Gerbe

Gerbe is a French hosiery and lingerie brand whose history dates to 1904, when it was founded by Stéphane Gerbe. The company is based in Saint-Vallier in the Burgundy region of France, where it operates a manufacturing facility associated with the brand’s long-standing French production identity. Gerbe began by concentrating on tights and stockings and later broadened its assortment across hosiery and related lingerie categories. The brand’s positioning is closely linked to French manufacturing, specialist hosiery expertise, and control over production quality. Its products are described as being made in France, with the company maintaining manufacturing activity at its Saint-Vallier site. The factory has received the “Entreprise du Patrimoine français” designation, a French heritage recognition that highlights the site’s industrial and cultural importance. This distinction supports Gerbe’s image as a heritage manufacturer rather than simply a fashion label. Gerbe has operated through changing commercial conditions, financial pressures, and leadership transitions while retaining a family-business character for much of its history. The company’s production model has also been connected with Rhovyl, whose owner Alain Regad became Gerbe’s owner. Materials supplied through Rhovyl are used in Gerbe hosiery, giving the business an associated yarn source and greater oversight of material and manufacturing processes. The available reference material presents this vertical relationship as a means of supporting consistency and product quality. The company’s principal activity remains the manufacture and marketing of hosiery and lingerie. Its range has expanded beyond its original tights and stockings focus to include broader types of hosiery, although detailed current product-line information is limited in the available sources. Gerbe’s identity rests on the combination of French production, heritage-factory status, specialized hosiery knowledge, and continuity across generations of ownership and management. The Saint-Vallier operation employs more than 100 people according to the supplied reference material.

Gerbe was founded in 1904 by Stéphane Gerbe as a French hosiery business. Its early commercial activity centered on tights and stockings, establishing the specialization that has remained central to the brand. Over time, the company expanded its assortment to cover a wider range of hosiery and lingerie products. The company’s manufacturing base is located in Saint-Vallier in southern Burgundy, France. This site has been important to Gerbe’s identity because the brand presents its products as made in France and retains production capabilities at the factory. The facility has been recognized as an “Entreprise du Patrimoine français,” or French heritage company, reflecting the historical significance attributed to the operation and its contribution to French industrial know-how. Gerbe continued as a family-owned business through periods of financial difficulty and changes in leadership. The available historical material does not provide a complete chronology of these transitions, but it indicates that the company had to navigate pressures affecting financial institutions and the broader hosiery market while maintaining its manufacturing activity. A later phase of the company’s ownership connected Gerbe with Rhovyl. Alain Regad, identified as the owner of Rhovyl, also became the owner of Gerbe. Rhovyl supplies yarn used in Gerbe hosiery, creating a relationship between the material source and the finished-product manufacturer. This arrangement is described as giving Gerbe greater control over production and quality. The company’s continued use of French manufacturing and its association with a domestic yarn producer reinforce its heritage and vertically coordinated positioning. Gerbe’s business remains focused on marketing and manufacturing hosiery and lingerie. Its Saint-Vallier location employs more than 100 people according to the supplied reference material. Although detailed information about current collections, distribution, revenue, and international sales is not available in the cited material, the brand’s established identity is that of a French specialist manufacturer with a heritage production site and a product range built around hosiery.

1. 1904Gerbe is founded

   Stéphane Gerbe founded the French hosiery business, initially focusing on tights and stockings.

   Source
2. Product range expands beyond tights and stockings

   The company broadened its assortment over time to include additional hosiery categories and lingerie.

   Source
3. Saint-Vallier factory receives French heritage recognition

   Gerbe’s factory in Saint-Vallier was designated an “Entreprise du Patrimoine français,” recognizing its French industrial and heritage significance.

   Source
4. Ownership becomes associated with Rhovyl

   Alain Regad, owner of Rhovyl, also became the owner of Gerbe, linking the hosiery brand with Rhovyl’s yarn production.

   Source

French-made heritage hosiery and lingerie focused on specialist manufacturing, production control, and continuity of craftsmanship.

• TightsHosiery1904

  Tights were among Gerbe’s original core products and remain part of the brand’s hosiery specialization. The company’s positioning emphasizes French production and manufacturing control rather than treating tights solely as seasonal fashion accessories.

• StockingsHosiery1904

  Stockings formed another central part of Gerbe’s early business. They represent the brand’s traditional expertise in legwear and its development from a focused hosiery maker into a broader lingerie and hosiery company.

• HosieryLegwear

  Gerbe’s broader hosiery assortment grew beyond its original tights and stockings offering. Available reference material does not specify the complete current catalog, but describes the company as a manufacturer and marketer of various hosiery products made in France.

• LingerieIntimate apparel

  Lingerie is part of Gerbe’s stated business scope alongside hosiery. The available sources do not identify individual lingerie collections or product names, so the category is documented at brand level only.

1. Gerbe (lingerie)
2. Gerbe official website