French group to buy Chaplin Museum in Switzerland

A French group is to buy the Chaplin Museum in Corsier (VD) Keystone-SDA

The Chaplin's World museum in Corsier-sur-Vevey, Switzerland, is to be acquired by French entertainment firm Museum Studio and Fribourg Group.

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Museum Studio, an entity of Compagnie Chargeurs Invest, and the Fribourg Group announced the proposed acquisition on Wednesday. The new owners want to give the museum a new lease of life.

+ The enduring relevance of Charlie Chaplin

“Museum Studio and the Fribourg Group have entered into exclusive discussions with a view to acquiring the 14 hectares and the operating company of Chaplin’s World. Drawing on its international experience in the production of exhibitions and the development of immersive experiences for the general public, Museum Studio intends to strengthen the international reputation of this unique venue, in keeping with the creative genius of Charlie Chaplin”, they stated.

According to a spokesperson interviewed by Keystone-ATS, the transaction, which is at an advanced stage, includes not only the operation of the museum, but also the entire estate, as well as the intangible property associated with the artist’s world in the museum context. The amount of the transaction is not yet known.

Museum Studio, a world leader in cultural engineering and production for museums, brands and foundations, is a division of Paris-based Compagnie Chargeurs Invest, founded in 1872. The Fribourg Group (a family-owned group based in Alsace) is Compagnie Chargeurs Invest’s main shareholder (nearly 70%).

New investments

“The transaction will include the scenographic rights and associated rights held by its founders, including Philippe Meylan and Yves Durand, as well as the Chaplin’s World operating company and associated facilities held by By Grévin, a subsidiary of the Compagnie des Alpes group, which currently owns the museum,” the press release said.

It also states that “the planned acquisition will result in Museum Studio taking over the operating rights and associated rights, while the real estate infrastructure components will in principle be acquired by the controlling shareholder of Compagnie Chargeurs Invest”. These will be “made available for use under a contractual relationship that will be subject to the rules governing regulated agreements”.

In their press release, the new owners and operators say they want to invest in the museum and “develop Chaplin’s World worldwide”. “Museum Studio’s ambition is to strengthen this formidable cultural adventure (…) and to renew the museum’s dynamic, in order to make it a new cultural destination that is accessible and open to all audiences”.

Immersive exhibitions

In concrete terms, this will involve “enriching the experiences offered to visitors, integrating the museum’s programming into the rhythm of the major cultural, festive and tourist events on the Vaud Riviera, and developing new forms of mediation as well as educational initiatives”.

On an international scale, Museum Studio’s “ambition is to design immersive exhibitions based on the major themes and universal sentiments dear to Chaplin, which will travel and spread throughout the world”.

The buyout is subject to the finalisation of ongoing discussions between the various parties involved and, where applicable, to prior authorisations and approvals, as well as to certain customary conditions precedent, the press release added.

Inaugurated in 2016

Opened in 2016 at the Manoir du Ban in Corsier-sur-Vevey, where Charlie Chaplin lived for 25 years, Chaplin’s World offers an immersive experience over 4,000 m2 of exhibition space. It includes a film studio, meticulously reconstructed sets, dozens of wax figures, never-before-seen archives and a five-hectare park.

In almost ten years, Chaplin’s World has already welcomed more than one and a half million visitors from 70 countries. It has received several international awards, including Best Museum in Europe in 2018.

Financial difficulties

After a good start, the museum dedicated to the life and work of Charlie Chaplin has suffered a slowdown in attendance since 2019, before being hit by the coronavirus pandemic crisis. Since 2019, the company that owns Chaplin’s World has no longer been amortising the CHF10 million loan granted to it by the State of Vaud to develop the museum.

As a reminder, in 2013, the ten communes of the Riviera agreed to jointly and severally guarantee 80% of an interest-free loan of CHF10 million from the Canton. This loan made it possible to launch the works, enabling the museum to open in April 2016.

Since then, the owner company has paid CHF455,000 in 2017 and 2018, but nothing in 2019, 2020 and 2021.

Translated from IFrench by DeepL/mga

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