You wouldn’t expect Francis Pierrel to be blown away by a showroom.
After all, the French native spent nearly 30 years in the retail industry, having held leadership roles at apparel brands like Ralph Lauren (including working directly with its iconic namesake), Lacoste, Diesel and Urban Outfitters.
But when he visited the showroom of New York City-based distributor LR Paris (PPAI 346056, Silver), he marveled at how many well-known brands from so many different industries were featured. The 65-year-old company boasts a plethora of clients, such as Banana Republic, Chanel, Harry Winston, The Ritz-Carlton and even The White House.
Pierrel saw unlimited potential in not only the full-service agency, but also the $26 billion promotional products market. So, he joined the firm as CEO and partner to Charles Doligé, third-generation owner of LR Paris, this past January.
PPAI Media recently sat down with Pierrel to discuss his vision for LR Paris, his current challenges and what the promo industry can learn from retail. The following interview has been edited for clarity and brevity.
PPAI Media: What specifically drew you to the promotional products industry?
Francis Pierrel: This industry needs more people like me. Working in the fashion, luxury or apparel world, there’s a lot of discipline in creating a product, understanding the client, building a network of distribution, etc. You have to know so many traits.
Let’s face it, the client has evolved. The time when you would slap a logo on an average something isn’t over, but the client can do it themselves. If I just want something quick and cheap, I don’t need anybody. But the clients that we’re talking to care about their logo and the items that they put in the hands of their end consumer or that they want on their coffee table. Because they do care, they need people like us.
Something I’ve learned working for all of these big companies is to focus on your call. It’s not everybody’s call to create a mug, backpack, blanket or pen. It’s better to go to the specialist, but that specialist must be ready to understand me as a brand and the importance of my clients. Most of the time, our job isn’t to put your logo on a product. It’s to create something that’s aligned with who you are as a brand. We have the spirit of an agency or a creative house, if you want to borrow from luxury.
PPAI Media: Do you think the promo industry needs help in adapting to that mindset?
Pierrel: The promo industry is too much of a middleman. A client needs a pen, and I know somebody who has pens, so I’ll put their logo on it and take a commission. When you work in the fashion or luxury industry, the brand is the most important thing. You have to cherish and protect the reputation of the brand. If there’s a trend that everybody is following, but it’s not on brand, then I’m not going to do it. Being so clear about who I am as a brand and the expression of the brand through tangible products doesn’t exist as much in the promo industry.
Francis Pierrel
CEO & Partner, LR Paris
What I love about LR Paris is that we speak with Fortune 500 firms and big, big companies. Once you’re sitting in front of the right person, they say, “Where have you been all these years? You’re exactly what I’m looking for.” I’m trying to rebrand our approach internally. We’re not suppliers. We’re an agency that also produces the product, creates e-shops, designs special requests, handles fulfillments and organizes events for product launches. You have to fully understand everything about your client’s brand.
PPAI Media: Are you seeing trepidation from these Fortune 500 clients regarding marketing spend as we head into 2025 and potentially endure significant tariff increases under the second Trump administration?
Pierrel: If you decide to go into branded objects, as I like to call them, you have to choose: Am I going to get a return on investment or not? Then, budget isn’t an issue because you’re going to get ROI somehow. We’ve created a fully functioning digital watch made of paper for 90 cents for a very famous network. It was a very fun, engaging product. It’s not how much you spend on a product, it’s about the energy and creativity you put into it. If you put your logo on a bad product and the client either ignores it or trashes it, it’s the most expensive item you’ve ever bought in your life because it’s a waste of money and time.
PPAI Media: Why did you decide to pursue a career in fashion and retail? Did this interest you as a kid?
Pierrel: Oh no, I just wanted to play rugby. I did pretty well for a long while and made some money. But I got my MBA in Scotland, where I met a guy who was fascinated by food retailing in Europe. I specialized my MBA on that, particularly, brands from distributors taking over national brands. In the UK, it was interesting because they were giving a better product to distributor brands. In France, it was the opposite with companies giving a similar product at a much cheaper price. My dream was to work in food retailing, but it didn’t happen.
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PPAI Media: How did you and Charles Doligé hit it off to where you’re now business partners?
Pierrel: We met eight years ago when I was working at Ralph Lauren, and he tried to sell me something (laughs). We did a few projects together and then we met again at a party where all the French people tended to be together. At that point, like everybody my age, I began consulting. I figured somebody was going to need my help. Then you start investing in companies and giving advice to owners and founders. Charles and I talked about products, brands and merchandising. He said he needed me.
Our base – industries like legal, financial, hospitality and cosmetics – is very strong. But I also see industries where we could be doing better, like the automobile or new technology. We have a good roster of clients, but there are so many opportunities around the world. We have 16 different languages in our company. Our French accent helps in terms of creativity, know-how and attention to detail, but clients also think our products may be more expensive because we have a French accent (laughs).
PPAI Media: What’s the biggest challenge you’re facing right now?
Pierrel: Making us known. When people say where have you been all this time? Well, we’ve been here. You just didn’t know that we existed. Joining PPAI has definitely helped with that.
We have a very aggressive growth path. My job is to strengthen the culture: caring for the customer, taking time to understand their brand like an agency would do, paying attention to detail, building long-term relationships so you get reorders as well as priority for the big projects. This culture already exists at LR Paris, but the more salespeople that you bring in, how do you integrate them without them modifying the culture? It’s like in retail when you have 20 stores, you’re so close to your store managers. But when you have 100 stores, it’s hard to implement that culture.
PPAI Media: What is one lesson that you’ve learned from your decades in retail that you could offer to a promo pro that will help their business?
Pierrel: You want your product to be used. Retailers discount and promote, but if your product isn’t used, your brand won’t be in demand. You want to see your product in the street or on the table. You want it to be regifted. You want people to steal your product!
The retail industry has drastically evolved into knowing your customer so well. There was a time when you had no idea who came into your store or why. Nowadays, you know everything. But having this information and using it are two different things. In our world, we have a client for whom we’re making the products and then they have their own clients. We’re going to study both, so that you’re pleased to see your logo on the product and then your client also wants the product.
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In this industry, your network of suppliers is also important. They’re your best friends and are going to save you when something bad happens. If you build relationships when everything goes well, you’re going to have a little village behind you when something goes wrong. This industry can be about squeezing pennies, but sometimes, it’s better to let the penny go in favor of building the relationship.
PPAI Media: What’s your biggest goal for LR Paris to achieve in 2025?
Pierrel: It’s easy to say I want to accelerate growth, but I want to do it in a profitable way. I want people to feel better when working with us, and I want suppliers to be loyal to us. Somehow, I want everybody to know about us, but I want our clients to keep us as their best-kept secret.
I’m also looking for geographical growth within the U.S. We’re very strong on the East Coast, and we have fantastic clients in Texas, Chicago and on the West Coast. But I need to have salespeople living close to their clients so they can go and see them. You want to get coffee, a drink or dinner with your clients. Not every relationship needs that, and you don’t need it all the time like you used to, but being close to your clients is still important. When we get a sample from the factory, we’re so excited and want to bring it to our clients so they can give their feedback.
We serve across at least 10 major industries, which is a huge asset for our growth because when somebody in one industry asks you for a specific idea, you can reuse the idea for another industry that would’ve never come across this option.
I’m excited to be in this world and I want to meet more people, which is why we’re going to The PPAI Expo 2025. There are a lot of things maybe I assume from this industry, so I want to learn more. Of course, I want to compete, but I also want to make partnerships and hopefully friends. I have a lot of friends in the fashion industry. We have competitive brands, but there’s a lot of solidarity where people help each other. I hope I can do the same in this industry.
