Leroy Merlin Logo PNG
The trading house emblem is like a well-groomed corner of the garden, with a green lawn. The Leroy Merlin logo suggests you can buy everything you need at the brand’s outlets to create your cozy island of nature.
Leroy Merlin traces its roots to Billy-Berclau in Pas-de-Calais, where Mrs. Leroy delivered groceries to neighbors in the late 19th century. Her son, Adolphe, later took over. Still, World War I almost erased the village and ruined the family’s trade.
After the war, Adolphe moved to Nœux-les-Mines and started again with surplus goods from the U.S. Army. In 1921, he opened a permanent store called Au Stock Américain. Two years later, he married Rose Merlin, a merchant’s daughter who became his full business partner. The company name came from the two family names, though it was officially adopted much later.
The store gradually moved beyond military surplus. Customers wanted building materials, home fittings, furniture, prefabricated structures, carpentry services, and later housebuilding. In 1960, Au Stock Américain was renamed Leroy Merlin. The chain introduced free delivery and, in 1967-1968, opened one of France’s first self-service home improvement stores in Nœux-les-Mines, a format built around direct customer access to shelves.
By the late 1970s, Leroy Merlin had about 33 stores, but Castorama was becoming a serious rival. After Adolphe Leroy died in 1978, the family sold 50% of the company to Auchan in 1979. After Bernard Leroy died in 1981, Auchan took full control and refocused the chain on DIY, construction, renovation, and gardening. The first foreign store opened in Leganés, Spain, in 1989, followed by expansion into Poland, Italy, Brazil, China, and Greece. By 2022, Leroy Merlin had over 400 stores in 12 countries. In 2023, ADEO transferred the Russian business to local management.
Meaning and History
Leroy Merlin is a joint venture by a French married couple that began with a small shop that 19-year-old Adolf inherited from his father. Trading building supplies and prefabricated houses, the couple went through several ups and downs. Children added scale to their business. They registered L’Enchanteur Leroy Merlin in the 1950s, equipped the headquarters, and created a chain of do-it-yourself stores operating in the suburbs. In 1981, the company, which had 33 stores, was acquired by the larger Auchan concern. With a new owner, it expanded beyond France, absorbing 17 companies. Together with the Auchan brands, the conglomerate became the ADEO group.
The well-known company logo has changed three times. Each change marked a new stage in Leroy Merlin’s development.
Who is Leroy Merlin?
It is a French hypermarket chain with offices in 13 countries across three continents. Its headquarters are in Lille, and the Mulliez Family Association owns it.
1923 – 1968
The logo of this period has not been preserved. Before World War II, Leroy Merlin was a single small shop that sold goods to residents and, most likely, had no logo. The outlet closed during World War II, and the government confiscated its goods for the war effort. And in the late 40s, the couple had to restart the business. Therefore, the first known company logo appeared after Adolf and Rosa’s sons, Bernard and Leonel, took over the business.
1968 – 1980
The first known visual sign was developed after the brothers registered the Leroy Merlin Enchantment company (later Leroy Merlin SA) and began opening hypermarkets as part of large-scale projects. In the 50s and 60s, such outlets were called Do-It-Yourself (DIY).
The logo featured the name of the former parent store and the current company, Leroy Merlin. The dividing sign, in the form of a small vertical line, between the two parts of the emblem indicated the two founders’ names.
The inscription used elongated capital letters and closely grouped letters, symbolizing close cooperation and teamwork. At first, the Leroy couple and their children worked together to build a business. Brigades of carpenters, masons, and painters also worked together. Only their teamwork helped to create a house.
A thin black line is drawn above the name, creating the impression of a board or a metal rod lying on top. The design evoked a feeling of heaviness pressing on the letters. At the same time, the logo remained straight and inflexible, suggesting the special strength of Leroy products. It also conveyed the company’s firmness and reliability.
The prominent part of the logo was the letter “O” in the surname Leroy. It is shaped as a circle, inside which a figure of a person is inscribed in profile, painting the letter from the inside. His arms are bent and raised, and his head is drawn in a brush shape. The circle is associated with pipes, nail heads, and rollers – various details necessary for the master.
Even though the logo does not directly indicate the company’s direction, all the details of the image, from the dividing sign to the figurine, evoke associations with construction sites, artisans, and building materials.
1980 – 1996
In the late 70s, the company ran into financial difficulties, and in 79, after the death of the company’s founder, Adolphe Leroy, the large French corporation Auchan bought 50% of the shares. And in the 81st year, after Bernard’s death, she bought the company outright. With the new owner’s arrival, the logo concept was revised.
According to the new concept, the brand’s main goal is to help people create their dream homes. The triangle at the center of the composition conveys this. It symbolizes the house’s roof, the green lawn in front of it, and a hint of gradual progress toward your goal: the ideal home at the top.
The two founders’ names appear on either side of the triangle. On the left half, the word “Leroy” runs from bottom to top. The primary arrangement and the bottom-to-top writing indicate the path the Leroy family traveled before the company appeared (Adolf’s father also sold materials before the First World War). Rosa’s last name, Merlin, appears on the right side of the figure and runs from top to bottom. Visually, it looks larger and richer. It symbolizes the prosperity and development the family gained from doing business together.
The composition is set against a very light greenish background.
1996 – today
In the 90s, the company opened branches in Spain, Poland, Italy, and Brazil and began to acquire other chains. The logo has undergone minor changes to reflect the expansion.
Do-it-yourself stores were already called hypermarkets, and the hint of homemade stencil production was gone. Therefore, the font was changed to a more even, printed sans-serif.
The light-green rectangle was removed, as if to expand the company’s horizons, allowing it to rise and spread more widely. The central triangle brightened up, resembling young shoots, a symbol of new stores, young offshoots of the company.
Font and Colors
The logo’s main colors are black and green.
- Green represents life and positivity, symbolizing renewal that accompanies repairs and indicating gardening products. The shade shows that, thanks to the company’s products, the house becomes a comfortable and pleasing place to live.
- Black indicates reliability, perseverance, and overcoming difficulties. The Leroy family’s business declined three times and was revived three times.
The 80s logo uses Stencil Antiqua EF Rough stencil font. It was as if the name had been handwritten under a stencil, another indication of a “do it yourself” store. The font is similar to ITC Eras Std Bold in the modern emblem, with an unusual letter R.