Chargeurs — Environmental & Social Information 2018

Dec 10, 2018

CHARGEURS STRENGTHENS ITS COMMITMENT IN THE LUXURY SEGMENT

COMMUNIQUE DE PRESSE

Paris, December 10, 2018

Chargeurs Luxury Materials rounds off its offer of premium-grade fibers and announces the worldwide launch of digital brand Amédée 1851, the specialist in scarves and squares made of premium-grade fibers

• Amédée 1851's avowed ambition is to become the worldwide benchmark for Merino wool scarves and squares
• o A global, 100 % digital offering targeting a B to C and B to B to C clientele
• o Sustainable and 100% traceable high-end products
• o Superior, 100 % Franco-Italian know-how
• An offer that underpins the Group's premiumisation strategy

"Since its inception in 1872, Chargeurs has been aggressively cultivating its distinctive flair for innovation. Its on-line offering Amédée 1851 – https://www.amedee1851.com – is a textbook illustration of Chargeurs' capacity to play the role of Game Changer in its various business lines by designing a disruptive and upscale offer that is affordable for its B to C clientele and for major prestigious B to B to C partners. With the worldwide launch of Amédée 1851, we are enhancing our strategic positioning and demonstrating our iconic marketing capabilities » said Michaël Fribourg, Chairman and CEO of Chargeurs.

"Amédée 1851 is the result of the disruptive vision pursued by Chargeurs in the development of its business lines. Through a formidable interplay of exceptional craftsmanship and a desire to revisit the standards of luxury, Amédée 1851 delivers on the promise of modernity together with a strong grounding in an authentic heritage: that of the roaring twenties when Art Deco was riding high and Chargeurs Réunis was carrying cruise passengers " said Déborah Berger, Deputy Managing Director of Chargeurs Luxury Materials, in charge of Development, and founder of Amédée 1851.

AMEDEE 1851, AN AUGMENTED CUSTOMER EXPERIENCE IN THE LUXURY SEGMENT

Amédée 1851 is the digital brand that targetsthe B to C and B to B to C clientele of Chargeurs Luxury Materials, which exclusively offers an on-line range of outstanding luxury products and accessories made of premium-grade and fully traceable fibers. Born of an ambitious vision, Amédée 1851 takes its inspiration from the Group's immaterial heritage and the spirit of travel and embodies the heritage of the two pioneering and visionary founders of Compagnie des Chargeurs Réunis and Peignage Amédée Prouvost.

By creating its own brand of exceptional fiber products, Amédée 1851, Chargeurs Luxury Materials is targeting end customers. This business line thus goes up the wool value chain by now offering finished products made from the world's finest Merino wool, labeled Organica Precious Fiber.

Resolutely in synch with the times, Amédée 1851 offers to an urban, cosmopolitan, quality-conscious target group and to digital natives a unique customer experience based on the brand's digital flagship - https://www.amedee1851.com – letting it discover a broad range of 70 luxury accessories. In seeking to deliver a premium service to this demanding high-end clientele with great potential, Amédée 1851 is providing on-line tutorials on the art of tying a scarf and is offering advice on the best way to accessorize it. This unique customer experience continues until the product is delivered, with Amédée 1851 scenting the box with an exclusive fragrance.

Chargeurs Luxury Materials is thus creating more added value by expanding its range of premium solutions and directly targeting end consumers through its finished product.

AMEDEE 1851, THE EVENT THAT IS THE HALLMARK OF DISRUPTIVE AND SUSTAINABLE INNOVATION.

With the worldwide launch of Amédée 1851, Chargeurs Luxury Materials is beefing up its role as a Game Changer in the global market for premium-grade fibers. Thanks to its unique label, Organica Precious Fiber, which now includes RWS certification, Chargeurs Luxury Materials is offering Merino wool with outstanding properties in terms of traceability and durability, based

on blockchain technology. The Organica label, established under an independent and audited accreditation program, validates compliance with appropriate quality and ethical standards. Based on blockchain technology, it guarantees wool traceability and stringent controls throughout the value chain on the basis of four fundamental pillars:

• 1) respect for animal welfare and land-use planning;
• 2) corporate social responsibility, involving all stakeholders in the value chain;
• 3) wool traceability

4) compliance with the ten principles of the United Nations Global Compact, aimed at building more stable and more inclusive societies, which Chargeurs joined in June 2017.

Amédée 1851 products are made with a labeled wool of exceptional quality, which guarantees full traceability from the sheep to the shop to its most exacting customers. Sourcing its finest fibers in Tasmania, New Zealand, Patagonia and Uruguay, Amédée 1851 has been engaging the talents of renowned knitters and weavers to produce its exceptional products in Biella, deep in the heart of the Italian wool- producing region, thus celebrating the advent of the art of luxury thanks to their unique know-how.

Chargeurs Luxury Materials is thus pursuing its strategy of focusing on very high-end, high value-added solutions with Amédée 1851, a 100% digital, 100% sustainable and committed brand that renews the standard of design and innovation which are the hallmarks of timeless luxury.

AMEDEE 1851: VERY HIGH-LEVEL INTEREST FROM GLOSSY FASHION AND LUXURY MAGAZINES

The product offering under the Amédée 1851 digital brand has already being extensively covered by upscale magazines such as ELLE, Marie-Claire, Le Point, les Echos, Le Monde Magazine, Le Journal du Textile, Fashion Network and France-Amérique... in fact the DNA and the highly qualitative of the exceptional scarves and squares made of premium-grade wool has generated strong interest from the trade press.

AMEDEE 1851, A COMMITMENT TO PARTNERING WITH PRESTIGIOUS PLAYERS

Thanks to its digital flagship, Amédée 1851 will enable its connected clientele in New York, Hong Kong, Tokyo, Dubai, London or Paris, to shop at all times its entire range of luxury accessories.

Driven by the Group's marketing innovation dynamic, Chargeurs Luxury Materials intends, through Amédée 1851, to gain further access to this new demanding target group with great potential by establishing prestigious partnerships with major luxury brands in the high-end hospitality industry.

The products of the Amédée 1851 range will be showcased at unique locations:

• International luxury hotel chains and boutique hotels in France have already designed joint-collections with Amédée 1851 for the 2018-2019 season in order to offer the exclusive Amédée 1851 to their upscale clientele;
• The Four Seasons in Athens and the Benaki Museum, which is home to a unique private collection of works of art on six sites, will display Amédée 1851 products in a boutique setting.

ABOUT CHARGEURS

Chargeurs is a global manufacturing and services group with leading positions in four segments: temporary surface protection, garment interlinings, technical substrates and combed wool.

It has some 2,000 employees based in 45 countries on five continents, who serve a diversified customer base spanning more than 90 countries.

In 2017, revenue totaled €533 million, of which more than 90% was generated outside France.

CONTACTS – www.chargeurs.fr

Group Corporate Communications +33 1 47 04 13 40 comcorporate@chargeurs.com Group Financial Communications +33 1 47 04 13 40 comfin@chargeurs.com