Marie Veyron (SKEMA 2019) launches Nilau – a unique leather goods brand

Marie Veyron, an alumna (SKEMA 2019) of the Master in Management (PGE) and the Master of Science in Luxury and Fashion Management, has launched her leather goods brand Nilau. Her brand is inspired by her family’s history, which produces unique articles from ostrich and salmon leather. Luxurious and committed, the brand uses upcycled and traceable materials. In this interview, she talks about it in detail.

Marie, can you tell us about yourself and your background at SKEMA? 

I am a graduate of SKEMA's Master in Management (PGE) and the MSc Luxury and Fashion Management programmes. I am originally from Isère, in the Auvergne Rhône-Alpes region of France. I'm the founder of the leather goods brand Nilau (a mixture of linen upside down and "au", the first two letters of the word ostrich). Thanks to my studies at SKEMA, I had the opportunity to go abroad and have a rich experience across France, on the Lille and Sophia Antipolis campuses, and in Raleigh (USA), Suzhou (China) and Lisbon (Portugal), where I spent a semester.

When did you get the inspiration to launch Nilau?

It goes back to my arrival at SKEMA, at the time of the competitions! When I had to defend my projective CV, I mentioned this idea, which was close to my heart. My parents have an ostrich farm in Isère for the food industry, and I have always wanted to highlight this animal, while promoting the use of traceable materials and local know-how. Ostrich leather is just as precious and valuable as any other leather. It is used by the most famous houses. In my creations, I use the skin to the full! In the second year of my master's degree, I joined the SKEMA Ventures entrepreneurship incubator-accelerator. In 2018, I participated in a bootcamp in Paris to finalise my business plan and strategy. I was able to benefit from Professor Philippe Chéreau's advice, which helped me develop my project. For the moment, I am alone, but I plan to recruit a student to help me develop Nilau.

Can you tell us about the products you sell?

I offer three different types of products for sale in the B2C segment, and soon in the B2B segment, such as bags and small leather goods made from linen, ostrich leather and salmon leather. I work with upcycled materials whose origin is traceable, and which come from the recycling industry. I work in a short circuit, with a tannery in Lyon for salmon leather and another in the Cantal region for ostrich leather. The production workshop is a few kilometres from the family farm.

What advice would you give to a student who wants to become an entrepreneur?

You must believe in your project!

Contact: Marie Veyron - Founder of LAPLAINE and NILAU