Gueudet

Infobox Company
name = Gueudet

type = Private
genre =
foundation = 1880
founder =
location_city = flagicon|France Amiens
location_country = France
location =
locations =
area_served = France
key_people = Jean-Claude Gueudet (CEO)
industry = Automobile
products = Vehicles and Equipment
services =
market c

revenue = increase €805 million (2007)
operating_income =
net_income =
assets =
equity =
owner =
num_employees = increase 2,300 (2007)
parent =
divisions =
subsid =
homepage = [http://www.gueudet.fr www.gueudet.fr]
footnotes =
intl =

Gueudet is one of the most important car distributors in France. It is still owned and managed by the Gueudet family.

History

All started with Charles Gueudet who was building sewing-machines and bicycles in his workshop in Breteuil-sur-Noye, France. Charles created his company in 1880 and soon worked with two of his sons, Gustave and Lucien. Gustave Gueudet is a self-made man with an entrepreneurial spirit while his brother Lucien is an engineer who graduated from the prestigious French school of Arts et Métiers. When the first cars appear, the Gueudet brothers quickly understand that this will revolutionize the world, and they decide to invest all they have in a car business. The story says that Gustave Gueudet and car maker Louis Renault, founder and CEO of Renault, met on a road of northern France while Mr. Renault had some mechanical problems that were fixed by Gustave Gueudet himself, and the two men who kept in touch soon decided to do business together.

In any event, Gustave Gueudet and Louis Renault sign their first distribution contract in 1920. At the time, Gustave is committed to sell four cars a year. He and Lucien Gueudet decide to create a true network of garages and distribution centers throughout northern France. In 1922, they inaugurate in Amiens "Le Palais de l'Automobile", which is then considered as a great example of what a nice and modern garage should be.

Throughout the years, the Gueudet brothers make their company more and more prosperous, but World War II occurs and most of the garages and dealerships owned by the family are destroyed. After the War, Gustave and Lucien Gueudet decide to start almost all over again with the help of Gustave's son, Robert. In addition, they expand the business to new activities, such as people transportation with the creation of two companies called "Les Autobus Artésiens", and "Les Courriers Automobiles Picards." Also, the Gueudets get involved in agricultural materials, trucks, buses, and gas distribution.

The Gueudet Group becomes one of the most important companies in its field, regionally, but also nationally. In 1956, Gustave Gueudet is decorated Knight of the Legion of Honor by the French Government. In 1959, Gueudet organizes the first tractor race in the country.

In 1960, the Gueudet Group is divided into two parts. The first part contains the car distribution activities and all that goes with it, and is owned and managed by Gustave Gueudet and his son Robert Gueudet, while the second part contains the transportation activities and is owned and managed by Lucien Gueudet and his son-in-law Pierre Amiaud, an engineer from the Ecole Centrale des Arts et Manufactures in Paris.

In 1966, Robert Gueudet dies and lets his father Gustave alone as the head of the company. At 86 years old, Gustave Gueudet has to rethink his succession plan and designates a general manager who is not a family member. Gustave dies 4 years later in the south of France at age 89.

After a transition period, two of Robert Gueudet's sons, Jean-Claude and Patrick, became heads of the Gueudet Group in 1980. The two brothers continue to develop the business and besides Renault become partners of other car manufacturers, such as BMW, Opel (owned by GM), Nissan, Toyota, Audi, Volkswagen, and Mini. Meanwhile, Patrick Gueudet, a graduate of HEC Lausanne Business School in Switzerland, creates several computer programs related to car distribution, which help to improve the service to the customers. One of those programs is even sold to Diac, Renault's financial company. As a result, the Gueudet Group is seen as a "computer pioneer." Similarly, the company is the first of its kind to create its own website as early as 1995.

In 2005, Patrick Gueudet, like his grandfather fifty years earlier, is decorated Knight of the Legion of Honor by the French Government.

ources

* [http://www.gueudet.fr/ Official Gueudet Group Website]
* [http://www.whoswho.fr/rechercher?mot=gueudet&button=Rechercher&act=search_biographie_simple_name&type_recherche=nom/ Patrick Gueudet's Biography in the Who's Who in France]