A well-known leather goods maker in western France appears set to change hands, with a textile group based in Normandy moving to acquire Daguet, a small company that has operated for more than five decades in Saint-Junien.
The potential deal would shift ownership of one of Saint-Junien’s best-known leather businesses. The town, in the Haute-Vienne department, has long been associated with leather glove-making, and Daguet has been part of that broader tradition since it was founded in 1969.
Daguet is best known for belts and has built its reputation through frequent product renewal and a distribution network of about 400 resellers across France.
A long-running leather SME built around belts
Daguet began in 1969 in Saint-Junien, a place historically tied to leather glove production. Over time, the company carved out a narrower niche by focusing on belts—an area where it managed to stand out.
In 2009, Thibault Favre d’Echallens took over the company. Trained as a Compagnon du Devoir—a member of a storied French craft guild system—he had known the business from the inside since childhood. “My father was a sales representative in hats and leather gloves. My story with leather goods began long before my first middle-school internship at this company, which I never left,” he said.
Favre d’Echallens was 24 at the time, and the company had seven employees when he assumed leadership.
Since then, Daguet has expanded and earned the French “Entreprise du patrimoine vivant” label, a government-backed designation recognizing exceptional traditional know-how. The company is also a member of the Luxe et Excellence association.
It opened a test retail store in Bordeaux under the Jean Thibault name, conceived as a trial run ahead of possible locations in Nantes or Lille. Available information indicated the company aimed to reach €1 million in revenue—about $1.1 million—around the time of that Bordeaux expansion.
Daguet has also drawn attention for mixing materials. At the “Portes du cuir” event in Nontron, the company presented creations combining porcelain and leather, a signature that reflects the artisanal and creative approach it promotes.
Deep roots in a regional leather ecosystem
Saint-Junien sits within a dense leather industry cluster in the Nouvelle-Aquitaine region. The town hosts Hermès workshops that train leather artisans and maintain production locally.
Daguet is among the companies regularly cited as internship sites for students pursuing vocational credentials in leather goods—alongside players such as Chanel Production and Hermès’ Maroquinerie de la Tardoire site in Montbron.
That local integration has helped raise the company’s profile beyond its reseller network. Daguet participates in industry events, trains apprentices, and represents the kind of place-based leather know-how that regional leaders promote under the “made in France” banner sought by luxury brands.
What the Normandy takeover could mean for Saint-Junien
The entry of a Normandy-based textile group into Daguet’s capital would open a new chapter for the company. A summary of the situation indicates the goal is to broaden Daguet’s commercial footprint without breaking from its current positioning.
For Saint-Junien and the Haute-Vienne leather sector, the stakes are familiar: keeping activity, jobs, and know-how in town while tapping the distribution strength and resources of a larger group. When an outside industrial player buys an artisanal SME, the challenge is often balancing growth with preserving the company’s identity.
The deal is expected to be finalized soon, according to Le Populaire du Centre, which first reported the information.
Key figures
Daguet was founded in 1969 in Saint-Junien. Thibault Favre d’Echallens took over in 2009 at age 24, when the company had seven employees. The company works with about 400 resellers in France, holds the Entreprise du patrimoine vivant label, and opened a test store in Bordeaux under the Jean Thibault name. A Normandy textile group is said to be close to completing the acquisition.
