“We are a Martinique company very attached to its roots. Far from the noise, in deep Martinique, I never felt aggressive. » No storm could reach Stéphane Hayot, heir and director of the famous Bernard Hayot Group (GBH), which has borne his father’s name since its creation in 1960. In the world of Martinique’s big bosses, the foundations of the “habitation” – the phrase, nonetheless used, designated the grasp’s home within the colonial previous – should maintain agency.
The distributor was the primary goal of residents mobilized towards the excessive price of dwelling in 2024, a motion marked by violence. “Everything we have just gone through has in no way shaken our attachment to our territory”declares the boss of probably the most highly effective group abroad, that The World met, at the start of January, in a Parisian café. GBH has a turnover of 5 billion euros and employs 18,000 individuals worldwide.
The Hayots acquired their fortune guided by a slogan, “never put all your eggs in one basket”. After sugar cane, exploited because the 18th centurye century, there will likely be rum, tires, vehicles, bananas, concrete, distribution, yogurt manufacturing. The group has doubled its turnover since 2010. But it’s going through storms, together with an investigation opened by the National Financial Prosecutor’s Office in August 2025 for “organized gang fraud”, “abuse of dominant position” and “agreement” on product gross sales costs.
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https://www.lemonde.fr/politique/article/2026/02/11/les-hayot-symbole-de-l-histoire-tourmentee-de-la-martinique-avec-les-bekes_6666365_823448.html