BERNARD-SOLFIN

Bernard-Solfin is a ready-to-wear brand for senior men and women. French specialist in knitwear, the brand uses its traditional know-how with a touch of modernism, and produces a line of clothing of impeccable quality.

History. It was in 1930, in the heart of the Vendée, that a 22-year-old farmer, Henri Sourisseau, had the crazy idea of abandoning his angora rabbit farm in favour of a knitting workshop to make pure wool underwear. From the post-war period, its clientele, which had until then been local, spread throughout the region, seduced by these soft and warm underwear made from shrink-proof wool. In 1958, the two sons Sourisseau set out on the road to sell at home. In 1974, they published the first mail order catalogue, at the request of their seriously ill father, and created SARL Bernard in 1976. Bernard clothes were born. For the next two decades, the family ensured the quality of the wool and the solidity of the seams, as the patriarch had always done, and in 1997 sold the brand to the Coisne-Lambert family. In 2003, Bernard Coisne formed a partnership with the Solfin brand, which also specializes in textile products and home sales. And, in 2010, he took over the Philips Knitting workshop in Villers-Bocage, Normandy. Since then, Bernard-Solfin clothing has been produced in the Vendée and Normandy regions, using 100% natural fibres, perpetuating the French tradition.

At the end of 2018, the company was acquired by Financière des Eparses, a holding company based in the Rhine Valley in Ille-et-Vilaine and owner of Les Magasins Bleus, a company selling clothing at home. Magasins Bleus has a network of 200 mobile stores: vans. The target market is the retirement home market.

The products. The company works mainly with wool to make warm and soft clothing that lets the skin breathe. However, she has developed a mastery of knitting on other natural materials such as cashmere, cotton, linen and silk. In addition to its ready-to-wear line, Bernard-Solfin creates custom-made household linen and shirts.

Employment. The company had about 60 employees on permanent contracts. Recently incorporated into the La Financière des Eparses group, which now has 360 employees and a total turnover of 30 million euros, Bernard-Solfin generates 8 million euros.