Majorica, the resurrection of pearls that survived two crises and a bankruptcy

And as he went through his own liquidity ordeal, the coronavirus pandemic hit him in full. “We are immortal”Half joking, half serious, says Didier Grupposo (Paris, 1969), who has been the company’s managing director since 2018 and remains after the last ownership change. “Majorica survives all storms. I still remember when I declared that I had no choice but to file for bankruptcy. [en verano de 2020]. People’s faces are like ‘How? This can not be’. I assured them that I would fight so that this was the turning point, not the end of the story. And he died.”

Majorca changed hands in July 2021, after a bankruptcy and decades of social and financial hardship. Now, after the pit of vitality in the hands of the French Majolaperla SLU, it reappears in a changing and trendy industry. Majorica has returned to responsibility with a renewed image after leaving Barcelona as its headquarters and rebuilding its decisions from Manacor, east of Mallorca and where its most emblematic factory is located.

With the lesson learned, the near future of the pearl factory involves employing different departments to handle projects that have been idle until now. among them Expansion to Asia and the United States, where Majorica has an office and store on Fifth Avenue in New York at its peak. “Obviously, not all projects will be successful. We’re going to a trade show in Singapore next week to try to open up more of the Asian market, and we’re going to open a six-month pop-up store in Miami in the summer. United States.”

The other springboard is the exponential growth of jewelery and pearl production, doubling its presence in the showcases, and new generations trying to identify the product with the brand: “If we have invoiced 20 million in the last 20 years. Euros per year, In the next two or three years we should bill 50 million every year“. In fact, the property is already working on doubling its production shifts. “Currently, the working day is from seven in the morning to three in the afternoon. If we want to double sales, we have to work twice as hard. It’s about investing in improving the factory,” he emphasizes.

The managing director admits that up to 20 million a year is generated almost exclusively in sales to the tourism and coastal sector, regardless of national customers. It’s a market where Majorica insists you “have to be careful.” “47 million people live in Spain… Knowing that even men now wear pearls, we have more than twice as many potential customers‘ he points.

Majolaperla SLU, owned by French investor Gregorie-Agustín Bontoux Halley, proudly states that all pearls are still entirely produced in Manacor, with a staff of 110 remaining. Right now total workforce 247 workersdistributed in most factory operations (118) and sales (111). The organizational chart is completed by the general manager, management and finance (6 people), marketing and social networks (6 people), human resources (2), one person for product development and two ICT figures.

Speaking of numbers, Majorca today It sells four million pearls a year (more are produced, but not all pass strict quality control). Although this does not turn the parts. So, “some earrings may carry two pearls, but a necklace is obviously much more. It depends on the jewellery. So there are 700,000 such pieces per year. Every minute, somewhere in the world, a piece of Majorika is sold.”

The company has five stores in Mallorca: Manacor, Porto Cristo, Cuevas del Drach, Valldemossa and at Palma airport. If we scale it to the entire national region, the pearl factory We have 20 direct sales points and nearly 500 sales points, if any indirectly. in other centres. Internationally, Majorica is established in 70 countries with a total of more than 1,000 points of sale.

Sustainable and affordable luxury

Another point that the new Majorca wants to impress in order to differentiate itself from its competitors is the ecological sense and the “affordable luxury” of its pearl. “In terms of sustainability, it defends itself much better than cultivated ones, because we do not mistreat any animals to obtain it, and because our raw materials are natural,” says Grupposo, affordable luxury “means it is not jewelery priced at 5 or 20 Euros.” On average, part of Majorica Between 120 and 150 euros. Today’s luxury admits that you can have a €3,000 necklace with a €50 piece in the same showcase; the customer understands that,” he adds.

In addition, an image and a graphic file that he plans to recover with advertising It has more than 6,000 photos from different decades.: “They are a legacy that connects us to our roots and that we must develop.” Giving up such a pearl museum for a moment, Majorica bets a traveling exhibit to tell the company’s history to the world. “I think it could even lead to a script for a Netflix series. [ríe]. Between the early years, the period in recent years, 20 years ago… There would be enough material,” he confirms.

Majorica general manager concludes with the most important thing: “We are healthy this year and next year. results will be positive. Then there are the investments that we love and are conscious of the need to undertake. Right now the property understands that the money earned is for reinvestment over the long term, not for the business.”

women’s history

East of Mallorca became the nerve center of atypical manufacturing in 1902, with its distinctive production systems from both factory and home perspectives. overwhelming hand presence women’s labor, a unique machine park that can adapt to new production lines according to needs, and a clear export profession from the beginning.

We found Majorica’s germ, but Founded in 1890 by the Aachen brothers Karl and Eduard Heusch After obtaining the world’s first patent for producing artificial pearls and starting as Societé des Perles des Indes E. Heush & Co in Paris, it is also dedicated to the manufacture of brooches, sewing needles, thimbles and zippers. In 1897, it became Hugo Heusch & Cia, first in Barcelona and finally in Mallorca at the turn of the 20th century. Hugo Heusch & Co gradually changed its name until it became Industria Española de Perlas Imitación, SA (IEPISA) and changed to Majorica Heusch and finally Majorica.

The opening of the Heusch factory in 1902 is undoubtedly opportunity for advancement mainly for women and girls in the regionthey were leaving their field duties to become pearl mills. Cooperation was decisive in the recovery of the pulse of the local economy, which collapsed at the end of the 19th century crisis.

Also, over time, factory workers They benefited from a range of social benefits as well as sponsoring most of the town’s cultural, recreational and sporting activities, such as a health service, a weighbridge, and a childcare center where a certain patriarchy has been added from the company’s top executives to its employees.

Two severe crises

Majorca a little over 20 years ago I was having a crisis similar to what they experienced during the coronavirus pandemic. Towards the end of 2001, the pearl factory was caught in a spiral of speculation about a possible change of ownership, which raised doubts not only about its future at Manacor but also about its viability as a company.

Tension It crystallized and ended on the afternoon of December 5, 2001Organized by trade unions and the works council, thousands of people took to the streets to demand, defend and demand a solution to the more than 500 jobs Majorica had on the national soil at that time.

After a while, they gathered outside the doors of the old, century-old factory (which was demolished in 2006 after a new one was built on the industrial estate). One layoff reason, we want our jobs and all our jobs at Majorica and Manacor. Globalization means stealing. There were outcries against the owners of that time.French Alpha Investment and Emilio Botín, owner of Banco Santander, who approved the sale and, according to employees, “suffocates the firm’s profitability”.

After several years of secret calm, the closure of most world trade due to covid meant the temporary closure of pearl production for the first time. Majorica accepted the postponements proposed by the State and filed for bankruptcy. Finally, after months of rumors, Majolaperla SLU stays at Majorca pearl factoryIt inflated 12m euros, closing a year of uncertainty, but later reduced business from 96 to 161.