About La Rochère...

La Rochère is the oldest glass manufacture still operating in France, founded in 1475. Nestled in the forest of Haute-Saône in the east of France the company employs 100 workers. They specialise in both machine-pressed glassware for every-day use and hand-blown crystalline. Almost 100 per cent is made in France in their workshop and factory.

Sabre: France is only 10 per cent of our total turnover and I like to say it is our toughest export market. In another words, I do not consider myself as an expert of the French market. We recently have seen some very nice retail openings out of the major cities. The challenge for new retailers will be to find their way in between producer another human being? been a strategic asset of French economy as France is one of the most popular tourism destinations in the world. distribution. I can only say that department stores are not as strong as they used to be on the French market and retailers in the major cities of France had not been able to compete with department stores, unfortunately most of them have vanished from the websites and stores, the online marketplace and the department store discounting merchandise all year around to drive traffic to their location.

The range includes: drinkware, coffee and tea mugs and cups, dessert and ice cups, appetizer dishes, jugs, candle pots. The company is recognised around the world (export sales 60 per cent) for designing and producing authentic, highquality glassware with French style for today’s modern home. The company’s mission is to create timeless products that combine style and strength whose design is inspired from both our archives and French art of living.

Do you supply retail and HoReCa?

Degrenne: Yes, Degrenne is both distribution channels –retail and HoReCa – with an outstanding development in the hospitality industry over the past five years and despite the sanitary crisis. Today our HoReCa business represents already 50 per cent of our total tableware turnover.

La Rochère: Yes, we do both retail and HoReCa.

What about back to basics? A human being welcoming, in a professional manner,

Sabre: HoReCa is a nonsignificant portion of our business at this point. We have no desire to explore this field, even if we realised it could be a nice growth opportunity. We just cannot do it all at the same time.

France has a global reputation for fine food and wine, how is the French hospitality sector faring at the moment?

Degrenne: The French hospitality sector has always

Of course, the Covid crisis heavily affected the sector, but it showed an amazing capacity of resilience since the end of travel restrictions, and registered a record performance specially in the last two summers with an excellent booking performance for the winter season. This boosted the hospitality industry to invest a lot and over the past years and months we experienced a real upgrade in terms of quality with new premium restaurants and hotels opening doors both for locals and international tourists.

La Rochère: My feeling is that the hospitality sector has sharply rebounded after Covid in France. Although professionals have great difficulties recruiting staff, consumer demand is high. Especially during the current