One Group, two historic French brands
Whether we speak of MILLET or LAFUMA, it all started with a family story.
A brand history that has been written for over 100 years for MILLET and almost as long for LAFUMA!
A rare longevity in the outdoor sector... a real strength.
Our two pioneering, authentic French brands have evolved with the times.
MILLET, 100 years of adventures
A family story
In 1921, a young couple, Hermance and Marc Millet, started making shopping bags near Lyon - the beginnings of the MILLET company.
In 1929, they moved to Annecy with their two sons, René and Raymond, and continued to develop their business.
When Marc died, Hermance took over the reins of the company.
Technical expertise
In 1946, René, an avid mountain lover, met a young mountaineer, Louis Lachenal, at the CAF (Club Alpin Français). Lachenal oversaw the creation of the first mountain bags. MILLET began to develop technical know-how.
In 1950, Louis Lachenal and Maurice Herzog reached the summit of the Annapurna, the first mountain of over 8000 meters ever conquered, with a MILLET bag!
From that moment on, the close relationship between the product teams and the great mountain personalities (Walter Bonatti- Reinhold Messner - Christophe Profit) formed the core of MILLET's know-how and reputation.
Acquisition by the Lafuma Group
The two Millet brothers sold the company in 1973 and left in 1980.
After a few difficult years, the company was bought by the LAFUMA group in 1995. The company rebounded and continued to work with the great mountaineers of the time.
Millet Mountain Group
The Swiss group CALIDA bought the LAFUMA group and in 2016 created the Millet Mountain Group (MMG), by merging MILLET & LAFUMA.
Back to Basics
The Millet brand is celebrating its 100th anniversary, but 2021 also marks the return of the MILLET family to the helm: Romain Millet, great-grandson of the founders, takes over the management of MMG and Jean-Pierre Millet, grandson of the founders and Romain's uncle, signs the MMG buyout at the end of December, which will be finalised in April 2022.
Lafuma
A brand in the ❤ of the French people since 1930
It was in 1930, in Anneyron, a small village, that the 3 Lafuma brothers Alfred, Victor and Gabriel, founders of the brand, created a work bag, designed to hold a lunch box and personal belongings. Being great hikers, they found that their bag was not very well adapted to mountain walking.
They came up with the idea of insulating the bag from the back with a metal frame, to prevent perspiration, but also to ensure that the belongings inside no longer hurt the hiker.
With this invention, they revolutionized the backpack. The success of the "Tyrolean" was immediate!
With the extend of the first paid vacations, it accompanied many French people on the road to their first leisure activities.
Mountains: Lafuma's first playground
In 1953, its famous "Tyrolien" bag climbed Everest on the back of Sherpa Tensing.
Numerous seasoned mountaineers also accompanied Lafuma in its technical developments, such as Gaston Rebuffat, who was the brand's privileged technical advisor for a long time.
From Lafuma Group to Millet Mountain Group
Later, Lafuma diversified into camping furniture, textiles and footwear.
In 1984, the company was taken over by Philippe Joffard, grandson of one of the founders.
Over the years, the LAFUMA Group expanded, acquiring numerous companies, including MILLET in 1995, OXBOW in 2005 and EIDER in 2008.
In 2013, the group was sold to the Swiss industrial group Calida. The reorganization that followed brought the three companies Millet, Eider and Lafuma Outdoor together in Annecy in a single business unit.
In 2016, the Millet Mountain Group was born from the merger of these three companies.
Historical values around sustainable development
Since the 90s, Lafuma has paid particular attention to its sustainable development.
So it was only natural that environmental protection and raising awareness of responsible practices were added to the list.