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Listen to or watch the original content Jacques Tiberghien is a co-founder of Mes chaussettes rouges, a company that sells socks…
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Jacques Tiberghien is a co-founder of Mes chaussettes rouges, a company that sells premium socks. Known as “the shop for the Pope’s socks”, the company has diversified to offer other brands (Mazarin, Bresciani, Gallo…) and opened a shop in the 15th arrondissement of Paris.
The value of sock production in France was estimated at more than 700 million euros in 2018, with the market remaining relatively stable in recent years. The luxury segment, meanwhile, is estimated at between 25 and 30 million euros per year. In a highly fragmented sector, consumers have relatively little attachment to brands and are often unable to name even a single sock brand. In this context, competition is fairly diffuse, since every brand sells socks without making them a flagship product.
For Jacques, growth in the French sock market therefore requires clear differentiation, whether through brand image (the Pope’s socks) or the customer experience (watching socks being woven in-store). This differentiation is all the more necessary given the difficulty of competing with giants such as Zara, Uniqlo or Amazon, particularly on delivery times.
The COVID-19 pandemic had a very significant impact, with the company’s sales initially plunging by 50% during the first lockdown before recovering. Beyond this short-term impact, the pandemic accelerated certain changes in behaviour, encouraging increasingly “casual” clothing.
Among the sector’s major trends, the fashion for “invisible” socks, where neither the brand nor the colour can be seen, is growing, especially among younger people. Future growth in the sector will also involve sportier and more casual socks.