Fosun's booster shot rejuvenates Club Med's growth plans

Singapore

CLUB Méditerranée, more commonly known as Club Med, is accelerating its expansion in China by developing 20 resorts there by 2021, following a financial booster shot from the Chinese conglomerate Fosun Group.

Speaking to The Business Times, president of Club Med Henri Giscard d'Estaing said the group's Franco-Chinese owners are set to give "a total face-lift" to one of France's best-known holiday resort chains.

The rejuvenation follows a rough patch for the group as a whole. Lower-priced competitors emerged in the early 2000s, and the terrorist attacks of Sept 11, 2001 in the US, the Bali bombings and the global financial crisis of 2008/2009 did not help.

Fosun Group's infusion of 939 million euros (S$1.51 billion) in early 2015 enabled the resort group to restart its global expansion. This time, Club Med is not only going upscale to target wealthy Chinese travellers, it is also launching a new line of resorts in …