Chargeurs PCC Fashion Technologies, a global manufacturer of interlining and inner components for clothing, reported revenues of €220 million in 2022, registering a 33.4% increase of €164.9 million of 2021.
The double-digit growth for the last fiscal year is the result of a business plan related a to a series of factors, including a significant commitment to the sustainable cause, along with successful export results from countries like the United States, France, Italy and Asia as top markets, and South America in strong recovery.
The company is part of the Chargeurs Group, a French group listed on Euronext in Paris, with a history stretching back more than 150 years. Chargeurs PCC counts a comprehensive global presence with eight production sites on four continents, three innovation centers, 30 offices and distribution centers and over 1,000 employees and an annual production of more than 300 million meters of interlining in 2022.
Gianluca Tanzi, CEO and chairman, Chargeurs PCC, explained The SPIN OFF the reasons behind the company’s recent performance.
The key drivers that have brought us to lead the interlinings and inner components business are the concrete commitment to sustainability, a strong global presence, a cross-selling and continuously expanding offer and the investment in R&D.
These factors allow us to constantly satisfy the demand of a fast-changing market, being able to propose always the most innovative and exclusive solutions, from both product and efficient service point of view.
You mentioned among the company’s growth drivers is sustainability. Can you explain more in detail how?
Yes, it has. Chargeurs PCC is recognized as a pioneer in the product and sustainable process area.
We focus our corporate culture on being environmentally and socially responsible. We believe that getting to better products starts by caring about people. Furthermore, we operate across all continents meeting the highest environmental standards and continually seek solutions to increasingly cut our carbon footprint and waste.
Our products are certified with industry leaders in sustainability and corporate social responsibility, such as for instance Global Recycled Standard (GRS), Better Cotton Initiative (BCI), Cotton Leads and Sedex.
Has the request of less polluting products increased?
The business of sustainable products, aimed mainly at the high-end of the market, together with the Fusion line accounted for 30% of interlining business sales in 2022. Along with that, the market demands an increasing commitment to sustainability.
Global fashion consumers, especially the young generations, are always more concerned about sustainability and make purchasing decisions to lower their impact. Chargeurs PCC is consistently working to find innovative solutions to offer new sustainable products and processes.
Our "Sustainable 360" line offers a wide range of eco-friendly products, which achieved a significant increase in sales in 2022.
One example is the Nativa collection of inner components, made from sustainable wool and traceable throughout the full supply chain, from the sheep herd to product delivery.
Zerowater, our ultralight interlinings range, created for haute couture customers, uses no water in its dyeing processes. The traditional dyeing process is one of the most water-intensive and polluting ones in fashion production.
According to the UN, the fashion industry produces 20% of all wastewater and textile dyeing is the second-largest source of water pollution globally.
To address this issue, Chargeurs PCC designed and engineered a proprietary waterless dyeing process that involves dyeing the adhesive material used in interlinings rather than the fabric itself (the industry usually consumes 30 kilos of water to dye one kilo of fabric).
Is innovation another key driver for the company?
Innovation has always been a key driver for Chargeurs PCC. Already 50 years ago, in our historic century-old factory Lanière de Picardie in Péronne, in France, Chargeurs PCC cooperated with loom maker Karl Mayer to create the warp knit weft insert, which allowed to add the weft threads, providing more breathability to the fabric.
In which segments and in which are your products more innovative?
Today we continuously develop new products to meet the evolving market’s needs, as, for instance, the use of stretch fabrics for enhanced practicality in the sportswear, athleisure and underwear sectors or the haute couture demands of invisible and ultralight structures for use under the lightest and sheerest fabrics.
How do you operate?
We do it by listening to our brands customers, creating always new solutions to improve their garments’ performances. We especially do it through our three innovations studios, strategically based in Milan, Paris and New York to be close to our customers.
We work in an innovation partnership, offering them the possibility to test and develop new solutions to be developed by Chargeurs PCC Fashion Technologies R+D.
Chargeurs PCC comprehensive global presence with eight production sites and R&D centers on four continents, the three innovation studios, 30 offices and distribution centers and over 1,000 employees are all there to offer on a global scale a customized service and product offering, meeting the production and distribution needs of a broad market that ranges from the leading haute couture and luxury brands to large fashion manufacturing companies in Europe and America, to the trend-setters in sportswear and athleisure.
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