Three generations of memories

In the Monchoix family, there are Jean and Thérèse, the grandparents, Françoise and Hervé, the daughter and son-in-law and Arnaud, the grandson. Beyond the family bond that unites them, they all have in common that they are or have been, one day, at the head of the company "Monchoix". They all also share a vision of commercial relations based on mutual trust between the company and its customers. A "philosophy" linked to the personality of Jean Monchoix, 89 years old, founder of the eponymous company. "It's our real family name. A real gift name!", smiles Jean. However, nothing predicted that the Monchoix company would one day sell souvenirs. At the beginning, in 1944, Jean made clogs. "I got my school leaving certificate at 13. Then I stopped there. At the time, the sons of workers didn't go any further," he says, modestly. I decided to start an apprenticeship. I wanted to be a craftsman, to be my own boss." Originally from Plédran, in the Côtes d'Armor, he started an apprenticeship with a clog maker in Maroué(1). "At the time, clogs were the main shoe." After three years, Jean set up his own business with his brother Toussaint. He was 17 years old. "At the beginning, it was a very modest business. My first tree was given to me by my neighbor... Then I bought my first machines, always second-hand." To help him run the shop, Jean can count on Thérèse, his wife, who also runs her own store. "She has been by my side the whole time, as general secretary."

Change of era

Then came the 50s and 60s. A change of era. The clog declined, giving way to modern shoes. In 1954, Jean developed his business. "I started with souvenir clogs. That already existed a little. I associated the clog with the barometer, the thermometer. I went to get them in the Jura. I also made small clogs, key rings. Always with the same machines. I already had small shopkeepers and grocery stores among my customers. They were the ones who saved me." Over time, the business grew. Jean was able to buy a truck, which he transformed. "We could visit it," he remembers. "I went on the roads with my merchandise. It's a lot of work to find customers. But mine liked me, and I liked them too. Some of them became friends."

At the end of the 70s, the Monchoix company expanded again, with the arrival of Hervé Gicquel, son-in-law of Jean, husband of Françoise. "I first started in the production workshop," he explains. "Then I became a salesperson. Jean entrusted me with some of his clients. We spent two weeks on the road
together and then he said to me 'sort it out'."

A favorable context

At the same time, the souvenir clog market was also declining. Jean felt the need to diversify his range. He headed to Vierzon (18) for a porcelain decoration course. “I simply wanted to see how it was done,” Jean explains. “After that, I bought a small oven. That was it! But we didn’t give up on wood right away.
continued. » Two years after Hervé, Françoise also joined the company, on the administrative side. The porcelain business, purchased in Limoges, is growing.
Hervé is in charge of strengthening the Brittany network, which is growing. "The context of the 70s and 80s was favorable for the development of souvenirs," explains Hervé. Paid holidays had been established for a long time. People had gotten used to going on vacation. We saw organized trips, especially for retirees, multiply."

Our strength: the field

In 1990, the company employed eight employees. The time had come for Jean to retire, and he naturally passed on his business to Hervé and Françoise.

Globalization and opening up of markets, the beginning of computerization... the two new business leaders are facing major changes in their business. "We had to learn new trades," explains Françoise. "Training in IT, but also in importing." To meet the challenges of the market, the company is setting up partnerships in Portugal, then in China. The raw material (white goods) is imported from abroad, but "our decors are always designed, created and installed here, from the beginning." At the same time, Hervé, accompanied by Raymond who replaced Jean as sales representative, is looking towards Vendée, Normandy and Charente-Maritime. The family workshop in Plédran is starting to get cramped. "There was a step to take. We said to ourselves: what do we do?" To find answers, Hervé knocks on doors and seeks advice from former business leaders. In 2002, Monchoix officially moved to Trégueux, into new and expanded premises. “We had to move the ovens. It was quite a story!” recalls Françoise.

With Hervé in the field and Françoise in administration, the company is now well established in the souvenir market. "Our strength is the field. We go out to meet customers. Often, they are the ones who give us ideas on the products to develop."

Values ​​to transmit

In 2014, seventy years after his grandfather founded the company, Arnaud Gicquel also joined the family business. "We first told him 'go and learn the ropes somewhere else'," his parents smile. "He managed for 2-3 years, then reformulated his request. We were three years away from retirement. It was the right time." For Arnaud, there was no doubt: "I always wanted to take over the company. I studied with that in mind," explains the man who, as a child, spent his Wednesday afternoons "putting up chromos(2)."

In 2016, Arnaud officially took over the reins of the company. “As parents, we always have fears, of course. It’s not the same process as a simple sale of a business. But today, we have confidence. He’s ready,” Françoise rejoices.

The young entrepreneur has a clear idea of ​​the direction he wants to give Monchoix. The company's catalog has already been enriched with new brands and thematic collections. Like his grandfather and parents before him, Arnaud is aware that "you have to evolve with the market. A company that stagnates is a company that dies."

For him, taking over the family business is "a little more pressure of course. I can't lose the work of two generations. The values ​​that the company upholds are very important: transparency towards customers, mutual trust and working side by side. I meet the customers that my grandfather himself worked with, or their grandchildren. Compared to a traditional takeover, the objective is more beautiful, the story
is more beautiful.

Magalogue n°01 - Monchoix 2017