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THE WORLD’S NO.1 MAGAZINE FOR THE LEATHER INDUSTRY
June/July 2018 | [Published 29th June] Volume 31, Number 3
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IN THIS ISSUE:Leather’s battle with synthetic alternatives
Market focus on furniture leather
News from FILK and ALCA
Where is leather’s Silicon Valley?
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eather furniture group DuvivierCanapés has been recognised bythe
French government for itsknow-how and heritage. In 2006, itwas
awarded the Enterprise du
Patrimoine Vivant (EPV) or ‘living heritage’status, a state
initiative launched more thana decade ago to promote French
cultureand savoir-faire. Only companies that havedemonstrated high
levels of craftsmanshipand success are eligible to receive
it.Duvivier Canapés says it was handed thisdistinction because of
its rich history,national and international reputation,capacity for
innovation and expertise in theuse of leather.
The company was founded in 1840 byFrançois-Baptiste Duvivier,
originally as asaddlery workshop. Located in France’sVienne region,
the founder’s aim was tomanufacture French products of
exceptional quality. More than a centurylater it shifted its
focus to seated furnitureand in 1978 Jean Marie Duvivier, a
fourth-generation member of the founding family,opened a sofa
manufacturing workshop inUsson du Poitou, around 40 kilometressouth
of Poitiers. The Duvivier Canapésbrand was launched in 1989,
releasing itsfirst collection later that year.
At the turn of the century DuvivierCanapés set about expanding
itsdistribution network. This took place bothat home, with the
opening of its first shop-showroom in Paris in 2000, and abroad.The
company now operates threeshowrooms in France, two in Paris and
onein Lille, and sells at a further 40 specialistretailers in the
country. Overseas, itsproducts can be purchased as far afield
asAdelaide, Australia, Seoul, South Korea,and Vancouver, Canada. A
showroom was
opened in Shanghai in 2005, with anotherin Tokyo, which is
operated by thecompany’s Japanese partner.
Made in FranceDuvivier Canapés describes the
materials it uses as “essential elements”in its pursuit of
high-quality products. As aresult, they are “subject to the
greatestcare” from the moment they are selecteduntil their
incorporation into the finishedpiece of furniture. The company says
ithas “a passion for leather”, favouringmaterials that develop a
patina over timeand so give a sofa or chair individualcharacter and
uniqueness.
Its leather is sourced from tannersaffiliated with the Filière
Française du Cuirand it is quick to pay tribute to their
skills.“The experience of the tanner and hismastery of traditional
methods are the key
A cut above the rest
WORLD LEATHER JUNE/JULY 2018
Beast to Beauty
With the help of technology solutions provider Lectra, French
furniture maker DuvivierCanapés has been able to boost its
production capacity and give more customersthe opportunity to own a
piece of its stylish leather furniture.
L
Duvivier Canapé’s products, such as the Pierre sofa, are
intended to fit in with a variety ofinterior design styles. CREDIT:
DIDIER DELMAS
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to obtaining a beautiful, natural andauthentic leather,” it
states.
One of its material partners is the RémyCarriat tannery, based
in Espelette in theBasque Country. The company beganoperating in
1927 and produces high-quality leather for saddlery,
leathergoods,footwear and furniture. Its raw materials ofchoice are
young bull hides from Europeand buffalo calf skins from Pakistan.
Thetanning methods it employs are designedto create leathers that
are soft and durable,valuable qualities in furniture
upholstery.Like Duvivier Canapés, Rémy Carriat hasreceived the
French government’s ‘livingheritage’ status.
Duvivier Canapés offers its customers awide range of leathers,
including drum-dyedleathers, aniline leathers and
semi-anilineleathers. They can choose from materials ofdifferent
thickness, surface and colour,depending on their needs. All of them
mustmeet “rigorous and demandingspecifications”, standards which it
demandalso be maintained by its suppliers. DuvivierCanapés points
to the traceability of its rawmaterials as another important part
ofensuring the quality of its finished products.
Manufacturing takes place entirely inFrance. Its main site in
Usson du Poitou ishome to its leather and fabric workshops.Around
50 staff work at this location. Thewooden elements of its furniture
are madeat a separate carpentry workshop innearby Lussac les
Châteaux. The brandsources nearly all its wood from forestsmanaged
to Forest Stewardship Council(FSC) standards.
The first step in the creation process ofany product is the
initial design andDuvivier Canapés understands this stage iscrucial
to the quality and comfort of the finalresult. It encourages close
collaborationbetween designers, production teams andsuppliers to
make sure the process gets offto as good a start as possible.
When it comes to manufacturing, thebrand believes in offering
frequent training toits workers, implementing clear proceduresat
every stage of production, and enforcingstrict quality control
measures beforeproducts are packaged and shipped tocustomers. It is
working hard to preserve theknow-how of its staff and to pass
their
WORLD LEATHER JUNE/JULY 2018
A cut above the rest
From initial material selection to the moment a piece of
furniture leaves the DuvivierCanapés workshop, each step of the
process is geared towards the quality and comfort ofthe finished
product. CREDIT: DUVIVIER CANAPÉS
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knowledge on to a new generation offurniture makers. “The
talented people thatstrengthen the company’s workforceacquire
expertise and values of excellence intheir daily work by
observation of the oldergeneration and through repetition of
precisegestures,” it explains.
Material gains Seven generations of the Duvivier family
have successfully married traditionalFrench craftsmanship with
state of the arttechniques and technological innovations.The
current custodian of this heritage isAymeric Duthoit, who acquired
thecompany in July 2016. He now serves asboth owner and CEO. After
taking over thecompany, he paid tribute to its ability to“respond
to the needs and desires of itscustomers without abandoning its
past”.
“The stakes are high and this is reallyabout reaffirming a
position and developinga brand that has everything already goingfor
it,” he added, explaining that his aimwas to build on the brand’s
history “withoutbreaching it but incorporating the
essentialelements needed for the current market.”
Its relationship with technology solutionsprovider Lectra is a
good example of itswillingness to move with the times. Itbegan
using Lectra’s Versalis automatedleather cutting solution in 2013,
hoping toincrease its efficiency and productivity. Thepartnership
came about as DuvivierCanapés sought to keep up with demand.
The company’s target was to double thenumber of hides it was
able to cut eachday without needing to employ additionalstaff. It
wanted this to be achieved withoutany compromise on quality.
Versalis wascapable of satisfying these aims; as well asthe obvious
improvement in efficiency thatcomes from automated cutting, it can
alsodetect flaws in a hide and direct cutting toavoid them. This
allows for maximum yieldfrom each hide.
For Duvivier Canapés, the introduction ofVersalis has brought
three mainadvantages. The first is significant timesavings due to
the presence of acontinuous cutting line. The technology iscapable
of digitising, nesting and cuttinghides without the need for
additional input.It has also allowed the brand to
significantly improve its productivity; itsthroughput is now 140
hides per day,double its previous manual capacity. Thefinal benefit
is improved cut quality. It hasdescribed its cutting quality
as“significantly higher” and says it now hasan “extremely low
rejection rate”.
Lectra has said that Duvivier Canapés,like all its customers,
benefits from accessto international call centre and to itscustomer
care teams. This means amember of the Lectra team is
alwaysavailable should any problems arise. Thebrand has in the past
praised Lectra for thespeed with which it was able to install
theVersalis solution.
Perfect partnershipThe brand’s latest step into the 21st
century is the launch of a new application forsmart devices
which allows customers toselect any Duvivier Canapés model
andconfigure it to their liking with the help of a 3D visualiser.
The aspects they cancustomise include size, upholstery, colourand
finish. They are even able to virtuallyplace the item they wish to
purchase intotheir own living room, so they can decidewhether it is
suitable. Duvivier Canapésdescribes the application as “an
innovationthat transforms the customer experience”.In addition, it
can be used in-store by salesadvisors, putting the whole
productcatalogue at their disposal and reducing thenumber of items
that need to be on display.
The company has said it launched theapplication when it realised
customers werelooking for a new kind of experience in store.
Also new for 2018 is a partnership withyoung French designer
Charlotte Juillard.The brand says it chose to work with herdue to
her “inventive and innovativeapproach to material” and has praised
herfor being “sensitive to the nobility ofmaterials”. The two
ranges she hasdesigned, which go by the names Jeanneand Jules,
contain a variety of furnitureoptions. The designer’s main focus
hasbeen on the use of natural materials suchas leather and wood,
combining these withfabrics in some cases.
Ms Juillard appears to see thiscollaboration as an opportunity
to make abroader statement about Frenchcraftsmanship and quality.
“As a designerand company, we have a heavy mission,re-teaching the
public to be sensitive tolocal production and the know-how of
ourindustries, which are disappearing infavour of delocalised
manufacturing andless expensive end products,” she insists.
Summing up her design ethic, she hassaid: “My desire is not to
alter the materialbut to emphasise and enhance it.” This tiesin
very closely with Duvivier Canapés’sown mantra. The combination of
qualitymaterials, expert craftsmanship and anappreciation for
innovation makes DuvivierCanapés worthy of the recognition it
hasreceived at home and abroad.
WORLD LEATHER JUNE/JULY 2018
A cut above the rest
By using Lectra’s Versalis automated leather cutting solution,
Duvivier Canapés has been ableto make significant improvements in
productivity and cutting quality. CREDIT: LECTRA
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