Founder of Israel Growth Venture
Mickael Benmoshé
More than twenty-five years in the field, between Paris and Israel: retail, commercial real estate, brand development and real store openings. That path is what gave rise to Israel Growth Venture.
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1997 — the first Aliyah
My story with Israel begins in 1997, with my first Aliyah. After a Mekhina Kdam Tzva’it at kibbutz Rosh Tzurim, I volunteered for service in the IDF, in the artillery.
I then lived in Jerusalem, where I worked at Café Rimon and later at the Jerusalem Post, before returning to France in 1999.
Paris — commercial real estate
Paris is where most of my professional experience was built. I specialised in commercial real estate and joined BDI Entreprise, rue Montmartre, the professional agency of the PROCOMM network, which at the time had some thirty branches and around 250 agents.
I was named best agent of the network three times.
Nadia + Mickael: the Étienne-Marcel beat
It was at BDI Entreprise that the partnership which marked this period of my career took shape: Nadia S. and myself. For several years we worked together, day in and day out, across the , Montorgueil, , rue Montmartre, Sentier and area.
That area is historically one of the great Paris districts for fashion, ready-to-wear, mid and upper-range labels — and, a few streets away, luxury.
By then, Nadia + Mickael had become one of the best-known commercial real estate duos in the district. Shopkeepers, landlords, agents, brands and professionals all knew us. We were constantly on the ground, from store to store and from building to building.
In some months we brought in more than a hundred new listings. BDI Entreprise handled more than 3,000 listings in total.
It was not only a matter of volume. Over those years we learned every street, the landlords, the rental values, the footfall, the locations that worked and those that did not, and the very different needs of a retail chain, an independent shopkeeper or an investor.
A large part of what I know today about the Paris retail ground was built during those years with Nadia S. Without her my professional path would not have been the same — and I believe the reverse is also true.
Very different transactions
That period let me work on deals ranging from small shops to premises of several thousand square metres: lease assignments, lettings, showrooms, store openings and network development.
In 2008 I handled the letting of the former Starlight restaurant, at 3 allée Darius Milhaud in the 19th arrondissement, for the opening of , still trading at that address today.
I also handled the opening of at 43 rue Montmartre / 11 rue de la Jussienne, in , a historic house specialising in neckties. The unit covers around 600 sq m over several levels.
Other transactions include at 35 rue Montmartre, in the former Vespa space; a showroom in the Étienne-Marcel / Montorgueil area; a Paris showroom for ; ; and a store on Place des Victoires.
Shop Leader in Paris
After that period I founded . The aim was already no longer commercial real estate alone.
Shop Leader in Paris supported brands and companies wanting to grow in Paris along three complementary lines: distribution, communication, establishment.
The idea was to start from the company’s own project, understand its positioning, define the right outlets or formats, then support it through its Paris development.
I had the use of the Galerie Celal, rue Saint-Honoré, some 240 sq m over three levels, where the brands I supported could be presented and promoted. I also had agreements with various exhibition venues, including the .
Looking back, Shop Leader in Paris was already a first version of the method I would later develop with Israel Growth Venture: not simply finding premises, but supporting a company through its establishment.
One last Paris chapter
After Shop Leader in Paris I joined Immobilière Sainte-Catherine. That agency, long established in the Marais and mainly focused on residential property, decided to build a dedicated commercial real estate activity. Premises next to their historic office were opened specifically for it, and I took charge of it.
That chapter was relatively short. By then I already felt I no longer wanted to go back to the classic workings of a commercial real estate agency. So I left that activity, and a few years later moved back to settle in Israel.
From Paris to Israel Growth Venture
When I came back to live in Israel, I did not arrive with an estate agent’s experience alone. I arrived with more than twenty-five years of field work, negotiation, store openings, brand development, showrooms, retail and relationships with landlords and entrepreneurs.
That experience is what gave rise to Israel Growth Venture. Today IGV supports companies, retail brands and entrepreneurs in moving from a project to a real establishment in Israel:
- Market analysis
- Choice of model
- Site search
- Negotiation
- Franchise and Master Franchise
- Local partners
- Roll-out
The way I work today comes directly from those Paris years: know the ground, verify before asserting, secure every step, and never consider a deal done until it has actually been carried through.
I also presented this view on , on Du Tac au Tac, broadcast under the Ça se débat banner, on the subject of companies establishing themselves in Israel.
A few archives from a career in the field
Photographs, archive views and period documents. Each caption states what the image shows and when it dates from.
IGV today supports companies and entrepreneurs establishing themselves in Israel.