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From Marc’s inventiveness and Hermance’s determination, Maison Millet was born in 1921. It all began with the manufacture of shopping bags in their small grocery store in Saint-Fons, near Lyon. The range soon expanded and the clientele grew.
Originally from the Deux-Savoie region of France, the Millet couple moved to Annecy in 1929, where Marc’s fragile health benefited from the fresh air. This move was to be decisive for the future of the brand.
After Marc’s death in 1937, Hermance – nicknamed “Manet” – took over the reins of the company with her two sons, René and Raymond. At a time when women could not legally run a company, she imposed her authority and ensured the continuity of the family business.
Together, the three developed ski bags, beach bags and bicycle panniers, responding to the leisure boom brought about by paid vacations. Manet embodies resilience and feminine strength in a male-dominated industry.
In 1942, the family built a house-factory on avenue de Chambéry in Annecy: a vision of “family and business” inseparable. In this workshop, Millet grew and attracted renowned mountaineers such as Messner, Bonatti and Desmaison.
René and Raymond’s complementary skills, their fraternity and their passion for the mountains helped the company prosper, exporting to Japan and Germany in the 1960s.
In 1960, Millet specializes in mountaineering bags. Louis Lachenal contributes to the first prototypes, followed by Walter Bonatti, official technical advisor. Reinhold Messner develops the Everest Gtx 3L jacket, whose iconic blue remains a strong symbol.
The company is thus affirming its mountain DNA and its role alongside the world’s greatest mountaineers.
In 1980, the Millet brothers retired and sold the company. But Jean-Pierre Millet, Raymond’s son, still nurtured the dream of bringing the brand back into the family. After several attempts, he succeeded in buying back Millet in 2021, exactly 100 years after its creation.
His nephew Romain Millet took over the management of the company, representing the fourth generation of the family.
In 2021, things come full circle: Millet returns to the family fold. Based in Annecy, the brand continues its heritage by collaborating with a new generation of mountaineers such as Charles Dubouloz, Symon Welfringer and Emily Harrop, while drawing on a century of know-how.
Millet is not just a brand of mountain equipment, it’s a family history, a passion handed down from generation to generation and a living heritage that continues to inspire mountaineers past, present and future.
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