JCDecaux

JCDecaux Group (JCDecaux SA, ) is a multinational corporation focused on outdoor advertising. As of 2016, it is the largest company in its sector worldwide with adverts on 140.000 bus stops and 145 airports. The company is headquartered in Neuilly-sur-Seine, near Paris, France.

The company was founded in 1964 in Lyon by Jean-Claude Decaux who led the company until 2000. The company has been criticized for promoting Russian propaganda on the Oslo Metro in support of the Russian invasion of Ukraine.

History

Jean-Claude Decaux (1937-2016) first created a company in 1955 that specialised in outdoor advertising alongside motorways. However, as these billboards were heavily taxed by law, Jean-Claude Decaux turned towards a business model in 1964 that was based on city billboards and invented the concept of advertising street furniture – well-maintained bus shelters fully funded by advertisers.

In 1999, the group acquired Havas Media Communication and Avenir. This acquisition allowed the group to expand into the large-format advertising market and advertising in airports. In 2001, JCDecaux entered the Euronext Stock Exchange with an opening share price of €16.50. In 2002, Jean-Claude Decaux passed the management of the company on to two of his three sons, Jean-Charles Decaux and Jean-François Decaux , who then became co- CEOs of the company.

In 2011, JCDecaux acquired French kiosk business MediaKiosk.

In January 2022, JCDecaux reported its 2021 revenue as $3.06 billion, an increase of 18.7%, which was perceived as an indication that the out-of-home market had recovered from the disruption caused by the COVID-19 pandemic restrictions of the previous years.

Controversies

In 2025, the company was criticized for running an advertisement campaign promoting Russian propaganda opposing aid to Ukraine following the Russian invasion of Ukraine on the Oslo Metro. The campaign was ostensibly funded by a newly established pro-Russian party. However, the party neither reported donations anywhere near the required amount nor disclosed its funding sources, leading to strong suspicions of foreign interference and possible Russian financing. As a result, the Political Parties Act Committee launched an investigation into the campaign. JCDecaux’s Norway head, Gisle Holst Roness, declined to disclose how much the company was paid. The campaign also drew sharp criticism from Oslo Sporveiers Arbeiderforening (OSA), the city’s largest transport union, which denounced the ads as “populist, divisive and irresponsible,” stating that such messages “pollute the urban environment” and “undermine fundamental values such as international solidarity and the fight for peace and democracy.

Bicycle rentals

JCDecaux operates fleets of city bicycles under the brand Cyclocity.

The cities that have implemented JCDecaux's bicycle rental systems are listed below.

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Worldwide presence

JCDecaux operates in more than 75 countries across five continents. 77.9% of JCDecaux's annual revenue comes from outside of France.

Europe

JCDecaux originated in France.

Thanks to its partnership with Wall AG, the company settled in Germany in 1982 and then in Turkey in 1996.

JCDecaux UK was founded in the United Kingdom in 1984 and is the market leader in outdoor advertising. In 2005, JCDecaux UK unveiled the UK's tallest outdoor advertising structure: the M4 Torch. JCDecaux won several important contracts such as: a contract for Outdoor Advertising at St Pancras International in London (2011), and National Rail Outdoor Advertising and BAA Advertising Contracts at Heathrow, Heathrow Express, Aberdeen, Edinburgh, and Glasgow Airports. In 2010, JCDecaux completed the acquisition of UK rival Titan Outdoor. In 2015, JCDecaux won the Transport for London (TfL) bus shelter advertising contract.

JCDecaux can now be found in most European countries, including Luxembourg (1985), the Netherlands (1986), Finland (1989), Sweden (1989), Spain (1990), Slovakia (1990), Czech Republic (1995), Norway (1998), Ireland (1999), Poland (1999) and in Hungary (2012). JCDecaux can also be found in the Baltic states (2002), Bulgaria (2007), and Ukraine (2007). Additionally, JCDecaux is present in Denmark (AFA JCDecaux Denmark) since 1989, in Italy (IGPDecaux) since 1995, in Iceland (AFA JCDecaux Iceland) since 1998, in Switzerland (APG, SGA) since 1999, in Austria (Gewista) since 2001, in Croatia and Slovenia (Europlakat) since 2001, in Serbia (Alma Quattro) since 2003 and in Russia (Russ Outdoor) since 2007 through equity or joint ventures.

North America

JCDecaux has been present in the United States since 1993 in major cities and 26 US airports, including New York, Washington, D.C., and Los Angeles. JCDecaux entered Canada in 2002.

Its North America division has its head office 350 Fifth Avenue in Midtown Manhattan, New York City.

South America

JCDecaux moved into Brazil and Argentina in 1998. The company is also a part of the outdoor market in Argentina, Uruguay (2000), and Chile (2001). JCDecaux won a contract for 1000 digital clocks in São Paulo (2012), completing the acquisition of 85% of EUMEX.

Middle East and Africa

The company's operation also covers the Middle East with offices established in Dubai and Abu Dhabi in the United Arab Emirates, Doha in Qatar, Tel Aviv in Israel, as well as Riyadh, Jeddah, Dammam and Madinah in Saudi Arabia. JCDecaux signed a 20-year exclusive street furniture contract to provide the City of Muscat, the capital of the Sultanate of Oman, with a wide range of advertising street furniture.

JCDecaux is present in the following African countries: Cameroon, Cote D'Ivoire, Gabon, Nigeria, Malawi, Mauritius, Réunion, Tanzania, Angola, Botswana
Eswatini, Lesotho, Mozambique, Namibia, Zambia, and Zimbabwe.

Asia and Oceania

JCDecaux expanded to Australia in 1997. In Asia, JCDecaux can be found in Singapore and Thailand (1999), Japan (2000, as MCDecaux) and South Korea (2001). JCDecaux entered China in 2004, in seven airports, including Hong Kong, Shanghai and Beijing. The company also has a presence in India (2006), Uzbekistan (2006), Kazakhstan (2007) and Mongolia (2014).

In 2018, the company acquired the Australian company APN Outdoor.

According to JCDecaux, they have been maintaining and building about 1200 bus shelters within the NDMC since 2006 on their behalf. In March 2020, JCDecaux reported that they had been disinfecting bus shelters in Delhi in order to combat the spread of COVID-19 effectively.

See also

* MCDecaux – Joint venture between JCDecaux and Mitsubishi Corporation.
And rival outdoor advertising companies:
* Clear Channel Outdoor
* Lamar Advertising Company
* Outfront Media (formerly CBS Outdoor)
* Pattison Outdoor Advertising (Canada)
* Criticism of advertising
* Ad creep

References

External links

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{{DEFAULTSORT:Jcdecaux
Advertising agencies of France
Outdoor advertising agencies
French companies established in 1964
Marketing companies established in 1964
French business families
Mass media in Paris
Bicycle sharing companies
Companies listed on Euronext Paris
Pro-Russian propaganda