Les cahiers de Intima - Milavitsa - (Page 4)

Focus on Milavitsa 100 Years of History From its century-old origins to the present days’ achievements, Milavitsa went through history with an incredible determination and a strong belief in its abilities. A condensed flashback with the major turning points of its 100-year story. A French origin At the beginning of the 20th century French Entrepreneur François Tournier was looking for an appropriate location in the former Russian Empire to set up his production of hair combs, very much into fashion at the time. He came from the French city of Oyonnax, 150km from Lyon, widely known for the quality and refinement of hair combs, which today hosts a wonderful ancient comb and brush museum. The permit to open the manufacturing company was given on November 8th, 1908. At first, the factory counted 13 workers but their number rapidly increased to 200 in 1913, including 18 master-engravers coming from France. That year the factory produced 23 000 hair luxury combs which sold well despite their high price: a comb’s price was worth the same as 60 liters of vodka, 1173 kilos of sugar or 95 kilos of flour, as reminded in the Milavitsa’s 100 year anniversary book. The Milavitsa Transformation With the USSR collapse in 1991 the company once again faced a survival problem. The management worked actively to preserve the firm and took the name Milavitsa under a new drastic reorganization period. Soon, they started producing for internationally-recognized lingerie brands attracted by the efficiency of this geographically reachable quality manufacturer. At the same time the first Milavitsa stores opened in Belarus and a wholesales channel developed in Russia. In 1996 Milavitsa was the first to receive the production quality state certificate, soon followed by the first ISO certification in the country. All these improvements allowed the company to survive the 1998 default crisis which seriously hit all of Eastern Europe. A New Era The year 2000 started with a prestigious design prize: Madame Figaro’s prestigious “Ribbon” was awarded to Milavitsa in Paris. The company’s potential was so great that in 2001 the European Bank of Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) and Iluna Group from Italy joined in the capital to accelerate its development. Two years later Milavitsa won the Brand National Contest and confirmed its position as the leading lingerie company in the region. Major changes arrived with the coming of the new team headed by Dmitry Ditchkovsky in 2002. In 2004 the company organized a series of events comprising an outstanding open-air fashion show in Minsk to communicate its reinforced position as a brand standing for active life, beauty and youth. Then, in 2008 an impressive Milavitsa flagship store opened in Minsk, still the largest lingerie store in Belarus today. From that point on, the brand has kept on rising and will continue to extend its accomplishments, as you will learn throughout this Cahier de Intima dedicated to Milavitsa. From hair combs to apparel In June 1941 a series of massive bombing almost fully destroyed the city of Minsk and the company with it. The factory’s reconstruction began in February 1945 and five years later it shifted from combs to clothes making. The will to enjoy life was rising again in the country, supported by a growing literature devoted to fashion, clothes . The big ideological changes of public consciousness in the USSR coincided with the factory’s gradual development. From clothes to bras In 1964 the company produced its first bra and the whole core business shifted once again to another product segment; it was the “Zeitgeist” period, if a man could reach the moon, everything was possible! To radically change from garment production to a completely new category was not an easy task, especially without any referential archive, no experience on bra modeling or fabrics suitable characteristics…The common determination won and the company soon came out with its first mass production. In 1970, the activity was growing so fast that they had to move the headquarters into a larger location. 2

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Les cahiers de Intima - Milavitsa