanta, Timisoara, and Cluj-Napoca), a Wine & Caviar Car, the La Boucherie Francaise meat shop, and Le Bistrot Francais bistro. The company also has an online shop. It had sales of over EUR 3 million in 2014.

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Irina Popescu, irina.popescu@romania-insider.com