{"id":36353,"date":"2025-11-06T16:38:27","date_gmt":"2025-11-06T15:38:27","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/magazine.luxus-plus.com\/?p=36353"},"modified":"2025-11-06T16:49:01","modified_gmt":"2025-11-06T15:49:01","slug":"duralex-the-100-french-made-glassware-that-is-as-durable-as-ever","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/magazine.luxus-plus.com\/en\/duralex-the-100-french-made-glassware-that-is-as-durable-as-ever\/","title":{"rendered":"Duralex, the 100% French-made glassware that is as durable as ever"},"content":{"rendered":"

Taken over by some of its employees in 2024, the cult glassware brand of our childhood, founded in 1945, needed to replace its aging machinery and launch new models, both of which were essential for a return to financial stability. Its successful crowdfunding campaign aimed at the general public should help it achieve this.<\/p>\n

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Who hasn’t read their age on a Duralex glass?<\/p>\n

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A leading player in tableware in France<\/b> and proudly popular in the noble sense of the term<\/b>, the factory in La Chapelle-Saint-Mesmin, near Orl\u00e9ans (Loiret)<\/b>, lives up to its tempered glass, which is impact resistant<\/b>.<\/p>\n

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The company, which became a SCOP (cooperative and participatory company) in 2024, has once again demonstrated this by partnering with the crowdfunding platform Lita<\/b>. Calling for support for an 80-year-old Made in France company, Duralex has managed to mobilize hearts and wallets well beyond the expected \u20ac5 million.<\/b><\/p>\n

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This outpouring of solidarity brings a glimmer of hope to a France<\/b> that saw its industry devastated in the mid-1970s<\/b> and became a service-based society. Not to mention a preference for French-made products, which too often remains a pipe dream for consumers strangled by inflation and forced spending.<\/p>\n

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A tremendous outpouring of generosity<\/h3>\n

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Within the first 24 hours of the campaign’s launch on November 3<\/b>, Duralex exceeded its target of \u20ac5 million<\/b>, reaching \u20ac18 million.<\/p>\n

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In less than 48 hours<\/b>, the crowdfunding campaign with Lita, which was supposed to run until December 31, approached the symbolic threshold of \u20ac20 million in investment commitments<\/b>. \u201cThat’s four times more than the amount available<\/b>!\u201d says the company.<\/p>\n

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In its press release, Duralex expressed its \u201ctwenty million thanks.\u201d<\/b> \u201cMore than 21,000 [applicants]<\/b> have shown their support for our French glassworks and its industrial future, and we are extremely grateful,\u201d it said.<\/p>\n

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Faced with the massive influx of donations and given that the amount raised<\/b> is strictly controlled and capped<\/b> at \u20ac5 million, the company decided to limit donations per person to \u20ac1,000. According to the press release, the idea is to \u201cenable thousands of citizens who are enthusiasts of design, French manufacturing, or the social and solidarity economy to become active participants in supporting the industry.\u201d<\/b><\/p>\n

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In fact, what the glassworks is offering its supporters are hybrid financial securities that are a cross between shares and bonds. Available from $100, they offer attractive returns of 8% interest per year for seven years and are partially tax-exempt.<\/p>\n

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However, it should be noted that these gains are not guaranteed. Investing in an unlisted entity carries a significant risk of loss and capital lock-up.<\/p>\n

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Anticipating frustration, the company is not ruling out the creation of an additional fund<\/b> to allow everyone to contribute to the preservation of its expertise and the promotion of French manufacturing.<\/p>\n

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Not out of the woods yet<\/h3>\n

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Weakened by the pandemic and the war in Ukraine, the company had come close to closing down until some of its employees took it over in July 2024.<\/p>\n

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Since then, the company, which has become a cooperative<\/b>, has been growing<\/b>, but it needed a boost to be able to renew its machinery<\/b> and finally produce new collections<\/b>, something the manufacturer had not done since… 1997<\/b>.<\/p>\n

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While its CEO, Fran\u00e7ois Marciano<\/b>, welcomed the support of the French people, he pointed out that the company<\/b>, which is expected to generate \u20ac33 million in revenue by the end of the year<\/b>, is not out of the woods yet<\/b>. The manufacturer’s recovery plan<\/b> will run for three years<\/b>. The idea is to reach \u20ac35 million in 2027<\/b> to regain financial stability before aiming for \u20ac39 million by 2030.<\/b><\/p>\n

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“I would like to remind everyone that the plan is for three years. This means that in 2027, we will break even and be able to finance ourselves. Until 2027, the company is not saved. That’s why it’s a risky investment until we’ve won<\/b>. We mustn’t sell to everyone that it’s a done deal,” the CEO reminded listeners on TF1’s morning show Bonjour.<\/p>\n

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The return to favor of a heritage brand<\/h3>\n

A pioneer in tempered glass, a \u201cresistant, functional, and durable material that spans generations,\u201d Duralex is benefiting from the rediscovery of heritage brands by French consumers eager to support products made in France at a time when digitalized global competition is raging and commercial patriotism is gaining ground, particularly in the United States and China.<\/p>\n

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Its factory in La Chapelle-Saint-Mesmin produces nearly 60 million glasses per year<\/b>: not bad for a company celebrating its 80th anniversary this year<\/b>. Duralex offers 380 products<\/b> covering five categories<\/b>: glassware, tableware, decoration, storage, and cooking.<\/b><\/p>\n

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Its flagship glass model, the Picardie<\/b>, is no longer available only in clear glass but also in a wide range of colors with a lifetime guarantee<\/b>, from navy blue to vermeil, turquoise, and plum. Shock-resistant, it is also microwave-safe. In 2024<\/b>, the company began offering non-transparent black glasses<\/b>, giving rise to the Black collection.<\/p>\n

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As for the famous number inscribed on the bottom of the glass<\/b>, it is actually the mold number<\/b>. For many children, this number corresponded to a fictitious age that more or less determined certain privileges at the cafeteria table.<\/p>\n

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Iconic<\/b>, its glass has traveled around the world and won over Hollywood, from Indiana Jones to James Bond<\/b> (Skyfall).<\/p>\n

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Duralex relies on targeted collaborations<\/b> to maintain its desirability. The glassware company has already worked with the Elys\u00e9e Palace, La Poste, chocolatier S\u00e9bastien Papion, and currently Le Slip Fran\u00e7ais. In 2027<\/b>, it plans to diversify further<\/b> by signing a deal with French mustard specialist Martin-Pouret for its mustard jars.<\/b><\/p>\n

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Read also > Le Creuset cocottes: 100 years old and still as trendy as ever<\/a><\/p>\n

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Featured photo: \u00a9 Duralex<\/p>\n<\/div>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Taken over by some of its employees in 2024, the cult glassware brand of our childhood, founded in 1945, needed to replace its aging machinery and launch new models, both of which were essential for a return to financial stability. Its successful crowdfunding campaign aimed at the general public should help it achieve this.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":507,"featured_media":36350,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_seopress_titles_title":"%%post_title%% %%sep%% %%sitetitle%%","_seopress_titles_desc":"In less than 48 hours, Duralex, the iconic French tableware glassmaker, completed its crowdfunding campaign, bringing it closer to breaking even.","_seopress_robots_index":"","_seopress_robots_follow":"","_seopress_robots_imageindex":"","_seopress_robots_snippet":"","_seopress_robots_primary_cat":"none","_seopress_robots_breadcrumbs":"","_seopress_robots_freeze_modified_date":"","_seopress_robots_custom_modified_date":"","_seopress_robots_canonical":"","_seopress_social_fb_title":"","_seopress_social_fb_desc":"","_seopress_social_fb_img":"","_seopress_social_fb_img_attachment_id":0,"_seopress_social_fb_img_width":0,"_seopress_social_fb_img_height":0,"_seopress_social_twitter_title":"","_seopress_social_twitter_desc":"","_seopress_social_twitter_img":"","_seopress_social_twitter_img_attachment_id":0,"_seopress_social_twitter_img_width":0,"_seopress_social_twitter_img_height":0,"_seopress_redirections_value":"","_seopress_redirections_enabled":"","_seopress_redirections_enabled_regex":"","_seopress_redirections_logged_status":"both","_seopress_redirections_param":"","_seopress_redirections_type":301,"_seopress_analysis_target_kw":"","_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[642],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-36353","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-success-story-en"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/magazine.luxus-plus.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/36353","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/magazine.luxus-plus.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/magazine.luxus-plus.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/magazine.luxus-plus.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/507"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/magazine.luxus-plus.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=36353"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/magazine.luxus-plus.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/36353\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/magazine.luxus-plus.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/36350"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/magazine.luxus-plus.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=36353"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/magazine.luxus-plus.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=36353"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/magazine.luxus-plus.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=36353"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}