Louis Hachette Group brings together Lagardère and Prisma Media to form a highly diversified actor and leader in publishing, travel retail and media.

Birth of the Louis Hachette Group brand

Louis Hachette is historically recognized as having been a leading entrepreneur and innovator in publishing and distribution. He was also one of the first publishers of a mainstream leisure magazine in France and the founder of bookstalls in stations. His forward-thinking approach ensured that his company remained relevant and influential. His visionary and pioneering spirit has had a lasting impact on the publishing industry and beyond.

Founder of the Hachette bookshop

In 1826, Louis Hachette created his publishing house by acquiring his first bookshop near the Sorbonne and laid the foundations for what today constitutes the group’s main activities: publishing, distribution and media.

An innovator in educational publishing

Louis Hachette identified and met all the needs of primary education and established a monopoly on orders from local councils and administrations. He was a pioneer of new uses, methods, and teaching approaches in publishing.

A revolutionary in distribution and publishing

Louis Hachette never ceased to innovate. He introduced revolutionary practices to book distribution, such as placing books with booksellers with the possibility of returning unsold copies and the creation of station bookstalls in 1852.

A pioneer in travel retail

The introduction of station bookstalls revolutionized book distribution by making reading accessible to travelers. It paved the way for what would become Lagardère Travel Retail, a division specializing in retail in transit areas such as train stations and airports.

Inspired by the British, he added travel guides and inexpensive editions to his catalogue, thus foreshadowing the paperback book. He also introduced publishing contracts, advertising, and press services.

Louis Hachette was a significant contributor to the popularization of reading among the general public and the improvement of education in France.
By adopting his name for our group, we honor all our areas of activity – publishing, travel retail and media – while paying tribute to a man who left an indelible mark. This name symbolizes our attachment to the value of knowledge, creation, innovation, and quality.

Manifesto

A revolution is shaking up the world of content and media: categories are being disrupted and consumption transformed by new formats and channels. In this rapidly changing context, our role is more essential than ever.

Through our expertise in publishing, travel retail, and media, we don’t just follow trends — we enrich culture in France and internationally. Driven by a pioneering spirit, our ambition is to leverage the power of human creativity to reimagine how we educate, entertain and inform in a sustainable way. By boldly reinventing how we reach and engage our audiences today, we are working to build a better world for tomorrow.

We’ve always been avant-garde. Our founder, Louis Hachette, revolutionized book distribution and injected culture into travel with the creation of bookstalls in stations, while also being one of the first publishers of a mainstream leisure magazine in France. We’ve applied this spirit of continual reinvention to become an international leader.

Building on strong foundations, we are ambitious for our future. Committed to nurture creators from all horizons, lead in new formats, create novel experiences and leverage the potential of digital, our diversified portfolio prepares us to capitalise on emerging opportunities.

We are the Louis Hachette Group. Because the world doesn’t stand still.