le nez au vent

What le nez au vent does

Le Nez au Vent is a French non-profit association (association loi 1901, SIRET 40313937100062) operating a ressourcerie (reuse center) and chantier d'insertion (social and professional integration workshop) headquartered at 4 route de Gap, Larane-Montéglin, Hautes-Alpes. Its core activity is the collection, repair, and resale of donated second-hand goods — furniture, clothing, books, toys, dishes, and household items — at affordable prices through a physical boutique open Tuesday through Saturday, 09:00–18:00. The organization also runs a mobile Vide maison à domicile (home clearing and bulky-item removal) service across twelve surrounding towns including Sisteron, Gap, Veynes, Barret-sur-Méouge, Lus-la-Croix-Haute, Orpierre, the Parc Naturel des Baronnies, Serres, Mison, Tallard, Gorges de la Méouge, and Séderon.

The business model combines a circular-economy commercial arm — point-of-sale transactions on donated and refurbished goods, plus fee-bearing house-clearing services — with a state-supported social mission that delivers work-based insertion pathways to individuals facing social or professional difficulties. Insertion participants are referred and co-financed through institutional partners including France Travail, Cap Emploi, Missions Locales, the Préfet des Hautes-Alpes, and the Département des Hautes-Alpes. Specialized sub-categories (Friperie vintage spanning 1950s–1990s garments, including consignment, and Livres d'occasion across multiple genres) complement the broader ressourcerie catalog.

The customer base is horizontal: local residents of the Hautes-Alpes region seeking affordable goods and eco-friendly disposal, plus insertion participants referred by public employment services. Distribution is entirely physical — walk-in boutique plus mobile pickup — with no app, e-commerce site, or paid marketing, and an organic Facebook page as the principal digital channel. No revenue, headcount, or financial figures are publicly disclosed.

Name

le nez au vent

Legal name

LE NEZ AU VENT

Website

https://asso-nez-au-vent.fr

Company type

Private

Operating status

Operating

Short description

Le Nez au Vent is a French nonprofit ressourcerie and chantier d'insertion in Larane-Montéglin that collects, repairs, and resells donated second-hand goods at affordable prices while providing professional integration pathways to disadvantaged individuals, serving local residents across twelve Hautes-Alpes towns.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Headquarters

HQ city

Laragne-Montéglin

HQ country

France

HQ region

Europe

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Supply Chain, Infrastructure, Marketing or Sales

Revenue model

1. Sale of second-hand goods: Collection, repair and renovation, and resale of donated objects including furniture, clothing, books, toys, dishes, and other second-hand items at low prices through the physical boutique. Revenue is generated through individual transactions on donated and refurbished goods.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels2 records

Marketing channels3 records

Core offering

Le nez au vent is a non-profit association that operates a Ressourcerie (reuse center) in Laragne-Montéglin, France, collecting, sorting, refurbishing and reselling second-hand objects (books, clothing, household items) at affordable prices. The association also runs a chantier d'insertion (employment-integration workshop) that helps people facing employment barriers gain professional experience through repair, sales and collection activities.

Product overview

LE NEZ AU VENT is a unified ressourcerie (resource center) operating as a social insertion workshop. The core offering centers on the Ressourcerie service that collects, repairs, and resells donated second-hand objects. This is complemented by specialized sub-categories including Vêtements d'occasion/Friperie (vintage clothing and second-hand fashion), and Livres d'occasion (second-hand books). Supporting service offerings include Vide maison and Vide maison à domicile (house clearing services), Don d'objet (object donation), and Récupération d'objet (object recovery). The organization also operates a social mission through its Association chantier d'insertion program, which provides professional integration support for people in difficulty while delivering its commercial activities.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Ressourcerie (Reuse Center)

Segments2 records

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

Five partnerships are on record, tiered moderate and core.

• Préfet des Hautes-AlpesmoderateOthersPrefectural authority providing institutional support and potentially funding for social integration programs in the department.
• Département des Hautes-AlpesmoderateOthersDepartmental council providing institutional support and potentially co-funding for insertion programs and social initiatives.
• France TravailcoreOthersPublic employment service that refers job seekers to insertion programs and may co-finance professional integration pathways for participants.
• Cap EmploicoreOthersSpecialized employment service for people with disabilities, referring individuals to insertion programs and supporting professional integration.
• Missions LocalescoreOthersLocal youth employment services that refer young people to insertion programs and provide career guidance support.

Scale indicators1 record

Recent moves5 records

Expansion highlights4 records

Direct peers

• Emmaüs France: National federation of Emmaüs community ressourceries that collect, refurbish and resell donated goods while employing insertion workers. Directly comparable as a French social-enterprise ressourcerie operating resale plus insertion under the same circular-economy logic.
• Croix-Rouge Française (Boutiques Solidaires): Operates a network of solidarity thrift boutiques in France that sell donated second-hand goods and run insertion programmes. Same dual retail + social-insertion model as Le Nez au Vent, with a broader geographic footprint.
• Secours Catholique / Caritas France: Runs national solidarity second-hand shops and social-support programmes in France, combining resale of donated items with professional-integration support for vulnerable populations.
• Habitat et Humanisme: French social-enterprise federation providing housing and insertion activities, including second-hand furniture resale (e.g., Mobilier de France / Ateliers) closely aligned with Le Nez au Vent's furniture-focused second-hand activities.
• Tri-Tout Solide: Network of ressourceries (e.g., in Bordeaux area) collecting, refurbishing and reselling secondhand items to fund insertion programmes; small-to-mid scale social-enterprise ressourcerie directly analogous in mission and operations.
• Le Relais (Emmaüs): French network running textile sorting, reuse and resale channels with insertion-worker employment; comparable as a collection-to-resale social enterprise targeting clothing and household goods.

Broad incumbents

• Troc.com: Established French second-hand furniture and household-goods resale chain. Overlaps with Le Nez au Vent's furniture and household-item resale line but operates as a for-profit retailer without the insertion mission.
• Cash Converters France: International franchise chain operating French second-hand retail outlets for furniture, electronics and household goods. Directly comparable on the resale-of-donated-or-trade-in-goods activity, though profit-oriented and broader in scope.
• Leboncoin: Dominant French peer-to-peer marketplace for used goods, including furniture, household items, clothing and books. Functions as a substitute channel for the customer transactions Le Nez au Vent conducts through its boutique.

Emerging players

• Vinted: Major online C2C resale platform for second-hand clothing and fashion; directly competes with Le Nez au Vent's Friperie / vintage clothing activity for budget-conscious and eco-conscious shoppers.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat3 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights5 records

Customer concentration

• Facebookfacebook.com/share/1BPS9H57iR/?mibextid=wwXIfr

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

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 le nez au vent