and then the unprecedented heat wave in Europe that hit France particularly hard with over 15,000 dead in August 2003. In January 2004, Laurent Adamowicz sold his interest in the company and left his CEO's office to Michel Ducros, one of the sons of Gilbert Ducros (1928–2007), the founder of the Ducros spice business. Since 2004 From 2004 onwards, Michel Ducros bought out most of the other shareholders, private and institutional, and will acquire between 2005 and 2009 all of the shares held by the Barclays Group, the 36% stake owned by La Compagnie du Bois sauvage, the stake held by Matignon Investissement & Gestion, and lastly the minority shareholdings. "I am an entrepreneur, I invest in the long term," he explained. In 2004, the new shareholders adopted a strategy that aimed to boost profits by selling off those assets they deemed to be non-strategic, closing stores in Russia and the United States, selling their ready-prepared meal tray business to the Fleury Michon group, and finally selling the Fauchon Paris stores to the company's rival Lenôtre. Within the space of 6 years, Fauchon cut back its workforce by 700 employees, from 900 to 200 people. Michel Ducros revised Fauchon strategy with all its suppliers and set up a strict sourcing, to promote the French savoir-faire and develop exclusive recipes. Fauchon continues to produce most of its own breads, cakes, pastries and delicatessen products on its premises (in the Paris suburb of Courbevoie for cakes and pastries). In 2013, after the departure of the CEO Isabelle Capron, Michel Ducros appointed Eric Vincent as CEO, which announced ambitious plans for the company, aiming to have 100 outlets by 2017 (from 63 in 2013), mostly in franchises. Despite the lack of success in the United States and China in 2009, Fauchon still aimed at international development on several big markets (Japan, Middle East, Asia and South America). Fauchon had some 60 stores and restaurants around the world in 2013. Fauchon reinforced its presence through Asia in Hong Kong in 2014 and Thailand, and invested in North America, and the Middle East, where new openings are concentrated. On the verge of bankruptcy in 2004 (with losses of €30 million), Fauchon made its way back to a smaller loss in 2009, and in 2013 posted an operating profit of €900,000 on sales of €50 million. In Fauchon employed 270 people, operated 76 retail outlets and