Corporate tourism: at the heart of the Manufacture Perrin in Burgundy

While there were more than 500 sock manufacturers across France 50 years ago, there are only 5 left today. And among these, one stands out for the quality of its creations and its production environment: the Perrin Hosiery Factory in Montceau-les-Mines in (Saône-et-Loire).

A panel of brands

In an increasingly difficult market, the company has been able to adapt to bounce back better over the years. Initially a subcontractor for luxury brands (still 10 percent of the business), it then launched its own brands. With Perrin 1924 , it offers a wide range of products to meet the expectations of all ages and situations: gentle and extreme sports, hiking, safety, urban daily life, ceremonies, sensitive legs, cocooning. Its must-have: the “sock that holds without tightening”, a model guaranteed to be elastic-free, the specific knitting of which was developed by the teams internally. Then in 2011, La Chaussette Française was launched, a collection of haute couture socks and knee-highs, made to size in beautiful materials (natural silk, combed wool, wool and cashmere, wool and cotton, wool and silk, cotton lisle) with careful finishing – and Dagobert à l'envers (in homage to the Burgundian king known for his extravagance) which offers a collection of reversible men's underwear (socks and boxer shorts). But it was the Berthe Aux Grands Pieds label that got the company's sales off the ground. Imagined by Régis Gautreau, who joined the adventure in 2003, the collections dust off the world of socks with style and colors and account for 40 percent of the company's turnover.

Socks 100 percent made in France

At the heart of the guided tour of the workshops, the clicking of the machines (Lonati, Nagata, Busi or Bentley Komet) is accompanied by the precise gestures of the workers who work on a fleet of 78 knitting machines, some of which date back to the 1930s and 1940s. Thanks to this industrial tool (old and modern) but also to new technologies, the hosier can produce up to 6,000 pairs per day in 3x8 but also makes gloves, stockings, hats and scarves. A unique immersion in the world of fibers, colors, knitting (traditional and more elaborate), hand finishing and the passion for high French quality because Manufacture Perrin has been labeled Entreprise du Patrimoine Vivant (EPV) since August 2014.

A new general manager

Founded in 1924 by Francis Perrin, the Manufacture was joined in the 1930s by the latter's son, René Perrin, who developed it with his nephew Guy Renaud. Still family-run until recently, Martine Couturier, president (fourth generation) and Franck Couturier, sales director, decided this summer, due to a lack of heirs, to sell 65 percent of their shares to Damien Schneider. At 33, this son of friends and current general manager takes over the reins alongside Constance Nicaise, who manages the network of boutiques, i.e. around 1,100 retailers and 10 boutiques in France. Together, they have already announced the opening of 3 new stores by 2019 and e-commerce will be boosted.


From Monday to Friday, guided tour (adult €6, under 12s free), 17, rue Claude Forest 71300 Montceau-Les-Mines. Contact: 03 85 69 00 00

Photos: Berthe Aux Grands Pieds Collection, Manufacture Perrin Workshop, Manufacture Perrin Visual.

Thanks to FashionUnited: https://fashionunited.fr/actualite/mode/tourisme-d-entreprise-ii-au-coeur-de-la-manufacture-perrin-en-bourgogne/2018082318375