What if the problem with Made in France wasn't its price... but its profitability in stores?

It's been almost a year since we rolled out our phygital solution, E-POP Mode. These are corners featuring a selection of ready-to-wear pieces from French brands (made exclusively in France) located in multi-brand boutiques and concept stores.

E-POP Mode doesn't replace the store's offerings. It doesn't upset the balance of a carefully thought-out selection. It doesn't trample on existing brands.

Our solution offers an exclusive sales model that promotes French fashion and proves that its distribution can be profitable, firstly for the brand, which does not cut back on its margins, but also for the store, provided that its distribution method is reviewed.

We are in contact with more than 2,000 stores in France today, some have become customers, others will never be.

Today more than ever, we hear  “But how do you expect to sell a dress for €139?” “Do you really think customers will still pay that price?”

But when a store says that, it's not really talking about the price:
She talks about what she has left at the end .
Of its net margin , its risk , its capacity to absorb a significant error or a poorly started model .

Because a dress can easily sell for €139 — the customer doesn't always argue, even though she often compares prices.

But if, to display it, the store had to buy six sizes, tie up nearly €300 of cash, sell at -30% and then end up with an unsold size,
So no. It's not viable .

It's not the product that's at fault.
It's how you sell it.

What the shops say, in the name of their balance

When a manager says: “Made in France is too complicated.”
it does not call into question the quality, the approach, or even the face value.
She talks about the profitability that she can no longer achieve with this type of model .

She talks about:

• Margins that melt at the first discount,
• Cash tied up for months,
• Out of stock and unsold sizes at -50%,
• Sleeping hangers,
• And an end of season that ends, too often, in a sale.

That's the real point.
Not the displayed price, but the economic model that supports it.

It's not a question of cost. It's a question of profitability.

Producing in France is more expensive, yes. More expensive than in Portugal and even more so than in Asia. We're all aware of that.
But selling in stores costs even more if you cling to old habits.

Let’s take a Made in France dress purchased for €47.60 excluding VAT, resold for €119 including VAT.

• GROSS MARGIN: €51.57 excluding VAT
• If DISCOUNT -30%: €21.82
•  + STOCK IMMOBILIZATION (10%): €4.76
• ACTUAL MARGIN: €17.06

Less than some fancy accessories .
And that's if it sells.

What if there is an unsold size? The margin can drop to zero.

This is the silent mechanism that wears down the independents.

 

Permanent arbitration of the field

Every season, it's the same dilemma:

• Do I take this model in 6 sizes?
• Will the customer understand this price?
• What if I had to choose: 1 French piece or 3 imported pieces for the same budget?

This is not a betrayal.
This is field economics , the kind you don't see in the slides at trade shows.

Facing her:
📉 lower average baskets,
📱 comparators in all hands,
♻️ second-hand perceived as “more responsible” — and less expensive.

The temptation of import

A dress imported from Asia purchased for €22 excluding VAT and resold for €119 including VAT generates a gross margin of €77.17.

Even with a stock cost of €2.20, it remains almost €75 .
It's comfortable.  But standard.
And most importantly, it makes the store interchangeable :

👉 The product is seen everywhere, sometimes even cheaper on the internet
👉 It has no rarity anymore
👉 He no longer makes the difference

We sell, yes. But we stand out less and less.

Made in France deserves another model

It is not up to the product to adapt to the system.
It's up to the distribution system to reinvent itself . And even more so today with the surge of fast fashion.

Made in France is noble, expensive to produce, and limited in series.
And yet, we continue to lock it into a model designed for import:

• Store
• Anticipate
• Sell ​​out
• Grit your teeth

We are trying to sell Made in France with a 2010 model , in a post-Vinted , post-cabin , post-season era.

And it doesn't hold anymore.

 

Phygital is profitable for Made in France

The store retains its DNA, its freedom of purchase, its close relationship with customers.

But it gains a parallel sales channel, without additional stock, without overloading racks, without discounts to manage.
It is an agile complement: an E-POP corner can generate several sales from a single piece, without disrupting the classic rotation.

Where a hanger only allowed one sale, E-POP allows three or four—without tying up more budget or more space.

And above all: the store remains in control. It prescribes, it supports, it collects. But without being subjected to it.

With E-POP Mode, a store buys just 1 model , at €47.60 excluding VAT.
She displays it. The customer tries it on. She scans it. She orders.
And the store earns commissions on each sale via our QR code.

Result: €151.37 generated for €47.60 committed.
No unsold items. No discounts. No stock.

 

📊 Example of 3 models sold in stores: three logics, one reality

Let's compare the three sales models. The so-called classic sale of a MIF item, the classic sale of a product imported from Asia, and the sale of a MIF product with E-POP Mode. 

Reading notes :

• For classic/import models:
• 1 product is sold at full price
• 1 is sold with a 40% discount
• 1 is unsold
• The capital costs are estimated here at 10% of the total purchase price of the stock committed,
• Unsold items represent approximately 20% of stock
• On average, 15 to 25% of stock is not sold, all sizes combined.
• The Alliance du Commerce Union indicates that 40 to 60% of sales are made during promotional periods, often between -30% and -50%, or even more at the end of the sales.

The model imported from Asia is the most profitable... in the short term, but unstable and replaceable

➡️ What it maximizes: immediate gross margin
➡️ What it sacrifices: perceived value, uniqueness, store loyalty

Not to mention the cash tied up in the purchase of merchandise for resale.

Technically, what does E-POP Mode offer?

E-POP Mode, for its part, offers distinctive models with strong narrative value, with an in-store shopping experience that neither Vinted nor Shein can offer.

What this changes, concretely

• More sizes to guess
• No more overloaded racks
• No more sales suffered
• No more anxiety with every delivery

Each piece becomes a prescription tool , not a burden.

And above all, the store rediscovers its mission:
to discover , to make people want to buy , to guide them to purchase — without financially suffocating themselves.

So… what if we finally changed the question?

Made in France is not too expensive.
It is simply poorly served by a distribution logic that no longer suits it.

Today, customers want to see, touch, try, and then order when they're ready.
This is not a contradiction. It is a custom.

We can't sell like we did in 2010. Not in a world where Vinted, Shein, and marketplaces are part of everyday life.

It's not about digitizing the store.
It's not about running away from local or ethical standards.
It's about doing what business has always done : adapting to reality.

So yes:

What if, really, the problem with Made in France wasn't its price... but its profitability in a 2010 model?

Made in France deserves better than a sales model inherited from another era. It deserves a system that lives up to its promise: profitable for the store, desirable for the customer, and finally free from the burden of inventory.

PS/ Hoping that this article will resonate with national organizations and federations that support independent businesses.