Dubliner Mark Saunders from Tallaght has lived in France for 30 years having moved there with his French wife in 1995 and settling in the southwest of the country.
He is known for rescuing Laulhère, the oldest and last authentic French company making berets. It has used ancestral techniques to craft its items since 1840. Having gained experience in other French headwear companies, he was hired to restructure the factory and rebuild Laulhère in 2012. As sales and marketing director, his priorities were to save the French-made product and make it profitable, which he did over the following eight years.
The company is the official beret supplier to the French military. It sells thousands of berets every year, not only to the fashion industry but to armies in Senegal, Chad and Kurdistan as well as to the Dubai police.
Following this success, Saunders was hired in 2020 as director general of Complement Europe in Loudon, France. His objective was to rescue another historic French hat-making company in difficulty called Fléchet. The biggest hat-making company of its kind in the country, it has a history of craftsmanship going back to 1859.
Over a period of four years, he and his team restructured the company and left it in good health. Its headwear, which is hand-crafted in France and elsewhere in Europe, includes Panamas, felt hats, berets and top hats. These items are now exported worldwide.
Now, in the latest step in his career, he has taken over Christys Hats, the oldest and largest hat-making company in the world with a history dating back to 1773.
We made all the Peaky Blinders hats and 250 for all the crew members
— Mark Saunders
Renowned for its handmade British bobby police helmets and top hats, it also supplies the British royal family and Ascot. Saunders acquired Christys in a deal leveraged with Libertys of London in November.
Libertys, a heritage brand itself which bought the celebrated British brand in 2011, didn’t want prospective buyers to move production to China.
“For once in my life, the company is mine and the plan is to make sure Christys is profitable and in good working order,” Saunders says. “Libertys knew my track record and that I would never want to close down the factory, so they reduced the selling price to a point where I could make it happen”.
Part of his plan is to open franchise stores. One has opened in central London, another in Madrid and one is due to open shortly in Brisbane.
“We follow the racing circuit,” he explains, pointing out how necessary it is to keep the base core. By this, he means the great dedicated hat shops in Europe. “There are 90 in France, 80 in Germany and about 300 in Europe, so it is not a big market”.
Christys hats continue to make their mark and not just at Ascot and royal weddings.
He adds: “We made all the Peaky Blinders hats and 250 for all the crew members (of the drama series). We made hats for Downton Abbey and more than 30 movie productions.
“All the hats – police helmets, top hats and fedoras – are made by hand, so it is time consuming, with original 18th century machinery that cannot be modernised. Most of the workers have been there for 20 to 30 years."
Their social welfare systems work and though the French pay as much tax as the UK, they get something back
— Mark Saunders
The factory is based in Witney, in the Cotswolds. “Real Agatha Christie country,” he says.
Home is a restored mill near Nay in southwest France. However, Saunders is currently commuting between Chinon, where he has lived for the past four years working for Flechet in a rented farmhouse, and Oxford. It’s a seven-hour journey by car.
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Married to Edwige Olibet, the couple have four boys all in their 20s and working, except for the youngest, who is studying to be a chartered accountant. Saunders hopes he will come into business with him one day when qualified.
“Oxford is beautiful, but I love France and the pace of life. Priorities are different in France, not motivated by money but by what is important – family and life.
“Their social welfare systems work and though the French pay as much tax as the UK, they get something back and don’t have to wait for a doctor for 12 hours. It’s a different mindset.”
He compares historic brands to castles or stately homes. “You never really own them; you are the caretaker.
“We are literally dinosaurs on the verge of extinction, but I hope Christys will see another 250 years. I love what I do and taking on these challenges is how I keep motivated. I am 56 now and see this as the last chapter in my career.”
