Hermès swoops to acquire a second iconic French box calf tannery
27/11/2015
In a statement on November 26, Hermès said: “Tanneries du Puy is one of our long-standing suppliers, famous for its savoir-faire in calf leather, especially in box calf, an iconic Hermès material. This acquisition safeguards around 100 jobs in the Auvergne region and is in keeping with our strategy of preserving savoir-faire at the same time as securing supply.”
Founded in 1946, Tanneries du Puy has a distinguished history but has gone through difficult times in recent years. A change of ownership and investment in new technology in the early part of this decade led to financial difficulties and several changes at the top of the company, with a number of business figures with links to luxury footwear brand Weston endeavouring to turn the tannery’s fortunes around.
At the start of 2015, the former general manager of specialist Abu Dhabi-based camel leather tannery Al Khaznah, Jean-Marie Gigante, returned to his home country to take up a leadership role at Tanneries du Puy.
Following its acquisition by Hermès, the tannery will now become part of Hermès Cuirs Précieux, a division of the luxury group that is dedicated to sourcing, tanning and finishing high-quality hides and skins. It has 600 employees on four continents. The acquisition of Tanneries du Puy takes the number of Hermès-owned tanneries to six and is reminiscent of a move the group made just over two years ago. At the start of 2013, the luxury group acquired another famous French box calf facility, Tannerie d’Annonay in the Ardèche region of the country.
The other tanneries that make up Hermès Cuirs Précieux are TCIM in Vivoin and Gordon-Choisy in Montereau (both in France), Michel Rettili in Cuneo, Italy, and a facility in Louisiana, US, dedicated to processing alligator skins.
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