Bruneau is 65 years old but has not aged a day. Bruneau is a solid French company, looking to the future and always ready to take on new challenges. ;)
Riding on the bike ♫
The adventure began a long time ago, in 1955 to be precise. I wasn't born yet (phew!), but someone told me about it. To be precise: Jean-Marie Bruneau himself told me. It happened in 2010.
Here is a small excerpt: "When I was 20, I went to work for my mother, who had a small stationery shop in Paris. I cycled from door to door selling supplies from her shop to the surrounding offices. One evening, a salesman wanted to sell me some stencil folders*. I thought they were pretty good. I accepted one from him and the next day I had sold the folder for 7500 old francs (including local tax, VAT did not exist in those days!). Encouraged by this result, I ordered another 50 and sold them very quickly in the following days. I delivered them, always with my bicycle, two at the back and three at the front...".
The right idea, the start-up spirit!
Jean-Marie could not ring everyone's doorbell, so he came up with the idea of sending a letter to the businesses in the neighbourhood in which he presented this famous stencil folder. And miraculously, he received two orders! "I knew then that I had the right idea! On the one hand, the stencil folder met a real need, and on the other hand, prospecting by mail and fast delivery were very efficient methods!" Jean-Marie then expanded his offer and his mailings. The orders flooded in, and he recruited his family, his friends, friends of his family, the family of his friends ...
Although the word "start-up" did not exist in the 1950s, this is the spirit in which Jean-Marie Bruneau built his company: with the emphasis on a job well done, the commitment and involvement of the teams to satisfy customers, business expertise and always in good spirits...
And boom, 65 years later, Bruneau has 5 European branches, more than 600 employees, more than 100,000 products, with "made in France", environmentally friendly ranges, ergonomic products, etc. Hats off for Mr. Bruneau!
