Article : Informations Entreprise N°173 October 2019
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The Berry Services company is the only French service provider that can carry out mass alterations and repairs to clothing and footwear within set deadlines.
The Berry Services company was founded in October 1998 by Jean-Claude Benéteau. The founder and current director quickly realised that there were very real opportunities for development within this particular niche of the ready-to-wear clothing market. "I realised that there was a demand within the clothing industry for repairs and alterations, he recalls. After a period of reflection, I moved into this niche". One customer led to another, then another; the company made its mark as it developed its impressive professional expertise. A family-run business on a human scale, yet financially strong and possessing significant capital, Berry Services currently employs 48 people at its Neuvy-Saint-Sépulchre site in central France. The company has gradually developed its expertise in quality control, ironing, sewing and washing. Today, Berry Services is the only service provider in France that can carry out mass alterations and repairs to clothing and footwear within set deadlines. Any company that offers such services can carry out alterations to articles of clothing... but Jean-Claude Benéteau’s group can carry them out on an industrial scale. "If a button needs changing on 10,000 articles of clothing, we can do it, insists the director. We have the equipment and all the skills required for the manufacture of clothing, but our particular skills lie in alteration. We are the only company to offer this service. Certain logistics experts specialise in the ready-to-wear market but they do not offer an alterations or repairs service". The group’s customers are very diverse. First of all there are the major retail chains (Carrefour, for example), which include the specialised brands (Kiabi, La Halle, Promod, Camaïeu, Celio, etc.). For these "giants", who approach Berry Services to bring specific items up to standard, the group acts as a kind of “saviour”, effectively solving issues and taking care of everything: researching issues, proposing solutions, collecting goods from retailers’ warehouses, carrying out services and re-delivering the compliant goods.
Highly-appreciated versatility
At the same time, the range of logistics services that the group is able to manage will be of interest to smaller brands. "The idea is that our customers only have to deal with a single contact, a single service provider, explains Jean-Claude Benéteau. We can handle everything and these customers appreciate the security this gives them. Independent brands look for service providers that can take care of the entire supply chain. This is why Berry Services has recently started offering to manage fabrics and supplies: the brand can thus use just one service provider for all the stages in its chain". This French company has also developed a very popular and appealing feature: its great versatility. "A big logistics expert will frequently "impose" his way of doing things, saying ‘I use this software, you will have to adapt; you must supply us with data in this form; you must work in this way’”, lists the head of the group. “Berry Services operates in a different way. Our credo is: ‘tell us how you operate, and we will adapt’. This constitutes a real constraint for us, since our customers never operate in exactly the same way, even if they share the same philosophy. But our staff can handle all that". Today, the company navigates the colossal ready-to-wear market, a market that involves the entire human population. This market is undergoing rapid change and is feeling the impact of significant undercurrents that are entirely reshaping the sector. One major upheaval is the gradual disappearance of multi-brand stores, to the detriment of the larger retail chains. This is even more noticeable in the lingerie sector, where only the leading brands are now present. On top of this, there has been an explosion in internet sales. What is more, consumption habits have changed: people are buying fewer clothes than they did a few years ago; the volume of purchases has decreased amongst customers. And the second-hand market is booming, with a plethora of sites offering second-hand clothing.
The importance of personalisation
It is of course possible to take of advantage of these upheavals, in particular by offering something different. Berry Services is thus one of the only logistics providers that offers to personalise items before they are shipped (embroidery, individual tailoring). "We offer many forms of personalisation, stresses Jean-Claude Benéteau. If a customer orders a T-shirt or shirt online and wants his/her initials on it, the company can provide this service this immediately. Or if a customer who orders a pair of trousers provides details of his/her leg length, the trousers will be delivered with their hems adjusted accordingly. This new expertise is not offered by other logistics experts. Nowadays, customers consume less and differently: they buy fewer new items and now buy a lot more second hand. This is why the idea of personalisation, the idea of being within a customer’s reach, is a competitive advantage". By definition, the future remains uncertain; yet Berry Services are facing it with confidence. Whilst the company currently has a turnover of €3 million, it aims to triple this result within five years to achieve a turnover of €10 million. It still needs to publicise itself as much as possible. But there is no doubt that its wide-ranging expertise, which makes it France’s ready-to-wear logistics specialist, will be seen as a major asset by all the sector’s customers.
What they think…
« Berry Services has been a partner of La Halle for many years now. We particularly appreciate the responsiveness and expertise of the Berry Services teams who never fail to find solutions to issues in terms of bringing products into compliance, reconditioning and labelling, etc. In short, this is an invaluable collaboration in the world of retail and textiles where speed of execution and fluidity are essential for success. »
Jean Michel Fabre, Supply Chain Director of La Halle
« We entrusted our logistics to Berry Services in 2009 and they have supported us in our growth and in the development of our methods and procedures. I would especially praise the quality of the staff, their availability and stability. This quality is demonstrated on a daily basis by the zero error rate in order picking – this is quite exceptional and worth highlighting. This rate is a fundamental concept for an online sales company, as it is a precondition for limiting expenditure and reinforces the concept of service quality in our customers’ eyes. To sum up, an exemplary partnership for the last nine years and for many more years to come. »
Pierre Chave, Director and founder of the sales site www.hommefort.fr
« Berry Services has been and is an ideal partner for us and for the development of our brand thanks to its skilled employees who are attentive and very responsive. They facilitate our logistics while helping us to have an accurate overview of our stock. »
Alix Petit Director and founder of the brand HEIMSTONE
« Berry Services is a trustworthy subcontractor, whose responsiveness and professionalism are irreproachable. All requests for bringing into compliance are studied quickly and seriously, even if they are not finalized in the end. The quality of their services in addition to the wide choice of interventions offered are a real asset which makes Berry Services a serious, specialized and technical provider. »
Vicente PORRAS Quality Manager at Carrefour
Key figures
- 10 million items processed each year.
- 150 clients each year.
- 10,000 m² warehouse.
- 20 years of experience.
