A story, a land, a black fox…
It all began in 1976, when Guy Toulat and Alain Humeau, two characters with strong but complementary personalities, met. 13 years later, with their heads full of dreams, they created AJS (formerly known as blackfox) in Beaupréau en Mauges. A.J.S is a strange name for a gardening company, but it has a history and a meaning: A for articles, J for garden and S for specialist. The letter ‘A’ was essential for Guy Toulat to be the first to appear in directories and on minitels... So in 1989, the adventure began!
En 2008, alors que les cartons de bottes et sabots de jardin touchent le plafond, nous faisons nos valises, direction Saint Germain sur Moine, toujours dans les Mauges… Un territoire où chaussures et mouchoirs étaient vedettes d’une époque qui influence encore ses habitants et ses entrepreneurs.
Driven by this local heritage and the world of gardening, we're growing the seed we sowed over 35 years ago, from the Mauges to Europe. Our method of cultivation? Certainly not conventional, but specialised for the market of garden centres, agricultural cooperatives and DIY shops..
Conventional? Neither are our products! Colours, patterns, exclusive designs... We've always shaken up garden codes, and even more so through our Blackfox brand, which was born in 2012 and has now become our sole corporate identity.
This non-conformist spirit can be found in each of the 80 employees who cultivate the warm, family spirit of Blackfox, a Maugeoise company in a class of its own.
Guy Toulat and Alain Humeau, co-founders of AJS, met at the Salon de l'Agriculture in 1976.
13 years later, in 1989, the decision was made to launch AJS!
The garden clogs are a huge success! They prompted our managers to expand into new offices in Beaupréau (49), accompanied by 11 employees.
15 colours, 4,500,000 pairs sold since 2008. It's fair to say that many gardeners have seen it all!
Second move, this time to Saint Germain sur Moine (in the commune of Sèvremoine). 12,000 m2 of warehouse space for our boots, that's a lot of boots…
Since he was born, Blackfox and his cute face have been parading around shop shelves to delight gardeners.
Blackfox breaks free of codes: the surprising ‘Cheyenne’ half-boot has been launched and is sure to impress more than one nature lover!
Still too cramped! In 2022, 3 km down the road, a brand new building will house the 80 employees.
The fox logo was given a makeover.
