Bleu-Vert: cosmetics specialist inaugurates new building

Jürgen Debald has invested a good three million euros in the new company headquarters 15 km from its previous location in Avignon in the south of France. His natural cosmetics wholesale business supplies about three-quarters of all wholefood stores in France. Constructed in keeping with building biology principles, the new prestige headquarters will be officially opened on 2 October 2010, laying the foundation stone for further positive development of the business. Bleu-Vert sells the products of various German manufacturers of natural cosmetics and other natural goods in France.

“We’re bursting at the seams,” said Jürgen Debald during a visit in July by Organic-Market.Info to the firm in the Montfavet district of Avignon. For the previous three years they had not been able to increase the number of people they employed, because there was no more room in the old building (pictures). Mr Debald and his wife Francoise Duchesne, who also works in the business, have 38 employees, of whom eight speak fluent German. Having been founded twelve years ago, Bleu-Vert has undergone spectacular development. 54-year-old Mr Debald has now been living in the south of France for a good twenty years with his two sons (17 and 21).

In Avignon, the company had 300 m² of office space, and the 900 m² warehouse was located an impractical 10 km away. The new site means they now have new offices and wholesale warehouse plus 1,900 m² of useful land. Every day around 50 consignments are sent from the warehouse to specialist stores in France and to overseas territories such as French Guyana, Tahiti, New Caledonia, Martinique, Guadeloupe, La Réunion and St. Martin. The company supplies at least twenty stores on these islands, where they pay in euros. They are currently starting to collaborate with local partners in North Africa, in particular in Morocco. One of the partners is in the process of setting up natural cosmetics shops in Morocco.

Debald was expecting turnover to grow by 10 % in 2010. He pointed out that the French market was booming until the autumn of 2009 but then declined. In his words: “The financial crisis had finally hit the French consumer.” He said there was uncertainty in the industry, because nobody knew how things would develop, but fortunately they were spared collapse on a big scale, and now growth was continuing, albeit at a low level. Instead of 15 – 20 %, many firms are now registering growth of 5 – 10 %.

Bleu-Vert’s range consists of around 900 articles. The company has a strategic alliance with Logocos (brands: Logona, Sante, Aquabio, Neobio), and it also collaborates with Lakshmi, Sodasan and Aries.
 

What is particularly impressive about the new building in Caument to the south-west of Avignon is that it is constructed in golden yellow, natural stone blocks (picture on right). It offers the potential for further facilities such as a day spa and a natural cosmetics shop. 600 m² of photovoltaic panels have been installed on the roof (picture below left), and there is a natural reed-bed treatment plant. A water/water-heat pump (with under-floor heating) provides heat in winter and cooling in summer. Fresh air comes from air-conditioning with a heat-recovery system. The farmhouse, on what used to be a farm with 13,000 m², has been completely renovated and altered to incorporate a large-scale hall.

Behind the house is a park with a show garden that was laid out in the summer of 2010 (see picture on right). In this dry Mediterranean climate a pond is a pleasant, restful sight. Thanks to an underground irrigation system, that uses groundwater and the cleansed water from the sewage system, the park is a lush green even at temperatures in excess of 30¢ª. The house itself is protected from heat in summer and cold in winter by a 20 cm thick hemp-flax-wool layer of insulation. (Picture on left: Abundant sunshine in the south of France offers optimal potential for producing electricity and hot water. They have also installed semi-transparent solar panels (on the left of the picture). They measure only 30 m² but they have great educational value.  They are backed up by graphic displays showing energy production and consumption in the atrium in front of the entrance to the canteen and the seminar room.)

Bleu-Vert provides regular seminars for operators of wholefood stores and cosmeticians specializing in natural cosmetics. Every year they hold about 40 day-long sessions with 16 – 20 participants. To keep down the cost of travel, these events are not only held in the company’s own training facility but also at four other locations in France. The advantage of having its own seminar room is that it is also a showcase for all the products sold by Bleu-Vert. The topics of the seminars are expert application of make-up, face care and hair dying. And on the subject of hair dye, Bleu-Vert also offers courses for hairdressers. (Picture: Bleu-Vert’s Magali Provencal holding the company training programme. She herself leads some of the seminars)
Consumers in France can also benefit from an unusual advisory service: call free of charge 0810 400 493 and two Bleu-Vert employees are on hand every day to offer expert advice.

Tip:

The inauguration ceremony will be held on 2 October 2010 at Bleu-Vert’s new premises in Caument on the road from Avignon to Apt. Specialist visitors welcome.
Further information at www.bleu-vert.fr

Information in French on the building biology of the Bleu-Vert building and a plan of the garden are available at: http://bleu-vert.fr/actu.chaniter/le-projet-un--site-eco-concu/