STORY OF A MAN…
Yves Rocher. The name is world famous, yet everything started for him and his brand in a small village of character, La Gacilly.
Indeed, Yves Rocher was born on April 7, 1930 in the village of La Gacilly. He spent his childhood alongside his father, a hatmaker, whose love of nature he shared. Having a fragile health, his parents prefer to educate him at home and his places of recreation will be Les Landes de La Gacilly and the forest of Brocéliande.
It was at the sudden death of his father, at the age of 14, that Yves Rocher took refuge in nature where he drew a certain comfort and discovered the amazing powers of the plant world.
Following a meeting with a healer, he learned the recipe for an ointment made from black cohosh. He then decided to make it by hand in the family attic and to sell it directly to the users, through classified ads.
The beauty and care products by plants will be the pillars of the cosmetic products company that he founded in 1959.
LOCALPRODUCTION
10 years later, it was in La Gacilly, that Yves Rocher decided to open its first industrial site with the Croix des Archers factory (body care), and its first store in Paris, on Boulevard Haussmann.
In 1978, he will implement the construction of the Rieux site (makeup) and in 1982 the construction of the Ploërmel site (perfume).
Today, the Yves Rocher group has 1,700 stores including 512 in France, and employs more than 15,000 employees.
Very attached to its territory, it also wished to maintain a cultivation activity with nearly 55 hectares of organic fields near its native village of La Gacilly. 8 plants are cultivated in agroecology: cornflower, Roman chamomile, matricaria chamomile, arnica, calendula, edulis, ice ficoid and mint, which are used in the composition of Yves Rocher products.
He died on December 26, 2009 of a stroke and is buried in the cemetery of his native village.
Today, his grandson Bris Rocher is the president of the family business. His second son Daniel created the Daniel Jouvance brand and Jacques Rocher is in charge of the Yves Rocher Foundation.
A LINK WITH HIS TERRITORY…
While continuing his professional activities, Yves Rocher became mayor of La Gacilly in 1962, until 2008. He was also a general councilor of Morbihan and then a regional councilor.
His native village, as well as the surrounding villages, benefit from the economic activity of the Yves Rocher company.
Many infrastructures were set up under his impetus:
– The Botanical Garden, a 2ha strolling area with 1,500 species, including plants used in Yves Rocher cosmetics and perfumery and created in 1975 by Mr. Rocher.
– The Yves Rocher House with its immersive museum, restaurant and boutique
– The La Grée des Landes Spa Eco-Hotel and its restaurant
– The largest Photo Festival in Europe with a course of more than 1000 photos.
