Orchestra: the history of a success story...

July 1995: Pierre and Chantal Mestre founded the Orchestra company, with the aim of launching a children's clothes brand and a unique distribution concept.

Before creating Orchestra, Pierre and Chantal Mestre had followed very different careers …

Chantal Mestre was a nurse in the oncology department of a large hospital in Montpellier.

Pierre Mestre, meanwhile, broke off his studies at a business school and became a representative selling advertising space, then gadgets and gifts, and self-educated himself "by devouring several books every week for years."

In 1990, after the fall of the Berlin Wall, Pierre and Chantal Mestre moved to Germany and created a trading company in Leipzig, then headed the German subsidiary of the Zannier Group. They became aware of the potential in children's fashion, and as they wished to return to France they left Germany in 1995 and founded their own brand.

But they were not interested in opening "just another" clothes shop:  "If it's just to do what everyone else does, it's not worth bothering," said Pierre Mestre. So they invented the concept of a store "with areas of dreams and magic for children and services for their parents: a store that parents and children would consider their very favourite."

Chantal Mestre called the new Brand "Orchestra": "It has a meaning in all languages, and evokes a lively musical group that plays in harmony."

Another intuitive move by this mother of four was to set up a bear blowing bubbles at the entrance to each store, and make it the Brand emblem: "I was sure that children would love these robots."

The enterprise first started out with small chain stores. Then it began developing franchises within and outside France.

In 2006, the concept changed, migrating to bigger sales areas on the outskirts of towns. Each year, the Orchestra family grew larger, to the delight of adults and children alike. 

Between 2006 and 2009, Orchestra continued to grow on the outskirts of French cities, and abroad with seven new countries now hosting new Orchestra stores.

In 2009, Pierre Mestre wanted to go further still, and had the idea of turning his stores into a genuine Club, with loyal customers becoming privileged members. 2010 is thus the dawn of a revolution for the store, whose prospects for development are still growing.