Chevignon
Chevignon is a French , internationally known fashion brand for men's and women's clothing , which is especially famous for its American-style sportswear.
Company history
The Charles Chevignon company was founded in Paris in 1979 by Frenchman Guy Azoulay (* 1955) , who came from a pied noir family . The company first introduced bomber jackets , so-called "Flights", in the style of American Airforce - Pilots ago. The company is named after the fictional Airforce pilot Charles Chevignon . Azoulay originally bought flight jackets from old army stocks, redesigned them and successfully resold them. Due to the great demand and because his stocks of army jackets were quickly used up, Azoulay transferred the stonewash technique from jeans processing to leather processing in order to produce vintage jackets from new raw leather materials that looked as if they were used and therefore authentic . The Chevignon brand image should reflect the American way of life of the 1950s and the American Dream . The company's target group was initially young men between 25 and 35 years of age.
Expansion from the mid-1980s
Already in 1981 the turnover was almost 100 million francs . In 1984 further labels were launched, including a. Chevignon Conquest (jeans and sportswear), Chevignon Kids (children's clothing), Chevignon Che (leisure clothing) and Togs Unlimited ( down clothing ). In 1987 the Chevignon portfolio was expanded to include accessories and luggage. Chevignon now offered the complete range for the wardrobe and also made a name for itself in the jeans business. On the French market, Chevignon competed, for example, with sportswear brands such as Chipie and Cimarron. From the late 1980s, the company's network of branches in France and abroad was expanded through a franchising system and Chevignon boutiques opened in New York , Hong Kong , Tokyo and 20 other countries. In the 1990s, licenses for glasses , watches and fragrances were also issued. For a short time there were even Chevignon cigarettes, which, however, were taken off the market due to the young target group due to public pressure. On the German market, in which the company was active from the late 1980s, Chevignon jackets were sold “for 650 to 800 marks ” in the high, mid-range price segment, and thus represented a status symbol and were particularly popular among young people. France and Germany were the strongest markets for Chevignon.
Takeover by NAF NAF
At the beginning of the 1990s, interest in Chevignon fell in France, partly due to a recession , and sales figures collapsed. The company was finally taken over in 1995 by the French NAF NAF Group, which in 2007 was bought by the French shoe group Vivarte together with the fashion label Kookaï . The takeover by NAF NAF and the associated financial injection as well as a restructuring program enabled Chevignon to continue its global expansion. NAF NAF discontinued its own men's fashion program with the incorporation of the Chevignon brand. In Germany, too, sales declined in the mid-1990s due to quality and price problems. Attempts were made to counteract this by changing sales partners several times, setting up a NAF NAF headquarters in Neuss , shortening delivery times, improving quality and introducing a women's fashion line.
Realignment for the 2000s
The Chevignon logo was renewed in 2003 in the colors gray and blue. In 2007, the logo was changed again and now resembles the original lettering in the colors red, beige and black. In the late 2000s, under the new creative director Jean-Olivier Létard, who had previously been Marc Jacobs' assistant at Louis Vuitton , two separate collections were introduced at Chevignon: Legend (men's and women's fashion and accessories with a focus on leather, since 2007) and Unlimited (more fashionable men's fashion in the upscale sportswear sector and accessories, since 2008). About 30 retailers are supplied in Germany, existing Chevignon boutiques (e.g. Hamburg, Cologne, Düsseldorf, Magdeburg and the outlet in Zweibrücken ) have been gradually closed. A limited re-edition of the Togs Unlimited down jackets from the 1980s, embroidered on the back with a picture of a duck, is planned for winter 2009 .
Individual evidence
- ↑ a b Spiegel: Shabby Splendor (May 24, 1982)
- ↑ chevignon-hk.com: Chevignon Hong Kong ( page no longer available , search in web archives ) Info: The link was automatically marked as defective. Please check the link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. (Timetable)
- ↑ Textile industry: Stealing clothes at school ( page no longer available , search in web archives ) Info: The link was automatically marked as defective. Please check the link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. (January 14, 1993)
- ↑ a b Textilwirtschaft: Back to the man ( page no longer available , search in web archives ) Info: The link was automatically marked as defective. Please check the link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. (August 6, 2009)
- ↑ Le Nouvel Observateur (French): Quand Chevignon bat de l'aile (October 28, 1993)
- ↑ Textile industry: Vivarte takes over NAF NAF (February 1, 2007)
- ↑ Textile industry: Chevignon / Naf Naf: Germany is the focus market ( page can no longer be accessed , search in web archives ) Info: The link was automatically marked as defective. Please check the link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. (April 6, 1998)
- ↑ Textile industry: Chevignon expands internal sales ( page no longer available , search in web archives ) Info: The link was automatically marked as defective. Please check the link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. (June 18, 1998)
- ↑ Textile industry: Chevignon opens flagship ( page no longer available , search in web archives ) Info: The link was automatically marked as defective. Please check the link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. (June 28, 2007)
- ^ H Magazine: Jean-Olivier Létard - Chevignon Art Director ( Memento from July 20, 2008 in the Internet Archive )
- ^ Textile industry: Chevignon: In Cologne now on Ehrenstrasse ( page no longer available , search in web archives ) Info: The link was automatically marked as defective. Please check the link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. (September 11, 1997)
- ↑ Textilwirtschaft: Chevignon: Fit for the next generation ( page no longer available , search in web archives ) Info: The link was automatically marked as defective. Please check the link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. (January 20, 1994)
- ↑ swipelife.com Chevignon Togs Unlimited jackets ( Memento of the original from January 14, 2010 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. (September 28, 2009)
