The Olympic Games (JO) in Paris have presented their mascots. Called “Phrygians”, these red Phrygian caps that show off two legs and two large eyes will be the emblems of the 2024 tricolor Olympic edition. But here, beyond their appearance, it is the origin of these products that was discussed this Tuesday .
Although the market has been entrusted to the French companies Gipsy and Doudou & Compagnie, most of the total production, estimated at 2 million pieces, will take place in China.
According to West of FranceOf the million pets produced by the Doudou & Compagnie company, 200,000 will be manufactured at its factory in Guerche-de-Bretagne (Ille-et-Vilaine), which will be expanded for the occasion. For this part of the production, the stuffing, assembly and sewing will be done in France, while the raw materials and the preparation of spare parts will be done in China, reported theAFP.
A “cold shower”
“This announcement was a cold shower for all those who expected these Olympic Games to be Made in France“, estimated Yves Jégo.
The Minister of Ecological Transition Christophe Béchu, for his part, estimated this Tuesday, at the microphone of France information, that the manufacture in China of almost all the stuffed animals that served as mascots for the 2024 Paris Olympics was “a problem”. So much so that it does not close the door to a repatriation of Phryges production in France.
a beginning”
guest in rmc, On Tuesday, the Delegate Minister of Industry Roland Lescure, for his part, defended the choice of the organizing committee.
Especially since the two selected SMEs are not the only ones that relocate their production. During the presentation of these mascots on Monday, the organizing committee recalled that “the vast majority of stuffed animals sold” in France were produced in China. Because manufacturing parts in factories of the Middle Kingdom allows above all to minimize production costs.
Less expensive relocation
However, there are exceptions, such as Pioupiou & Merveilles, another manufacturer of tricolor soft toys that has decided to repatriate most of its production to France as of autumn 2020. And thanks to this strategy, the company manages to sell part of its products a 60% cheaper than if they were 100% produced in China.
To reduce its costs, the company has significantly optimized the number of stuffed animals stored and transported in containers, the price of which had increased considerably after Covid. And if it has gone down in the meantime, the fact that now only the “product envelope” is manufactured in China allows Pioupiou & Merveilles to place 10,000 pieces in each container, compared to 1,100 before the move. As soon as they arrive in France, the stuffed animals are stuffed, shaped, closed with the sewing machine before being dried, blown and placed on cardboard.
“Complex products” to manufacture
However, the 24cm friges don’t look much like the meter-tall bears from Pioupiou & Merveilles. And, according to its manager Jérôme Duchemin, it is precisely the small size of these pets that makes it difficult to repatriate 100% of its production to France.
“Especially since labor represents, on average, more than 60% of the cost of a stuffed animal,” explains Sandra Callahan, general manager of Gipsy, the second French player in charge of manufacturing mascots. However, the hourly cost of labor is still much higher in Europe than in China. “This high cost would require a sale price that is not very attractive,” says Jérôme Duchemin.
A difference in cost that will be found in part in the stores of the two product lines marketed by Doudou & Compagnie. According to West of France20% fluff Made in France of the company will be sold at a price of 49.90 euros, compared to 34.90 for the parts manufactured in China.
Beyond the cost, the total quantity of products, estimated at two million, makes this relocation almost impossible today.
A desertification that could have been avoided, according to the president of the Origine France Garantie label, Gilles Attaf, by adopting a long-term strategy. “To produce in large quantities, you must have an efficient industrial tool, which is no longer the case in France because we abandoned our industry for decades: manufactured products actually represent 10% of GDP in France, compared to 16% in Europe and even 22% in Germany”, denounced in a forum.
For the Gipsy leader, the award of this market represents above all “a great business accelerator for two major French toy players”. “Let us rejoice!”
Source: BFM TV
