What Jakob Schlaepfer does

Jakob Schlaepfer AG is a privately held Swiss textile manufacturer founded in 1904 in St. Gallen, the historic cradle of the Swiss textile industry. The company designs and produces high-end textiles — fabrics (embroidered, jacquard, velvet, metal, knitted upholstery, flame-retardant), wallcoverings, and carpets — entirely in its Swiss in-house facilities. Its core technology combines traditional St. Gallen embroidery craftsmanship with advanced manufacturing methods including laser cutting, digital printing, experimental surface treatments, and bespoke machinery, supported by numerous international patents and proprietary processes such as industrial sequin embroidery on Schiffli machines and heat-activated rhinestones developed in partnership with Swarovski.

The firm operates a B2B enterprise go-to-market, supplying distinctive textiles directly to a small roster of leading international haute couture and ready-to-wear fashion houses — Chanel, Jil Sander, Louis Vuitton, Bottega Veneta, and Maison Margiela — for runway collections. Pricing is not publicly disclosed; revenue is generated through one-time fabric sales tied to seasonal haute couture cycles. Since 1993 the company has extended its expertise into interior capsule collections, and in 2026 it formalized the interiors business with the launch of the Interior Collection 2026 (more than forty new designs including world-first knitted carpets with hand embroidery) and the opening of its first Parisian showroom at 40 Rue de Seine during Paris Déco Off.

Jakob Schlaepfer employs 51–100 staff, retains no disclosed venture or private equity backing, and operates as an independent heritage manufacturer. Its expansion strategy is concentrated on deepening its interior design vertical in Europe and leveraging its 120-plus-year brand heritage and Swarovski partnership as core differentiators in the global luxury textile market.

Name

Jakob Schlaepfer

Legal name

Jakob Schlaepfer AG

Website

https://jakobschlaepfer.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

1904

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

51–100 employees

Short description

Jakob Schlaepfer is a 1904-founded Swiss heritage textile manufacturer that designs and produces high-end fabrics, wallcoverings, and carpets in St. Gallen, supplying leading haute couture houses and, since 2026, the luxury interior design market.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Headquarters

HQ city

Sankt Gallen

HQ country

Switzerland

HQ region

Europe

Offices2 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Hardware or Manufacturing

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Supply Chain, Technology or R&D, Marketing or Sales, Infrastructure

Revenue model

1. Haute Couture Fabric Sales: Supply of distinctive fabrics to leading international haute couture and ready-to-wear fashion houses for runway collections.
2. Interior Textile Products: Full interior textiles line including fabrics, wallcoverings, and carpets launched in 2026, targeting interior design market.
3. Capsule Collections: Capsule collections for interiors developed since 1993, bringing haute couture rigor and creativity into decoration.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels2 records

Marketing channels4 records

Core offering

Jakob Schlaepfer manufactures and sells high-end textiles, fabrics, wallcoverings, and carpets, supplying distinctive materials to leading haute couture fashion houses and the interior design market. The company's product portfolio spans embroidered fabrics, jacquards, velvets, metallised textiles, flame-retardant materials, digital-print wallcoverings, and flatknit carpets. All production is rooted in Swiss in-house facilities, combining traditional craftsmanship with advanced technologies such as laser cutting, digital printing, and proprietary processes including heat-activated rhinestones developed with Swarovski.

Product overview

Jakob Schlaepfer is a heritage Swiss textile company founded in 1904 in St. Gallen, offering a comprehensive portfolio of high-end textile products. The core offerings include three main categories: Fabrics (embroidered fabrics, knitted upholstery, metal fabrics, flame-retardant textiles, jacquards, velvets, and sequin embroidery), Wallcoverings (digital prints on various substrates), and Carpets (flatknit carpets with hand embroidery). The company recently launched its Interior Collection 2026 featuring over 40 new designs including world-first knitted carpets with hand embroidery. Additionally, since 1993, the company has developed capsule collections for interiors, and maintains proprietary processes including heat-activated rhinestones in collaboration with Swarovski. All products are rooted in Swiss production and craftsmanship.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• Jakob Schlaepfer Interior: A full interior collection launched in 2026, comprising more than forty new designs inspired by the Alpine landscape, including fabrics, wallcoverings, and carpets.

Products and services

• Fabrics High-end textile fabrics including embroidered fabrics, jacquards, velvets, metallised fabrics, knitted upholstery fabrics, and flame-retardant textiles for haute couture collections and interior drapery applications.
• Wallcoverings Digital prints on various substrates including shantung effect fabric, wallpaper with foil, vertical threads on nonwoven backing, and textured fabrics for wall and ceiling applications.
• Carpets Flatknit carpets with hand embroidery, combining industrial precision and artisanal craftsmanship for luxury interior surface applications.
• Interior Collection 2026 Full interior textile collection featuring more than forty new designs inspired by Alpine landscapes, including flat-bed knitted upholstery fabrics with historic St. Gallen embroidery and world-first knitted carpets with hand embroidery.
• Capsule Collections for Interiors Periodic capsule collections for interiors developed since 1993, bringing haute couture rigor and creativity into the world of decoration.

Named customers5 records

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature5 records

Partnerships

One partnership is on record.

• SwarovskicoreTechnology or IntegrationProprietary heat-activated rhinestone technology developed in collaboration with Swarovski, a key innovation in Jakob Schlaepfer's textile manufacturing capabilities.

Scale indicators4 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights4 records

Broad incumbents

• Scabal: Belgian-British luxury fabric maker serving bespoke tailoring and couture houses with innovative textiles. Comparable customer overlap (luxury designers, made-to-measure) but operates at greater scale and broader global distribution.
• Loro Piana: LVMH-owned Italian luxury textile house producing premium fabrics for both apparel and home. Much larger and broader in scope, but the leading incumbent in luxury textile innovation and the most natural scale benchmark for Jakob Schlaepfer.
• Holland & Sherry: British heritage luxury fabric supplier for couture and bespoke tailoring with an established interior textile line. Larger and more diversified than Jakob Schlaepfer, but a reference point for luxury fabric + interior cross-sell.
• Dormeuil: Historic French/UK luxury fabric supplier for haute couture and bespoke tailoring. Operates at greater scale and a wider apparel-fabric portfolio, but competes for the same designer and tailoring clientele.

Direct peers

• Rubelli S.p.A. Venetian heritage textile house producing furnishing and apparel fabrics for luxury residential, hospitality, and fashion customers. Highly comparable given its dual-customer model spanning couture textiles and high-end interior decoration.
• Hurel: French silk weaver producing fabrics for haute couture and luxury fashion houses. Operates in the same niche of bespoke fabric supply to European luxury designers as Jakob Schlaepfer.
• Taroni S.p.A. Italian silk fabric mill historically supplying distinctive jacquards and prints to European haute couture and ready-to-wear houses. Comparable as a specialty fabric supplier whose output defines designer collections.
• Luigi Verga S.r.l. Italian silk and luxury fabric producer for high-end fashion houses. Comparable scale and end-customer profile to Jakob Schlaepfer, focused on distinctive woven and printed fabrics used in couture collections.
• Bischoff Textil AG: St. Gallen-based embroidery and high-end textile manufacturer operating in the same historic Swiss textile cluster as Jakob Schlaepfer. Both serve luxury fashion and interior with embroidered and embellished fabrics, competing for similar couture and interior clients.
• Forster Rohner AG: Swiss embroidery and textile producer headquartered in St. Gallen, with overlapping couture and interior textile capabilities. Forster Rohner shares operational and possibly governance ties with Jakob Schlaepfer (referenced on the company's privacy policy as a related entity), making it the closest structural peer.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/jakobschlaepfer
• Facebookfacebook.com/jakobschlaepfer
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/jakob-schlaepfer-decor

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles1 record

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Jakob Schlaepfer