Meeting with Frédéric Mugnier, founder of Faguo
While still a student at ISTEC, Frédéric Mugnier began to create his own brand: Faguo. Initially a simple student project in a business school, this company quickly became successful and developed throughout France. The entrepreneur looks back on the origins of this success story.
The journey of Frédéric Mugnier, founder of Faguo
What is your background ?
I was originally from the province. I passed my baccalaureate in 2005, in Reims. My parents were on the move a lot, my father was in the association and I therefore lived in many cities. In 2005, with my baccalaureate in hand, I entered ISTEC.
Why did you choose ISTEC?
At the time, my parents had influenced my choice. I needed concrete and they thought that in business school, I would have this much more concrete approach. I really did not have the level to continue at university or in prep and I did not have a good enough file to be taken in IUT. ISTEC is a post-baccalaureate school that offers a good compromise with a concrete and much less academic approach. Between the internships and the case studies, I was much more comfortable.
During my five years at ISTEC, I had the chance to do an exchange in China, to do an internship at Roland Garros, another in telecoms and a last one with Nicolas, as a supply chain project manager. Very early, in my fourth year, I did my internship for Faguo, a brand that I had started to create at school with my partner I met on the benches of ISTEC.
The origins of Faguo
How to sum up Faguo in a few words?
It's a brand that engages its generation against climate change, that does not compromise between artistic direction and its mission. It offers men the possibility of dressing in a style representing a link between the city and the forest. This is the outdoor trend, that of the city dweller who likes to escape into the forest. The Faguo outfit works equally well in both environments.
Precisely, how did you come up with the idea of Faguo?
We all felt like we had the same pair of sneakers on our feet at our school. So we wanted to design a pair by imagining a community dimension for our friends and us. We wanted to meet our expectations, but also our environmental aspirations. Finally, when I left school in 2010, I immediately started the Faguo adventure.
Who was in charge of the design?
At the time, we got help from many friends. We asked an architect friend, a fashion fan friend… Today, it's Nicolas, my partner. He has a team of 10 people.
One of the iconic elements of your design is the coconut button. Why did you place this object on each of your pieces?
They are the symbol of the tree we plant for each product sold. Initially, we wanted to put a wooden pellet. Then, we decided to use the fruit of the tree, coconuts which are no longer used to make these buttons.
How do you impose yourself with a clothing brand in a hyper-competitive universe?
The chance we have is to be on a huge market which is essential to everyone. Everyone wears shirts, everyone has shoes on their feet. It's easier to take 0.5% of an existing market than to win 100% of a market that doesn't yet exist. There is no need to educate people about a new use. Our strength is also to differentiate ourselves and to listen attentively to this market.
Sustainable development: at the heart of Faguo's concerns
As you said, with Faguo, you insist a lot on ecological transition and climate change. Why do you care so much about this? How does this translate?
It is an aspiration that we have had since the creation of the company. We found that, in terms of sustainable development and ecology, we were going straight into the wall. So we thought about ways to change things. The first was to define and publish a projected carbon footprint. In 2009, we were the first to do so!
When we realized that we were going to pollute, we implemented carbon reduction and carbon offset policies by using green energy in our offices and stores and recycled products. We also plant a tree in France for each product we sell. In our shops, we offer second-hand items, to buy back clothes.
Many brands plant trees. How does this work in practice?
We plant a tree for each product produced. So we have much more visibility on what we produce. We have established a partnership with the nurseryman Naudet. It puts us in contact with owners of land that is not forest or agricultural. Our specifications are very demanding. We help them plant trees on their land. In September, we will plant our 2,000,000th tree.
You have moved your headquarters to Nantes. Why ?
We asked ourselves this question: “How can we do things differently? » How to be more connected to the forest? The idea was to leave Paris, to fully live this idea of a link between the city and the forest. Nantes was the perfect city! Last week, we went on a bike tour with the teams to see our plantations. It's awesome !
Faguo's future
How do you imagine Faguo in a few months?
We continue our projects around the second hand. Today, we have repair workshops in our stores, we are also a collection center for clothes to be recycled. Several market players are starting to do the same and it's great! This means that we are going in the right direction. I want to continue to progress on this subject, without compromising between our mission and the artistic direction. Our main objective is to increase the share of recycled products in our collections. It is 80% today and we want to reach 85% soon.
