The great comeback of espadrilles: in the south of France, in Perpignan, Payote is overwhelmed with requests for its “made in France” canvas sneakers. The Catalan company registered three million orders in 2022, far from the 80,000 pairs that it usually manufactures each year.
“It is a flagship product, which is also very popular abroad,” rejoices its president Olivier Gelly, who created the company seven years earlier. Not being able to respond to all requests, Payote has so far only been able to open two stores, in Perpignan and Toulouse.
Because Payote’s goal now is to scale production. The company wants to set up its own factory, capable of producing a million pairs of espadrilles each year – the manufacture of espadrilles is now carried out in collaboration with a company in Mauléon-Licharre, in the Basque Country.
Two million euros, including 500,000 euros in crowdfunding, are on the table to pull the new 2,500 m² factory off the ground, to be built at the back of the Perpignan store at the end of 2024.
Escape game and virtual games
Payote, above all, intends to open its factory to the public. An amusement park dedicated to the espadrille, in a way. Within the site you can find a workshop to make your own shoes, virtual games, a cinema or even an escape game.
About 80 jobs should be created. The factory will be in charge of assembling the different parts of the shoe, and the company itself will not manufacture the raw materials. “We are trying to repatriate as close as possible everything that can be done”, specifies Olivier Gelly. The thread and stripes are French, the canvas is French, Italian or Spanish, the grape pomace (a synthetic leather) is also Italian, while the jute for the sole comes from Bangladesh, waiting to find a satisfactory alternative in French hemp.
Source: BFM TV
