A KEDGE Alumna saves the last historical beret manufacturer in France!

Laulhère has been making berets in Oloron-Sainte-Marie since 1840 and, today is the last remaining historical beret manufacturer in the heart of France. Rosabelle FORZY, KEDGE Business School Alumna, class of 2007, is very attached to the "made in France" label and to the maintaining of our traditions and she decided to take over the company three years ago. Today, she wants to modernise it. 

After completing her studies at KEDGE in Marseille, Rosabelle worked for 7 years as a Major Accounts Manager in the IT sector, notably at Oracle. But at age 30, she felt the need to create her own company. "I wanted to add more meaning to my work, so I went on the hunt for a company specialising in "Made in France" items that I could take over" she explained. 

In 2014, she took over Laulhère, a beret manufacturer - the only one that is still able to manage all of the steps to creating a beret: "knitting, felting, formation, scraping, shearing, decatizing, garnishing, titivation." When it comes to the virgin merino wool and the leather selected by Laulhère, they come from the best farms in France. 

"Maison Laulhère's goal is to preserve its traditional know-how and to be recognised as the only beret brand in the world. Our three major markets are the army, tradition, and luxury. Our objective is to keep these three key markets, therefore Laulhère strives to achieve excellence, in order to propose high quality products. The beret has a history, an imagery, it transmits pieces of History and the History of Fashion." However, conservation does not mean inertia: "our strategy is to turn the beret into an essential accessory for all wardrobes and to make it a high-end product. In order to put the beret back in the spotlight, we have done a great deal of communication work with the media and worked with several Haute-Couture companies. Additionally, we put in place a real marketing strategy to position Laulhère as an affordable luxury brand. We have also invested in sales, notably with our boutique and e-shop...etc."

Youth from the region have joined their elders in the one hundred-year-old factory in the Pyrenees. The company has gone from 35 employees in 2014 to 48 employees today. It produces 250 000 berets and earned nearly 3M€ in revenues in 2015. This wonderful challenge has gained quite a great deal of attention in the press on France 2, Le Parisien, Capital, Europe 1, Le Figaro, and even CBS !

Thanks to its excellent craftsmanship, Laulhère was recognized as "Entreprise du Patrimoine Vivant - Living Heritage Company" in 2013, and received the "Origine France Garantie - Guaranteed French Origin" label the same year. 

What did she learn during her time at KEDGE? "My education brought me a lot, both on the professional, operational and international levels. It allowed me to become more familiar with the different tools that are useful to managing a company and to test the theories learned in the classroom in the field thanks to internships" Rosabelle explains. 

To all Kedgers who want to create their own company, she has the following advice: "You don't want to embark on just any project. As a matter of fact, it took me a long time before I found the ideal project I was looking for. Nonetheless, once you have found yours, you have to put your whole heart into it but also apply your knowledge in real time and with real impacts with every decision you make. 

Special offer for KEDGE students: 

Rosabelle is very attached to her school and is offering 10% off a beret to students who show their student ID at the boutique in PARIS. Don't hesitate to take advantage of this special offer. 

For more information:

• E-shop: https://www.laulhere-store.com/
• Website: http://www.laulhere-france.com/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/laulherefrance/
• Twitter: https://twitter.com/laulhere_beret
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/laulhere_france/
• Pinterest: https://fr.pinterest.com/laulhere_france/
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/company/laulhere

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