FAGUO, an emblematic fair-fashion brand, is accelerating its development towards more responsible fashion by raising 15 million euros in a funding round led by NextStage AM
Paris, March 13, 2023 – Certified B Corp and the first brand to offer a complete men's wardrobe, stamped brand with a mission in France, FAGUO is refocusing on its vision of fashion, following a fundraising of 15 million euros led by NextStage AM and monitored by Sodero Gestion and 3 banking partners (CIC Ouest, Banque Populaire Grand Ouest and LCL). The founders of FAGUO significantly increase their capital participation to pursue their mission in favor of fair-fashion. In addition, the operation also allows the entry into the capital of part of the FAGUO teams.
French brand pioneer in ethical fashion (“fair-fashion”)
Created in 2009 by Nicolas Rohr and Frédéric Mugnier, FAGUO is an emblematic French brand of fair-fashion, committed to the creation and omnichannel distribution of men's clothing, shoes, accessories and luggage allowing our generation to live in a hybrid way, to bike, between town and forest!
According to ADEME (French Environment and Energy Management Agency) and Oxfam, 1,2 billion tonnes of greenhouse gases are emitted each year by the textile sector, which represents up to 10% of global greenhouse gas emissions. Based on this observation, FAGUO wishes to limit the impact of the brand as much as possible on the entire value chain. The philosophy applied by FAGUO is to produce less, with parts that emit less CO2 and in reasonable and controlled quantities. In addition, to produce better thanks to recycled materials from which the majority of the collections are made.
FAGUO continually tends to measure, reduce and offset the carbon impact of its clothing, and is part of a process of transparency and awareness. This sustainable brand aspires to position itself on a 100% circular model:
– Design of the offer: FAGUO manages to design 80% of its parts from at least 30% recycled materials (emissions between 40% and 90% less CO2 than a virgin material)
– Sourcing & supply: the sourcing of materials and the manufacture of products are carried out with audited suppliers and signatories of the BSCI charter. In addition, the company is careful to use only packaging made from recycled and recyclable materials and to optimize the weight-volume.
– Transport: Parts are transported by boat and by train, the least polluting modes of transport (source: ADEME).
– Durability and second-hand: FAGUO buys second-hand products from its customers and sells them second-hand through its store network. In addition, bi-monthly repair workshops are set up free of charge in the brand's stores to repair customer products.
– Recycling: FAGUO provides its customers with terminals for recycling end-of-life clothing, sneakers and luggage in its stores in order to constitute the raw materials for future production.
– Voluntary compensation: FAGUO plants a tree in France for each item produced since its inception in a desire to offset its remaining C02 emissions. Today almost 4 million trees grow in more than 300 forests close to cities, thus encouraging people to go and see their tree.
Onboard all employees to the collective success of the company
In order to promote the collective and to involve the entire FAGUO family, the arrival of the two new investor partners allows the profit-sharing of all the 110 employees of the company in the value created during this operation, thanks to the device of the PACTE law which allows to pay back part of the capital gains realized.
Accelerate the development of the FAGUO brand and mission
Through this fundraising, FAGUO aims to accelerate its R&D investments to achieve 100% of products designed from recycled materials, in order to continue to reduce the overall carbon footprint of each product.
This fundraising is also an opportunity for FAGUO to strengthen its teams with already 6 recruitments planned for 2023 and to continue the development of the territorial network of its stores at the rate of ten openings per year. National coverage, already significant with 42 stores and corners spread throughout France, still represents strong development potential.
“I would like to thank the NextStage AM teams for the trust they place in us. They quickly knew how to grasp the problems of the fashion sector and the major associated issues. This new funding confirms our ambitions to develop in the fair-fashion market in France. This operation also allows us to strengthen our product development strategy and our ESG commitment, in terms of design, sourcing and distribution of our brand”, testify Frédéric Mugnier and Nicolas Rohr, co-founder of FAGUO.
“The fashion/textile market faces many challenges, particularly environmental ones. Since its creation in 2009, FAGUO has embodied fair-fashion by engaging its generation against climate change. It is one of the rare French brands to have both the status of Entreprise à Mission and B Corp certification in its market. This core of values, which we share at NextStage AM, convinced us to support Fréderic and Nicolas in the new stage of their development,” says Julien Potier, Partner in charge of Impact at NextStage AM.
“FAGUO has succeeded in establishing itself as a recognized and committed French fair-fashion brand offering products that are both durable and desirable for its customers. It is in this sense that we are happy to challenge and support Nicolas and Frédéric in the deployment of the brand and in the continuous search for minimizing the carbon footprint of the products", declares Bastien Aversa, Senior Business Manager at NextStage AM
Participants in the operation:
NextStage AM team: Julien Potier, Bastien Aversa and Marie-Pauline Noel
About FAGUO
Founded in 2009, FAGUO is committed to the creation and distribution of timeless pieces of the men's wardrobe (sneakers, ready-to-wear, luggage and accessories). A company with a mission since 2021 and certified B Corp, FAGUO embodies fair-fashion without compromising between artistic direction and its mission. Since its creation, FAGUO's mission has been to engage new generations against climate change by supporting them towards healthier clothing styles, being transparent about the life of products and setting up specific initiatives (repair workshops , second-hand sales, etc.).
The company distributes its products through 3 sales channels: 41 stores (branches, corners and affiliates), a network of multi-brand distributors (nearly 300 in France and 150 in the rest of Europe) and its e-shop. owner.
https://www.FAGUO-store.com/fr/
About NextStage AM
An independent management company based in Paris, approved by the AMF, NextStage AM, which has cultivated since the beginning in 2002, an "entrepreneur-investor" philosophy, is one of the pioneers and leaders of innovative and patient development capital in France. NextStage AM has developed, step by step, a multi-strategy Private Equity platform which represents in terms of assets at the end of December 2022, directly and indirectly, €7.5 billion in AUM. NextStage AM invests in a limited number of SMEs and ETIs (89 portfolio companies as of 31/12/2022), French and European, innovative and growing, to which it provides entrepreneurial expertise as an investor and strong operational support (integration environmental innovation, talents, international, external growth). NextStage AM provides long-term support to these SMEs and ETIs involved in smart health, environmental innovation and digital. It gives them the means to accelerate their development and their capacity for innovation to become the “Champions” of their markets, both in France and internationally, through organic and/or external growth.
Press contacts:
NextStage AM: Jonathan Boudin – jbo@nextstage.com – 07 69 65 03 67
Shan: Laurence Tovi – laurence.tovi@shan.fr – 06 20 58 29 02 / Lola Gozlan – lola.gozlan@shan.fr – 06 24 76 83 40/ Anne-Laure Daulier – al.daulier@shan.fr– 06 28 59 50 38
FAGUO: Frédéric Mugnier – fred@faguo.fr / Nicolas Rhor – nicolas@faguo.fr
Proches Agency: Isabelle Pouillat – Isabelle.pouillat@agenceproches.com – 06 45 45 20 85
Investors Council:
FTPA: Francois Xavier Beauvisage – fxbeauvisage@ftpa.fr / Lisa Demri – ldemri@ftpa.fr / Julien Garanger- jgaranger@ftpa.fr
Financial Due Diligence Investors:
BM&A: Guilhem de Montmarin – g.de.montmarin@bma-groupe.com
Company Council:
Fidal: Jacques Darbois – jacques.darbois@fidal.com
Operation tip:
Transactions and Company: Frédéric Bos – f.bos@transactionsetcie.com / Matthieu Mora – m.mora@transactionsetcie.com / Hugo Haget – h.haget@transactionsetcie.com
Article in PDF: https://nextstage-am.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/03/CP-NextStage-AM-Faguo.pdf
