“We have the link with our 350,000 customers”: a pioneer in e-commerce, this SME is growing in the middle of the fields

Since its takeover in 2006 by Stéphane Berretti, the Sodiclair company has continued to grow in Nottonville (Eure-et-Loir). It was in 2011, thanks to the Internet, that the company manufacturing custom blinds and curtains for communities expanded its offering to the general public. A unique online sales idea at the time.

“We asked ourselves this question: what can we do to get out of this? It was necessary to save the company without undermining French manufacturing, tailor-made products and integrated service. So, we opened up to direct online sales. It was 2009-2010. Today everyone talks about it, but at the time it didn’t exist,” remembers Stéphane Berretti, the director of Sodiclair, and its subsidiary stores-et-rideaux.com. which now has 350,000 customers and brings together 20,000 references.

Exponential growth

Today, 125 employees work in the company and 28 million euros in turnover are generated by the group, which is divided into three brands. “Blinds and Curtains represent 60% of our turnover. The Prosolaire site took over the historic activities of Sodiclair, and we even created an Italian Tende-e-tende site which allows us to sell products exclusively in Italy leaving for Florence or Rome and which are all made in Nottonville,” explains the manager.

In the production workshop, many steps are still carried out by hand, such as bending and drilling the blind slats, or adjusting the linkage. A little further on, the seamstresses are carefully adjusting the curtains. Behind them, the rolls of fabric are stacked to suit the taste of each decoration. The company also has carpenters. The artisanal spirit remains the beating heart of this industrial and digital SME. And as each product is custom-made in Eure-et-Loir, stocks are low. On average three to ten days are necessary to receive your order.

Innovation as first priority

Customer service is also managed internally, with a satisfaction rate of 96% based on 36,000 reviews. Innovation remains the priority of the company which, for the past year, has been enriching its range with thermal curtains and seat cushions. “Many of the products we have launched are born from ideas from our customers. When they put curtains in a bedroom, they want to continue their decoration with a few cushions, a bed runner, or create a space to sit, notes Stéphane Berretti. This is the enormous advantage of direct sales, we have the link with our 350,000 customers. If we want to chat with them, it’s very easy, we have their contact details. »

For a year also, Sodiclair has been manufacturing acoustic panels to reduce noise in each room such as “a meeting room, an open space, or even a restaurant where it is difficult to hear yourself speak. These sensors absorb the noise generated in the room. It reduces the reverberation delay, which generates the noise.”

Pampered employees

To support its growth, the SME inaugurated a new extension of its production site at the end of 2025. The additional 1,600 m² building is the fourth built in ten years. The company now covers 8000 m2. 1.6 million euros was invested to modernize industrial facilities and increase employee comfort. “We did it because we need space to produce and because I refuse teamwork. I want my employees to have standard schedules so that they have a family life. It requires space, that’s the choice we make! » explains the president.

Employees who must be pampered, in the heart of Beauce, 40 km from Chartres, 45 from Orléans and 20 from Châteaudun, the workforce could be lacking. Here on average, employees have fifteen years of seniority. “We have too much of a tendency to pit digital against traditional industry and the countryside against the city,” assures Stéphane Berretti. I don’t agree with this. We are the illustration that we can combine traditional industry, sewing for us, with digital technology which has saved society and is an extremely driving force. It works very well together, we manage to attract young people who have studied in Chartres or Orléans, and who do not want to leave their region to work.

In 2026, stores-et-rideaux.com aims to increase its turnover by 8%. Proof that a business with all the right ingredients can flourish in the countryside far from big cities.