2023-11-27 08:11:29
Founded in 1991 in the Alps, the Amateis company specializes in outdoor textiles and footwear. Born in the mountains, the company wants to preserve and bring to life unique know-how through 4 French brands: Duvillard, Degré7, Aulp and Vertigo Alpes. Its CEO Nicolas Simond discusses the release this Monday, November 27 of a daring IKKS x Duvillard collection and takes us on the trails of this dynamic family business with a strong eco-responsible commitment, in tune with the nature that surrounds it in Haute-Savoie.
Nicolas Simond
Bruno Cammalleri: Can we say that the Outdoor, the mountains, the Alps and the Savoyard identity are the links between the 4 brands of the Amateis group?
Nicolas Simond : Yes, and then there is skiing which is a key element in our brand plan. Of our 4 brands, which are all French, we have Vertigo, a shoe brand, which is the oldest brand in the group. Founded more than 32 years ago, Vertigo will offer après-ski and mountain shoes. In the price range, we will be on the entry and mid-range. Then, the Aulp brand specialized in second layer products such as softshells and fleeces with attractive designs. Aulp is a Savoyard brand, its name comes directly from the Savoyard dialect: “aulp” meaning alpine pasture or high altitude pasture. Its price structure is more mass market with accessible prices, which will range from around €49 to €109 on the chic fleece-type second layer part. Aulp also offers ski jackets, from €139 to €199, and secondly outdoor jackets, with a range that remains quite wide. Today Aulp is the biggest brand in our group. There are around 1,500 points of sale with this brand sold throughout France, but also abroad. The brand is constantly evolving and is exported from year to year, to make the Savoy cross and the chamois shine internationally.
When it comes to Degré7, we are purely an outdoor ski brand. It was created in Chamonix by Patrick Vallenant, precursor of freeride, and stylist Ingrid Büchner, in 1982. With Degré7 we will reach an audience with average sales prices, between €299 and €499. In 2010 Degré7 became the official equipment supplier of the French skicross team and in 2022 the Amateis group bought the Degré7 brand and developed the outdoor brand by producing technical, qualitative and refined clothing from recycled materials.
Photo A.Mesnage
Finally with Duvillard, we are more in the premium segment. The emblematic brand of skier Henri Duvillard offers a range of clothing combining elegance and technicality. Developed by a team passionate regarding haute couture and skiing, Duvillard maintains its know-how in France by joining the Amateis group in 2020.
The idea of the Amateis group is to cover all areas of outdoor, skiing and mountaineering, from entry level to premium. This allows us to enter all the stores and we are able to work with 6 or even 7 stores within a ski resort.
Bruno Cammalleri: What regarding your strike force when it comes to the distribution of Amateis group brands?
Nicolas Simond : Just a year ago we were present in 1,500 stores, this year we are more around 1,700 points of sale. On France and the rest of Europe. Regarding the development of our distribution, we opened up to around ten countries last year. This year we are in discussions with Canadians, Japanese, Koreans, Germans…
Bruno Cammalleri: What is your current growth and what are your objectives?
Nicolas Simond : Amateis is a family company located in the heart of the Alps, in Annecy, which for 30 years had a turnover of around 3 million euros. It was my father who ran it according to his plan. We are very attached to working as a family. Basically my father wanted to keep a company that was not too big because it was easier for him in terms of management. When I arrived in the group and seeing its potential and all the cards that were in our possession, I wanted to give greater impetus and international development while keeping our family structure. Amateis has seen strong growth, from an initial turnover of 2.7 million euros when it started, to 6.2 million two years ago. This year, it reached a turnover of 10 million euros. We are targeting a turnover of 15 million euros in 2025.
Bruno Cammalleri: Today is the release of the IKKS x Duvillard collection. Why this collaboration?
Nicolas Simond : In the end it was a marriage that was quite logical between two beautiful French brands. One, Duvillard, which is in the niche of chic and premium skiing, and the other, IKKS, which is on a ready-to-wear network while maintaining a chic and high-end aspect. At the start of the project IKKS came to see us because they had the idea of creating pieces around skiing and they wanted to partner with a brand to do so.
This collection offers 9 pieces with eco-sourced materials, branded IKKS x Duvillard. This offers a fashionable winter wardrobe without compromising freedom of movement, technical materials and comfort. This collection will be present in around forty stores and we will have three weeks of showcase with the brand. This is, in my opinion, a collection that will get a lot of attention! For Duvillard, we are starting to enter ready-to-wear, which is what is the longer-term objective for us to keep the brand alive throughout the year. This collection is the first step towards this transition.
Bruno Cammalleri: The Amateis group brands have DNA linked to the mountains and therefore to biodiversity. What are you putting in place regarding eco-responsibility?
Nicolas Simond : With our 4 brands which are in 4 different price slots, many actions are taken within the group in favor of eco-responsibility. For example with Aulp, we arrive this year with more than 20% of the collection made from recycled polyester. Aulp is an innovative and pioneering brand in favor of sustainable development. She quickly began making clothes designed to be greener. It continues its development by offering products made from recycled polyester from plastic bottles in its next collections. We are committed to doing everything possible to reduce our environmental impact, protect nature and support local communities linked to our world. We want to be a sustainable company. The 3-year objective is to offer 50% of products made from 100% recycled materials.
Concerning Degré7 we have a goal to achieve in 2025 of more than 80% of collections made from recycled materials (wadding and outer material). Today in 2023 we are around 45% of Degré7 collections made from recycled materials. We have taken the approach further with Duvillard since the sales prices allow us to do so: we use bio-sourced materials by collecting corn waste which is transformed into fabrics which then become ski clothing. We have 30% of the range made with this material. Furthermore, our teams have developed biosourced furs. All our furs are biosourced from corn, they are qualitatively as beautiful as real fur. All these innovations widely open up the field of possibilities. We also work with our suppliers for Vertigo shoes, in particular on a recycled sole project, which is not easy to find knowing that there are not yet many people in this niche. We hope to make significant progress on the recycled sole by next year.
Today we consider that a brand that does not try to recycle, that does not have an eco-responsible or ecological approach, or that does not respect the environment cannot exist. We must have this longer-term vision of having more sustainable products that use nobler materials. And that takes time!
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