Les Tricots Marcel, Ambassador of Made In Roanne!
10 years after selling the ready-to-wear company Mado Marcel, Thomas Sardi took on a new challenge: to promote the colors of Made in Roanne by reviving the "Marcel".
Do you know why the famous white tank top worn by millions of French people is called the Marcel? Simply because the first company to commercially produce this garment, in series and in cotton, was the bonneterie Marcel. A company run by Marcel Eisenberg and located in... Roanne. It has disappeared since, but it is this local know-how that Thomas Sardi seeks to bring back with his brand "Les Tricots Marcel".
The forty-something is far from being a stranger in the Roanne textile industry. For about fifteen years, he managed, along with his mother and sister, the ready-to-wear company Mado Marcel. A small business with 150 employees, in very good shape, sold in 2009. "I had always worked in the family business. I had enough; I needed a change of scenery." With his wife and children, he moved to Bali where he lived for 5 years, between surfing and real estate investments. "We returned to Roanne every year, and paradoxically, it was during this time that I learned to truly love this area." So much so that upon returning to France, he sought a new entrepreneurial adventure. Not necessarily in textiles, but definitely local. "One day, I saw a Facebook post about the origin of the Marcel. I got interested and eventually launched into it, almost as a joke."
Two years later, the business is up and running. With collections of Marcels offering varying colors, sizes for men, women, and children, as well as complementary ranges of recycled sweatshirts and checkered shirts. Everything is almost entirely manufactured within a five-kilometer radius around Roanne. Knitting is done in Riorges by MCF, dyeing at Coteau by TAD, and garment making by the social enterprise Ithac. The tags and labels come from Saint-Étienne. Only the yarn, Pima cotton (Peruvian production), is imported from abroad. "What a joy to be able to visit my partners in just a few minutes!”
Thomas Sardi sells his clothing primarily through his website, but also through about ten stores specializing in Made in France, as well as at the Roanne tourist office. His ambition? The entrepreneur states it plainly. "My idea isn't to recreate a large company. I want to promote Made in France and highlight Roanne's know-how."
