Alternatives to Optimix, PricingHUB, and Mercio: What should I choose in France?
Optimix merged with Maxxing in July 2025, and PricingHUB was acquired by Akeneo in June 2026. In less than a year, two of the three software providers most frequently used by French retailers underwent changes in ownership, raising the question of alternatives for their customers.
This comparison evaluates Optimix XPA, PricingHUB, Mercio, Yieldigo, and BOOPER based on what truly sets a pricing solution apart in France: native support for French regulations, pricing by store or by zone, the approval process before a price changes at the register, and roadmap independence.
Three names come up in nearly every pricing consultation initiated by a French retail chain: Optimix, PricingHUB, and Mercio. Two of them have changed hands in less than a year. Here’s what each one offers today, and how to choose between them.
Short answer: five publishers, five entry points
If you're looking for an alternative to Optimix, PricingHUB, or Mercio for a French retail chain, five solutions come up in the searches. They don't all address the same need.
- Optimix XPA (Maxxing Group): historical French retail pricing, now integrated into a suite that has been expanded to include customer experience and the supply chain.
- PricingHUB (Akeneo Group): machine learning-based optimization; since June 2026, it has been part of a software company whose core business is product information management.
- Mercio: AI agents that recalculate prices nearly in real time, for retailers seeking maximum responsiveness.
- Yieldigo: optimization through machine learning, management-driven decision-making, and a European focus in the broadest sense.
- BOOPER: An independent French platform since 2014 that combines AI with business rules and includes approval workflows before any price changes are made.
Why Buyers Are Looking for an Alternative in 2026
Three trends account for most of the public consultations launched this year, and none of them concerns the quality of algorithms.
Market consolidation. Optimix merged with Maxxing in July 2025 to form a larger player focused on customer experience and the supply chain. PricingHUB joined the Akeneo ecosystem on June 11, 2026. In both cases, the product roadmap now depends on the priorities of a group whose core business is no longer limited to pricing. This is neither good nor bad in itself, but it changes the question you should ask before signing: Who will determine the tool’s future direction three years from now?
The degree of autonomy granted to AI. Mercio highlights the speed of its agents, which can recalculate up to 70 million prices in less than four minutes as soon as data changes. This is a real selling point in terms of responsiveness. It raises another question: what level of human validation remains before a price changes at the register, and how can a pricing decision be justified to a regional manager or the DGCCRF?
The actual scope of coverage. Many retailers discover midway through a project that competitive intelligence, price elasticities, promotions, and markdowns are managed in separate tools. The cost isn’t the license; it’s the constant effort to reconcile data sets that don’t communicate with each other.
The Five Solutions in Detail
Optimix XPA (Maxxing Group)
Founded in 2011, with headquarters in Marcq-en-Barœul, Optimix is one of the two long-standing players in the French retail pricing sector, with a suite built around three core components: XPA for pricing, XFR for forecasting and restocking, and XAB for product assortment benchmarking. The publicly named retailers span the food and specialty retail sectors: Auchan, Intermarché, Boulanger, Biocoop, and Conad.
Since the merger with Maxxing in July 2025, the scope has expanded to include the customer experience and the supply chain. For a retailer seeking a broad foundation from a single provider, this makes sense. For a pricing team looking for a dedicated partner, the question of how to prioritize these developments should be addressed early on. Details can be found in our comparison of BOOPER and Optimix XPA.
PricingHUB (Akeneo Group)
Founded in 2017 by Jérôme Laurent and Xavier Cassellato, with headquarters in Paris, PricingHUB was built on a commitment to explainable AI, with a strong track record in specialty retail and e-commerce, including Fnac Darty, Decathlon, Adeo, Castorama, Allopneus, Franprix, and E. Leclerc La Réunion.
The acquisition by Akeneo, a product information management software provider, on June 11, 2026, places the solution within a broader product ecosystem. For a buyer looking for a pricing module to complement their product repository, this merger makes sense. For a retailer focused on margins and price image, the key consideration is the portion of the investment that will continue to be allocated to pricing. See our comparison of BOOPER and PricingHUB.
Mercio
An independent publisher based in Paris, with an office in Cologne, led by Valentine Dreyfus. Mercio claims to have agents capable of recalculating up to 70 million prices in less than four minutes, covering pricing, geopricing, promotions, and category management. Publicly cited retailers include: Intermarché, Carrefour, Match, Mr. Bricolage, But, Feu Vert, Hagebau, Conforama, and Denn's BioMarkt.
This is the solution that comes closest to continuous automation. The choice comes down to governance: if your teams need to approve sensitive transactions, decide on exceptions, and track who made which decisions, make sure to review the approval process before going live. See our comparison of BOOPER and Mercio.
Yieldigo
Founded in 2016 in Prague by three mathematicians, Yieldigo primarily serves the executive management teams of large corporations, focusing on demand forecasting, customer behavior, and price elasticity. Notable clients include Metro, Makro, Colruyt, Auchan, Ahold, SPAR, and Newpharma.
This is a viable option for an international group driving a transformation from headquarters. For a French retailer looking to equip its pricing teams for day-to-day operations, the starting point is different. See our comparison of BOOPER and Yieldigo.
BOOPER
An independent French publisher since 2014, founded by Hugues Lafitte. The MPS platform brings together pricing, competitive matching, forecasts and elasticities, promotions, markdowns, and monitoring under the GENIUS brand. Each recommendation is accompanied by an explanatory section that lists the factors taken into account, with Prudent, Balanced, or Aggressive scenarios for teams to choose from.
Brands mentioned publicly: Lapeyre, Kingfisher (Bricomarché, Bricorama), Advitam Group (Jardiland), Castorama, Central Retail Vietnam, and Créo Group in the Caribbean. Operations in France, Poland, Vietnam, and Thailand.
Retail locations managed using BOOPER, including a network of more than 1,700 stores, representing €44 billion in managed revenue.
(Publisher data, 2026)
Comparison in a Table
| Criterion | Optimix XPA | PricingHUB | Mercio | Yieldigo | BOOPER |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Creation | 2011 | 2017 | Not disclosed | 2016 | 2014 |
| Status in 2026 | Merged with Maxxing (July 2025) | Acquired by Akeneo (June 2026) | Self-employed, 11 to 50 employees | Independent, venture capital | Freelance, specializing in pricing |
| Headquarters | Marcq-en-Barœul (France) | Paris (France) | Paris, Cologne Office | Prague (Czech Republic) | France, Poland, Vietnam, Thailand |
| Scope | Pricing, forecasting, product mix benchmarking, customer experience, supply chain | Price Optimization in a Product Information Management Suite | Pricing, geopricing, promotions, category management | Pricing Optimization, Executive Management | Pricing, matching, forecasting, promotions, markdowns, monitoring |
| The Place of Humanity | Not disclosed publicly | Not disclosed since the acquisition | Autonomous agents, near-continuous recalculation | Not disclosed publicly | Rules, rights, validations, and audit log |
| French Compliance | Not publicly disclosed | Not publicly disclosed | Not publicly disclosed | Not publicly disclosed | Break-even point, Egalim caps, and 30-day reference prices managed natively |
| Pricing | Based on a quote | Based on a quote | Based on a quote | Based on a quote | Based on a quote |
The notation “not disclosed” is not a criticism; it simply indicates that the information was not available on the publishers’ websites as of the publication date. Be sure to ask for it during your consultation—it often tips the scales between two offers that look similar on paper.
The factors that distinguish these solutions in France
French regulatory compliance. This is the most critical factor—and the one most often overlooked during the demonstration phase. A system that ignores the “resale at a loss” threshold, the Egalim promotional caps, or the 30-day reference price requirement will generate recommendations that will need to be corrected manually, every day. At BOOPER, these rules are natively managed within the platform.
Pricing by store, by region, or by group of stores. A retail chain with several hundred locations doesn’t set a single price; it manages millions of product-by-store combinations. Make sure the solution can apply different rules based on the catchment area—not just a national price with minor adjustments. Our article on geopricing goes into more detail on this point.
Decision-making governance. Who approves, who can make exceptions, and who keeps a record. The more autonomous the AI is, the more explicit this process must be. This is what makes it possible to justify a price six months later, both internally and during an audit.
Data entry. Many projects stall because of the quality of the source file, not because of the algorithm. A solution that requires a perfect database before starting pushes the timeline back by several quarters. BOOPER’s Data Loader imports existing sales, pricing, and catalog data—even if it’s imperfect.
The independence of the roadmap. After two capital-raising transactions in this market in less than a year, the question has become a legitimate one: Will your supplier still base its investment decisions on pricing three years from now?
The margin increase observed at stores equipped with the system within a few months, with a 70–90% reduction in the time required for price adjustments.
(Publisher data, 2026)
You manage a network of stores and are looking for an alternative to Optimix, PricingHUB, or Mercio. Here's what sets BOOPER apart.
Specializing in retail pricing since 2014, with no parent company to oversee the strategic roadmap. Operates in France, Poland, Vietnam, and Thailand.
The break-even point, Egalim promotional caps, and 30-day reference prices are managed within the platform, not through manual adjustments.
Clear recommendations, customizable rules, approval workflows, and an audit log: your teams have the final say.
Different rules depending on the catchment area, store group, or cluster—not a national price adjusted only marginally.
The Data Loader imports your existing files (point-of-sale exports, price lists, catalog), even when the data is still incomplete.
Pricing, competitive pricing, forecasts and elasticities, promotions, markdowns, and monitoring—all in a single tool—with simulations of the impact on sales and inventory.
Ideal for retailers and retail chains—both B2C and B2B—that want to manage prices, margins, and product assortments with their teams rather than be at the mercy of a tool.
Schedule a meetingFurther reading
A comprehensive overview of software providers—featuring comparisons of twelve profiles—is included in the guide to alternatives to BOOPER. For international providers, see the alternatives to Pricefx, Competera, and Revionics. Detailed selection criteria are summarized in our comparison of retail pricing software, and the platform’s functionality is described on the MPS pricing solution page.
FAQ
Five solutions keep coming up in French consultations: Optimix XPA, now part of the Maxxing Group; PricingHUB, which became part of Akeneo in June 2026; Mercio and its autonomous agents; Yieldigo, for international groups managed from headquarters; and BOOPER, an independent French software company since 2014. The choice hinges on four key factors: native support for French pricing rules, the ability to set prices by store or by region, the approval process before a price change takes effect at the register, and independence in the product roadmap.
The merger, announced in July 2025, created a larger player in the areas of customer experience and supply chain, with €30 million in funding raised. For a retailer seeking a broad foundation from a single supplier, this makes sense. For a pricing team, the key question to ask during consultations is one of prioritization: what portion of investments will remain allocated to pricing, as opposed to customer experience and the supply chain?
Not automatically. Akeneo acquired PricingHUB on June 11, 2026, to add pricing to its product information management offering, and the company continues to operate from Paris as a dedicated unit. If your primary focus is aligning prices with the product catalog, the integration makes sense. If your focus is on margin, pricing image, and pricing decision governance, review the pricing roadmap before renewing.
Mercio boasts agents capable of recalculating up to 70 million prices in less than four minutes as soon as data changes. It’s all about maximum responsiveness. BOOPER combines AI with business rules, including access rights, validations, and an audit log, before a price changes at the register. The question isn’t which solution is the fastest, but whether your teams need to be able to make exceptions, override rules, and justify a pricing decision six months later.
Yes. Following the merger of Optimix with Maxxing and Akeneo’s acquisition of PricingHUB, BOOPER remains an independent French software company focused exclusively on pricing, founded in 2014 by Hugues Lafitte. The platform manages 4,000 points of sale—including a network of more than 1,700 stores—with a total of 44 billion euros in managed revenue.
This is a point that is rarely detailed on publishers’ websites, and you have to ask about it explicitly during a consultation. BOOPER natively manages the threshold for selling at a loss—which has a coefficient of 1.10 for food products—the Egalim promotional caps of 34% by value and 25% by volume, and the 30-day reference price required for discount ads. Without this, recommendations must be corrected manually every day.
Allow two to four months for a BOOPER deployment, depending on data quality, the number of stores, and the complexity of the information system, including a dedicated consultant and project manager, team training, and change management support. The limiting factor is almost always the input data, not the engine configuration.
Test them using the same data set—yours—and the same scenarios: a price per catchment area, elasticity per store, a promotion subject to Egalim restrictions, and an end-of-season markdown. Always ask for information that isn’t publicly disclosed: the approval process, the traceability of decisions, and the 18-month product roadmap.
Sources
Le Monde du Droit, Merger of Optimix and Maxxing (July 2025) · CFNEWS, Optimix and Maxxing Merge (2025) · Akeneo, Announcement of the Acquisition of PricingHUB (June 11, 2026) · FashionNetwork, Akeneo Acquires PricingHUB (2026) · mind Retail, Mercio in Germany and Austria (2026) · DGCCRF, Selling at a Loss: The Seller’s Obligations · DGCCRF, Regulations on Promotions · DGCCRF, Price Reduction Announcements
Optimix merged with Maxxing in July 2025, and PricingHUB was acquired by Akeneo in June 2026. In less than a year, two of the three software providers most frequently used by French retailers underwent changes in ownership, raising the question of alternatives for their customers.
This comparison evaluates Optimix XPA, PricingHUB, Mercio, Yieldigo, and BOOPER based on what truly sets a pricing solution apart in France: native support for French regulations, pricing by store or by zone, the approval process before a price changes at the register, and roadmap independence.
A manufacturer that raises its list price does not set the price on the shelf. Between the negotiated list price and the displayed price lie the retailer, its markup, and its promotions. What is measured is the price elasticity of each product, retailer by retailer.
The volume sold during a promotion does not indicate whether it created value: part of it comes from similar products (cannibalization), and another part from purchases that were simply brought forward.
Each promotional scenario must be costed out prior to launch using the same metrics: base sales, actual incremental sales, cannibalization, carryover, halo effect, net margin for the category, and cost per unit actually gained.
Margin-volume arbitrage can then be explained: a stated objective, visible forecasting factors, constraints adhered to, and a documented validation process.