The Story of Armor Lux
At the end of the 1930s, a swiss man founded a lingerie factory in Quimper under the name Armor lux - "armor" is the Breton word for sea, and "lux" can only mean the light on the coast. Many of the garments that are still made in Brittany today also have a maritime character: A signal beyond the borders of the region is the striped sailor's shirt.
The beginning of the enterprise was marked by a number of challenges: The outbreak of war had put an immediate end to the beginning, material scarcity and rationing forced the company to shut down for a few years, but as early as the 1960s it was decided to integrate an in-house dyeing plant into the company in order to have all the manufacturing processes under one roof, from manufacturing the fabrics to quality control. In 1970 the first larger collections of Armor lux were launched on the market, sailor shirts and underwear were added, as were other items of clothing - dresses, trousers and pullovers, as well as hats, caps and scarves, mostly in maritime style. Today, the company's repertoire also includes uniforms, French police officers and their colleagues from the post office are dressed in Quimper at Armor lux, as are employees of the Paris airports and the SNCF state railway.
Quality
Manufacture of textile products
Armor Lux has a design and production department that designs more than 1,500 new models every year. This department is supported by a team responsible for creating prototypes and developing new products for the company's customers.
Integrated production from the thread to the finished product
Armor Lux has one of the last textile production machines. The company has two industrial sites: the first is located in the city centre. It houses the knitting and dyeing workshops and the analysis laboratory. Armor Lux has 85 circular knitting machines with different measuring elements and diameters. This allows the company to produce large quantities of the most important knitwear (plain or striped) (jersey, cote, interlock), which are well suited for making cotton clothing and underwear.
Armor lux has an integrated dyeing plant to dye large and small quantities of knitwear itself, in piece dyeing, jet dyeing and overflow dyeing! The company is ecotex-certified and thus guarantees the safety of its knitted products for its customers.
This industrial know-how has led to the company being awarded the "Living Heritage Company" award by the Ministry of Economy, Industry and Labour in 2010.
The second site, inaugurated in 2004, is located in the Kerdroniou area. This is where the cutting (manual in the case of striped knitwear, automated in the case of plain knitwear) and manufacturing operations take place. The site also houses the logistics centre, the offices and the direct sales shop in the form of a shop covering 1500 m².
Logistics
Armor Lux has a logistics centre in Quimper that extends over three levels and an area of 11,000 m². The company has a wide range of static, hanging and dynamic storage facilities to meet the needs of its customers. Armor Lux distributes more than 5,000,000 articles per year through its logistics platforms in Quimper. The logistical know-how includes the delivery of individual packages to the customer's home and the bulk shipment of entire ready-made clothing collections.
Distribution
Armor Lux has its own distribution network with more than 50 outlets. The boutiques are located partly in the city centre and partly on the outskirts. The concept of the boutiques is to sell high-quality, regional textile products.
