It all began in 1889 in Lyon, France. Two brothers, Léon and Laurent Vielle, set up a metal "nickel plating" business, while Charles Idoux and Lucien Chanel began manufacturing and selling bicycle parts. The former created Établissements Métallurgiques du Rhône (EMR), which operated the AVA brand, while the latter created MAVIC: Manufacture d' Articles Vélocipédiques Idoux et Chanel. What these two companies had in common was their CEO, Henry Gormand.