April 08, 2022

Armor Lux

Their Story

1938 - The birth of Hoisery

The company was born from the will of one man: Walter Hubacher.

A Swiss engineer with an entrepreneurial spirit. Finistère in Quimper was the location. He founded his company on 7th October 1938, under the name of "Bonneterie d'Armor" and specialised in lingerie and underwear.

1947 - Armor-lux was born

The years of war and occupation did not affect Walter Hubacher's confidence and certainty, even though the factory's activities came to a halt during this period.

In 1947, the company bought a plot of land on the racetrack area and a first workshop was built for 50 people. Walter Hubacher loved the sea and Brittany and was fond of quality. As a visionary, he decided to expand the collections and tackle ready-to-wear. He applied the same quality standards to his outerwear that made his underwear so successful. The Armor-Lux brand (Armor: the sea, lux: light) was created.

1980 - The Rise

In the early 1980s, the company grew to 600 employees.

Armor-lux was now able to dress the whole family in warm, comfortable clothes knitted in natural materials like wool and cotton. The brand also dresses seafarers with clothes from the Breton seafaring wardrobe: Kabig coat, nautical sweatshirt, jacket, Breton striped top etc.

1990 - A New Beginning

In the early 90's, Walter Hubacher crossed paths with two childhood friends, Jean-Guy Le Floch and Michel Guéguen, who bought the Bonneterie d'Armor from him.

In 1990, the company made a new start under their management. These Finisterian industrialists developed the brand, the ready-to-wear collections and the network of boutiques while maintaining our exceptional expertise Quimper.

Their Expertise

80 years of skill

At Armor-lux we have built our reputation on values that are appreciated by our customers and shared by our employees: quality, social cohesion, innovation and ethics.

In a global and ethically sensitive sector, Armor-lux is committed to promoting transparent manufacturing processes, eco-responsible materials and sustainable clothing. A pioneer in fair trade cotton, the brand also offers a wide range of Fairtrade certified organic cotton clothing. Armor-Lux advocates exceptional expertise in the manufacture of quality clothing on the French territory.

Our knit expertise

It all starts with a cotton thread that unwinds like a cocoon. It is chosen with the utmost care and then knitted in our workshops.

In 1971, the company created a department to monitor the production of its knitwear. We specialise in the manufacture of knitted products, which is the preferred technique for producing T-shirts, polo shirts, underwear and, of course, the Breton striped shirt, which, over the years has become the brand's iconic garment. In Quimper, Armor-Lux has more than 90 circular looms in our workshops, all of different gauges and diameters, so we can produce large quantities of the main types of plain or striped knitwear (Jersey, Rib, Interlock) used for the production of cotton clothing and underwear.

Harmless and exacting

Our knitwear protects you.

All the knitwear produced in our workshops are STANDARD 100 certified by OEKO-TEX® and respect your skin.. We also use organic (GOTS label Certificate issued by Ecocert Greenlife - Licence number 157506 ) or fair trade (Fairtrade/Max Havelaar label) cotton yarns.

And the model comes to life...

Once the knitwear has been washed and dried, it is time to make the models created by the company's stylists come to life.

The knitwear produced is sent to the cutting workshop every day. Plain knits are cut automatically, while striped knits are cut by hand to avoid any striping mismatch during assembly. Finally, the garments are assembled in our workshop by our exceptionally dexterous and incredibly fast staff. Armor-lux also has an embroidery workshop in Quimper to personnalise products and offer unique items.

A Living Heritage Company

The company's industrial skill was acknowledged by the Ministry of the Economy, Industry and Employment in 2010. Armor-Lux has been awarded the Entreprise du Patrimoine Vivant (EPV or Living Heritage Company) label, a mark of recognition set up to distinguish French companies with leading craft and industrial expertise.

Their Commitments

For many years, Armor-Lux has made Sustainable Development and Social and Environmental Responsibility part of our strategy. Armor-lux is committed to ensuring our customers benefit from ethically secure manufacturing processes:

- Respecting fundamental labour rights. In particular, Armor-lux respects the fundamental conventions of the International Labour Organization (ILO) and the ten principles of the United Nations Global Compact.

- Respecting users' health. Armor-lux markets products that comply with French and European regulations, in particular the requirements of the REACH legislation on the use of products and chemical substances that may affect human health.

- Protecting the environment. Armor-lux does everything possible to reduce the impact of our activities as part of an ambitious environmental policy: sustainably managing of resources, reducing CO2 emissions, carbon footprint, Company Travel Plan, waste management, using organic and fair trade cotton production channels, etc.