Adnan Houdrouge

Adnan Houdrouge is the founder and president of Mercure International, a retail and distribution company specialising in activewear and mass-premium fashion brands. Headquartered in Monaco, the firm is best known as a gateway to the African continent, where it operates stores in over a dozen countries, most of them francophone, including Côte d'Ivoire, Cameroon, Gabon, Senegal, Algeria, Morocco, Tunisia, Mauritius and the DR Congo.

Houdrouge runs standalone stores for companies including Tommy Hilfiger, Aldo and Levi's as well as multi-brand chains City Sport, Courir and Go Sport, where brands like Hugo Boss, Lacoste, Nike, Puma, Adidas, Asics and Guess are sold. By 2025, his empire included 250 retail stores and supermarkets as well as shopping mall developments, collectively employing more than 5,000 people. Houdrouge works closely with his children, Johanna and Cédric, who hold leadership roles.

Born in Dakar, Senegal to a Lebanese merchant family with deep roots in Africa, Houdrouge's upbringing shaped his vision to bridge the gap between global businesses and a continent poised for growth. In 1969, he started working at his family’s store, Week End Sport and, by the 1972 Olympic Games, he had succeeded in his goal of kitting out the Senegal team in Adidas — a milestone that helped raise his profile among top sportswear executives. Houdrouge expanded to France in 1980, before taking over outposts in Côte d'Ivoire in 1986, the year Mercure International was founded. The company grew largely through a franchise model thereafter.