It all started when he was 21 and studying business school. After completing a six-month internship in the United States, Arthur de Soultrait returned to France with the idea that would change his life: that of setting up your own brand who will eventually be baptized Viscount A. Everything will then very quickly accelerate. With the desire to break dress codes, he manages to land a contract worth nearly 36,000 euros to allow him to develop his business. At that time, he was 22 years old and had not yet graduated. Viscount A then obtained his place at the Galeries Lafayette and initially only sold ties, but Arthur de Soultrait quickly expanded his range with polo shirts which became a flagship product.
The following year, in 2006, Arthur’s brother, Bertrand de Soultrait joined the company and launched the brand on the East Coast of the United States where it was successfully developed Viscount A. In 2007, the first point of sale in France opened its doors in the very chic rue du Faubourg Saint Honoré in Paris. The same year, two other shops also followed in Paris. At the same time, the range extends with shirts, jackets, pants on sale and even a women’s collection. In 2013, eight years after his debut, the one who caused a scandal with Pippa Middleton achieved nearly 20 million euros in turnover and its brand is valued at 15 million euros, or 660 times the initial investment.
This adventure ended in 2014, when the market fell sharply. The entrepreneur then decides to sell his business to an investment fund. A few years later, Arthur de Soultrait is back in force with a new company, Thunderstone born in April 2018. The principle is to install terminals or tablets in multi-brand stores connected in real time to the stocks of partner brands. Thus, the customer can try on the item on display and then buy on the terminal in the color or size that suits him best. The order is then sent directly from the brand’s warehouses to the customer. Still considered a start-up, Thunderstone is nevertheless well on its way to revolutionizing physical sales.