“My father and my uncle didn’t want me to take over the business, because they had experienced too many difficulties”, says Julien Tuffery. In 2014, this young engineer nevertheless decided, with his wife, to continue the adventure of what was then the last French manufacturer of jeans. The Tuffery workshops were created in 1892 in Floirac, in the Cévennes, by his great-grandfather, Célestin Tuffery. From twill cotton, dyed with indigo, he would be the inventor of jeans.
→ DOCUMENTARY. From cowboys to catwalks, the jeans odyssey
Julien Tuffery intends to perpetuate the tradition. He tripled the surface area of his workshop in Floirac and was to double his workforce, to reach 50 employees. “It’s still ten times less than in the heyday of the company, but it’s still a good sign”, emphasizes Julien Tuffery, explaining “to have a lot of trouble today to meet the demand”. It produces 40,000 pieces a year and has chosen direct sales, at the factory or via the Internet. In 2015, the company achieved €600,000 in turnover, for €3.6 million in 2021, of which 15% was exported.
The big brands are also getting involved
This success is imitated by others, such as Thomas Huriez, the founder of the 1083 brand, based in Drôme, who also relies on the same quality precepts. However, “Made in France” jeans remain very marginal, with 120,000 copies out of the 90 million sold each year in France.
But a new step was taken at the beginning of April. The FashionCube distributor, which brings together textile brands from the Auchan galaxy, such as Pimkie, Jules and Grain de la Malice, has opened a clothing factory in Neuville-en-Ferrain, near Roubaix. Currently employing around fifty people, the site has been fully automated to reduce costs.
Growing consumer demand
Le “five nine” (referring to number 59, the Nord department) will be sold this summer in Jules boutiques at €59.90, or 20% more than the entry-level models currently imported by the brand.
To be competitive, FashionCube is counting on the volumes sold (400,000 in 2024), but also on the establishment of a short circuit with on-demand production and delivery in two weeks.
Despite the purchasing power crisis, its leaders are convinced that a growing number of consumers are ready to pay a little more to buy local. In the textile industry alone, the French recovery plan is supporting 780 relocation and business development projects.