St. Etienne in La Tourette, France — There’s a great untapped potential for French inspired print designs in the USA—at least $3 million within five years if Claude Pelardy, the owner of Stof is correct.

He will test his prediction shortly with the installation of Stof’s first U.S. based export manager, Benjamin Chomette in 2016. Chomette will be scouring the U.S. for key retail and smaller wholesale buyers of Stof copyrighted French designed products in the Stof and Laura Lancelle and Lovely Casa brands or private label if needed.

The idea of a fulltime sales manager in the USA as opposed to just independent agents will be extended to existing markets Stof serves even where there may be a sales agent in place. “Agents and fulltime employees alike will share the markets in the future,” Pelardy says as he tries to squeeze the markets for more print business.

Pelardy and his team, which includes daughter Bertille Pelardy, General Manager;  Bertille’s husband is the sourcing manager by the way; Michel Viscio, 20 plus year employee is Export Manager and Perrine Pelardy, the other sister who heads design, have built a $30 million business converting French prints for domestic and export consumption, principally Europe and South America. The company sources linen and cotton fabrics in Portugal, Spain, France and polyester plains from China. Stof also brings in Chinese blackout by the container load which it distributes to the domestic trade by the cut or piece. Stof: Stof-Michel Viscio, Export Manager, Stof, St. Etienne, France with Bertille Pelardy General Manager and her father founder, Claude Pelardy

It produces all widths including 140-160-180 and 280 cm sizes. For America, ready-mades will be made available in the 50X84 inch size of course.

Stof produces printed piece goods, readymade curtains, novelty pillows, kitchen towels, tablecloths on the roll finished with acrylic and Teflon® coatings and other accessories for the retail and wholesale markets. Table linens for Stof are a big, core business, Pelardy says. The company has been successful in French prints while the bodies of other French competitors litter the roadside.

French companies selling French design like DMC-Texunion, Cotoniere D’Alsace and Scheurer have disappeared from the market while Stof continues to prosper as the last man standing.

So why has Stof endured while others have failed? Why has a man who started life as a fabric sales agent for Unland of Germany become the leader of a growing French print enterprise?

It starts with Claude himself. It’s in his blood since his grandfather and father specialized in ‘La dantelle Puy’ embroidered lace tablecloths. “Since 1987, when Stof began life at zero, we work, work, work with a little talent thrown in,” he laughs. Claude is a joyful, folksy, mustachioed, country gentleman with a twinkle in his eye, who lives just three hours from Paris by TGV train. The major activities in St. Etienne are horse back riding and Petancque, a game played with steel balls. Abut, the major manufacturer of Petancque equipment is based in St. Etienne where it also owns a wonderful restaurant and Petancque court where diners can play while waiting for their lunch. Both Stof and Abut are leaders in their respective fields and the major employers here.

“We’re not afraid to try new designs while our competitors play it safe with plain goods,” Claude continues. “Our designs are always unique with an average of 12 screens and two colors. We can make the decision regarding the design in one minute—not one year-- amongst ourselves. Not so many people can move that fast but we do.” 

If a customer wants a special design, Stof will do it for a 1,000 yard minimum order. “Usually it is successful when the customer gets behind it,” Claude says. In general, buying one roll of goods from Stof equals the cost of buying “three to four meters from a French editeur,” Claude points out in explaining the value equation of Stof products.  

Stof appears to be very family oriented and that extends to the customer relationship. It’s all about being one family. Retail oriented merchandising plays a big role—if you shop the Stof stand at Heimtextil or Maison & Objet Miami, there is always something going on with the display of the latest Stof prints. 

“We stick to two-three colorways in our prints because of stock constraints,” Pelardy explains. “We create more designs but limit the color availability to reduce inventory required. We don’t do five, six or seven colors in the same print.”

Stof has also been flexible in reducing the meterage required to buy its digitally printed or pigment printed designs. The average rolls are 15-20 meters instead of the industry standard of 50 meters. “Thirty to 40 meters purchases are finished for retailers. Customer wants more designs in less quantity,” Claude explains.

It’s also clear that Claude is running the show but he is deferring more and more to his daughter Bertille who started in 2004 and is now General Manager. “It’s not easy for a girl to be in a commercial enterprise all day because it’s important to raise a family at home,” Bertille points out. She likes to ride horses, raise her children and still find time to run the business. She compliments her father for always being available to the family when she was growing up with her sister.