Figure 1.--Here is the cover of the 1988 Cyrillus mail order catalog.
|
Figure 1.--Here is the cover of the 1988 Cyrillus mail order catalog. |
Cyrillus is a major French mail order clothing retailer. A French reader tells us, "Cyrillus offered a wide range of high-quality clothes. I wore a lot of their clothes as a boy. My mother bought a lot of Cyrillus clothing for me. One could buy by mail order or in the stores." The company was founded by Danièle Télinge-Joffre in 1977. The name "Cyrillus" comes from the first name of Cyrille, her son. As a mother, she was unable to find the kind of children's clothes she wanted for Cyrille. She decided to create her own mail-order firm for children's clothing. The marketing strategy at first was very targeted and limited to children's clothing. Gradually items for men and women supplemented the catalogue. Cyrillus clothingwas well made and designed to last a long time. As a result, the prices could be perceived as higher than the average. The company expanded quickly.
La société a été fondée par la créatrice Danièle Télinge-Joffre en 1977. Le nom « Cyrillus » vient du prénom de son fils Cyrille. N’arrivant pas à habiller ses enfants comme elle le souhaitait, cette mère de famille décida de créer sa propre maison de vente par correspondance de vêtements pour enfants. Le public visé était alors très ciblé et la diffusion encore confidentielle. Petit à petit, les vêtements hommes et femmes complétèrent le catalogue. Les vêtements étaient conçus pour durer longtemps et les prix pouvaient être perçus comme plus élevés que la moyenne. La société se développa rapidement.
Le premier magasin fut ouvert à Paris dans le XVIème arrondissement en 1981. En 1984, Cyrillus fut racheté par La Redoute. La marque sut garder toutefois sa qualité et son caractère jusqu’en 2000. A partir de cette date, Cyrillus changea progressivement de style, se voulant plus « mode », et perdit par là peu à peu son caractère d’origine. La qualité des produits baissa aussi. Cette évolution se marqua dans le logo et l’agencement des magasins et bien sûr dans la gamme des vêtements. Si, par exemple, à l’origine de la société, on trouvait des culottes anglaises jusqu’en taille 16 ans et dans un choix de tissus et couleurs importants, aujourd’hui, on ne retrouve que quelques modèles n’allant pas au-delà du 12 ans. Beaucoup interprètent cette évolution comme une conséquence de l’achat de la société par La Redoute, standardisant ainsi les produits et la fabrication.
En 1991, Cyrillus s’implantait à l’étranger et se développe en Allemagne, Belgique, Japon, etc. Actuellement, 43 magasins sont ouverts et il existe plusieurs sites internet, sans oublier les catalogues publiés en 4 langues. Le catalogue est édité en 2 millions d’exemplaires. 492 personnes travaillent dans la société et Cyrillus vend aujourd’hui 4,5 millions de vêtements.
The company was founded by Danièle Télinge-Joffre as a mail order company in 1977. The name "Cyrillus" comes from the first name of Cyrille, her son. As a mother, she was unable to find the kind of children's clothes she wanted for Cyrille. She decided to create her own mail-order firm for children's clothing. The marketing strategy at first was very targeted and limited to children's clothing. Gradually items for men and women supplemented the catalogue. Cyrillus clothingwas well made and designed to last a long time. As a result, the prices could be perceived as higher than the average. The company expanded quickly.
The first store was opened in Paris in XVIème district in 1981.
In 1984, Cyrillus was purchased by Redoute, a major French department store. Cyrillus could, however, keep its quality and its character until 2000. From this date, Cyrillus changed style gradually, wanting to be "mode more", and lost by there little by little its character of origin. The quality of the products dropped too. This evolution was marked in the logo and the fitting of the stores and of course in the range of clothing. If, for example, at the origin of the company, one found breeches English until cuts of them 16 years and in a choice of important fabrics and colors, today, one finds only some models not going beyond the 12 years. Many interprets this evolution like a consequence of the purchase of the company by Redoute, thus standardizing the products and manufacture.
In 1991, Cyrillus was established abroad and develops in Germany, Belgium, Japan, etc.
A French reader tells us, "Cyrillus offered a wide range of high-quality clothes. I wore a lot of their clothes as a boy. My mother bought a lot of Cyrillus clothing for me. One could buy by mail order or in the stores."
Navigate the Boys' Historical Clothing catalog/magazine pages:
[Return to the Main retail store page]
[Return to the Main French mail order 1924 page]
[Main photo/publishing page]
[Store catalogs]
[Fashion magazines]
Navigate the Boys' Historical Clothing Web Site:
[Introduction]
[Activities]
[Bibliographies]
[Biographies]
[Chronology]
[Clothing styles]
[Countries]
[Contributions]
[FAQs]
[French glossary]
[Satellite sites]
[Boys' Clothing Home]
Navigate the Boys' Historical Clothing Web Site:
[Sailor suits]
[Sailor hats]
[Berets]
[Flat caps]
[Suits]
[Coats]
[Kneesocks]
[Double-breasted styling]