THE SUNDAY GUEST. “Impossible is not Deljarry!” : André Deljarry, the boss who dreamed of being a builder

In 2026, André Deljarry will have chaired the Hérault CCI for fifteen years. MAXPPP – Guillaume Bonnefont

The original Tarnais took advantage of the golden age of mass distribution and his capacity for work to make his fortune. Once his empire was sold, he decided “to give back to the territory what he gave me”. Since 2011, he has chaired the CCI of Hérault and is keen to invest in the training of young people.

"If there should be something left of my humble self, I would like it to be the image of a builder…"

In Paris, that day, André Deljarry did not hide his pride in presenting the new dimension taken by Montpellier Business School (MBS) with the creation of a campus in the capital, step "indispensable"to establish itself a little more firmly in the international market of major business schools. The announcement comes four days after another major event: the laying of a first stone which will become, by 2026 in the Cambacérès district of Montpellier, the first stone in Montpellier. imposing site which will house the three entities he chairs: CCI de l’Hérault, MBS and Purple Campus – the new identity of the CFA. Nearly 5,000 employees, students and teachers will meet there. "It will be the economic flagship of the territory", argued one of the speakers in front of 800 people.

"There is no equivalent in the territory

Such a crowd is rare for a construction site launch. Everyone in Montpellier is in a hurry. When pointed out to him, André Deljarry smiles. Recalls the "350 M€ of economic benefits" that this building at 107 M€ will generate. "There is no equivalent in the territory", he punctuates, before recalling that& rsquo;he has been maturing this project against political winds and regulatory tides since… 2010.

Energy, pugnacity, ability to bring together

"Impossible is not Deljarry !", notes Carole Delga, the president of Occitanie region, which laid a stone at 20 M€ in this building. "Anima (the name of the future site, Editor's note) is the illustration of its unfailing determination to bring down the barriers and move the Hérault territory forward. We share this same vision of the future: investing in our youth in order to give them the keys to building the world of tomorrow. As I was able to express on this occasion, I appreciate his energy, his pugnacity and his ability to bring people together, continues Mme Delga. The interested party also highlights "audacity, ambition".

André Deljarry, 67 years old today, first put these qualities at the service of his own journey. He was 20 years old, in 1976, when he left his native Tarn with a commercial accounting baccalaureate in his pocket and his first professional experience in a real estate loan company at 1,000 francs gross per month. He dreams of a booming sector: mass distribution. Direction Saint-Etienne and the Casino group where he goes through all the positions, "including in departments". Trainer.

He returned to the region in 1980 following a meeting with the boss of Intermarché in Alès. A boon. Not only did he entrust him with the management of his first store but he allowed him to meet the woman who would become his wife, by offering to play in a play. "I had to look for funding for the troupe, but the young man who played opposite Mireille had an accident and had to wear a cast. I replaced him at short notice", he said on France Bleu, as the couple prepared to celebrate their golden wedding anniversary , 40 years and two children later.

From evening to morning, from 4 a.m. to 10 p.m.

The boards will only be a passage. André Deljarry imagines the leading role in his own store. So, in 1985, and with the support of the Musketeers, he began looking for land. A first failure at Lattes made him understand that he had to have the politicians on his side, "get involved in networks, have the right contacts". He finally found his happiness in Juvignac, where in 1986, at just 30 years old, he bought the 1 200 m2 of a carpentry shop to build the first supermarket in the area. The first stone of the Deljarry empire too. Since business is (very) quickly (very) good, the business manager can buy brands, develop them, sometimes resell them to better invest, particularly in hard-discount which is then only there. ;rsquo;in its infancy. Business acumen. And "work from morning to evening, from 4 am until 10 pm sometimes, including weekends", he said, before qualifying: "But it’s a passion, I didn’ have the impression of working all these years".

MP Patrick Vignal remembers this first store that he saw growing up, his boss with it. "André did not benefit from a social elevator, not even a staircase. Just a rope that he had the strength to grab", metaphorizes the chosen one, who calls himself "impressed by its strength, its stainless side".

Make a list of stores in the Deljarry galaxy that have supported "at least 10 000 employees&quot ; would be too long. In any case, in 2006, after having completed the transformation of the Intermarché de Juvignac which became the hyper "Portes du soleil" with a large shopping center, the businessman decides to… sell. "I could have, as others have done, based my company in Luxembourg or Portugal and stopped there", says- he. But, his fortune made, André Deljarry decides to invest in another way, "to give back to the territory what he gave me so much.

Politics ? "Many have thought about it for him"

The little phrase, a little hackneyed, often announces an entry into politics. "Many have thought of it for him. He made them tremble, from Frêche to Saurel via Mandroux who all thought that he wanted to take their place, is having fun today Patrick Vignal, who thinks that the engine "notoriety" is enough to move him forward. Each time the question was asked to him in any case, that is to say at each election, André Deljarry assured him that it did not interest him. That he knows the family sacrifice that a mandate can represent. And then, "it’s flattering to know that people think you are capable of it, but I am an economic person, not a politician".

The commitment will therefore be employer-based. In 2008, his activity as a commercial promoter gave him time to take over as president of Medef Montpellier. In 2011, he is the one who will have to restore order in a torn Montpellier Chamber of Commerce and Industry (CCI). "I wasn’t planned to be president, and in the end the story lasted", he said today, in the middle of his third and final term. "Perhaps because the first mandate must have been that of reconciliation and the second was devoted to the creation of the CCI of Hérault with the groupings of chambers of Montpellier, Sète and Béziers. The third is finally the one where we can build".

A territory with 90,000 companies

But the Deljarry assessment is not just a building that will emerge from the ground. It is also, he says, a territory that has gone from 55,000 to 90,000 companies, "a dynamic that I believe I have accompanied  quot;,despite the Covid and inflation storms in recent years. His method, in particular: working closely with political decision-makers – lesson learned – even if this sometimes merits some criticism, as when Montpellier traders say they are asphyxiated by the work. André Deljarry assures that in the secrecy of meetings, he knows how to say things to elected officials, "whatever their side".

Lamine Gharbi, another Montpellier success story at the head of the Cap Santé group, confirms that his friend is not the type to look down. "I saw him arbitrate disputes and when he decides, it’s always argued", he describes, recalling that "Authority is often measured by results. André therefore has a double authority: moral and economic.

A dual authority "moral and economic"

Economic, we know why, moral because his commitment is, says Lamine Gharbi, "sincere", and not only because it’ refused to receive his presidential allowances. He particularly praises his action in favor of youth with the presidency of the two training organizations which are under the supervision of the CCI: Montpellier Business School and the 18 apprentice training centers in the region. On the "Purple Campus" in Béziers, he carried out a renovation at 7 M€. "Working for training means working to build a solid and sustainable economy. This is why we need efficient establishments", is his credo. At MBS, he hopes that among the 3 500 students and future executives that the school has annually, "some will invest in the territory".

Such a family empire

This is what his two sons, Nicolas and Julien, did, one in catering and sports halls, the other in… hellip; mass distribution. The latter is also the president of the prestigious Montpellier Handball. "He has an unfailing commitment to them which makes me admire. He protects them while sharing his success with them", assures Lamine Gharbi. Julien agrees. "He instilled in us the notion of work, he pushes us to our limits, but he is also very present, always there to give advice",< /em> he said, "admiring and proud" of his father's career.