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Private company

Manufrance

Logo: Daniel VILLAFRUELA ., CC BY-SA 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons3

French mail order company

Manufrance was the trade name of Manufacture Francaise d'Armes et Cycles de Saint-Étienne ("French Arms and Cycle Factory of Saint-Étienne"), a French mail order company in the manufacturing town of Saint-Étienne since 1888.2 It was founded by Étienne Mimard.1 It employed 2,000 people in 1905.1 Wikipedia text CC BY-SA 4.0

Last updated Oct 21, 2026.

Overview

1887Founded1

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Manufrance was the trade name of Manufacture Francaise d'Armes et Cycles de Saint-Étienne ("French Arms and Cycle Factory of Saint-Étienne"), a French mail order company in the manufacturing town of Saint-Étienne since 1888.2

The story

Founded by Étienne Mimard in 1887.1

The first French mail order company, it mainly specialised in shotguns (Robust, Falcor, Ideal, Simplex) and bicycles (Hirondelle) since 1890. However, they covered other products, ranging from fishing rods to household items, such as wall clocks. Most of the products sold by Manufrance were made by third-party manufacturers, then labeled and retailed by Manufrance.

An unregistered Manufrance LaSalle 12-gauge shotgun, with a sawn-off barrel, was used by the perpetrator of the 2014 Sydney hostage crisis in Australia, who was unlicensed. Restrictions on illegal firearms were tightened as a result.

From Wikipedia’s article on Manufrance, shared under CC BY-SA 4.0.4

Leadership

Who has led Manufrance, and when. Pick a name to see everywhere that person has worked.

Employees over time

Manufrance employees by year12.0K in 1905+1233% since 1889
05001.0K1.5K2.0K1889: 15015018891904: 1.8K1.8K1904+1067%1905: 2.0K2.0K1905+14%
  • 19052,0001
  • 19041,7501
  • 18891501

Timeline

  1. 1887Founded Founded1

Sources

The numbers on this page point here. Each one links to the record it came from.

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