The company is working “from now on the continuation plan” to save its 2,751 employees.
History repeats itself: two years after its takeover by Financière immobilière bordelaise, the northern ready-to-wear giant Camaïeu, weighed down in particular by the health crisis, has again been placed in receivership by the Lille commercial court. . “We take note of the decision of the court which pronounces the opening of a receivership procedure at the request of Camaïeu“, who had declared himself last Monday in cessation of payments, indicated the direction to AFP, specifying to work “from now on to the continuation plan“.
The objective of the brand, which employs 2,571 people in 538 stores in France, “is to preserve the activity of the company and the Camaïeu brand“, she added. “This decision should allow Camaïeu, a historic brand of French textiles, to have a period of observation and then to present a continuation plan in order to continue the transformation initiated by the group and thus ensure the sustainability of the company.“, developed in a press release Hermione People and Brands (HPB), the distribution division of the FIB of the Bordeaux businessman Michel Ohayon. The group, which notably owns Go Sport, La Grande Récré and 23 Galeries Lafayette affiliated stores, intends to play on “synergiesWithin it, a source close to the management had indicated during the hearing on Wednesday.
A “wave of crises»
To justify its request for placement in recovery, Camaïeu had invoked in particular last week “the results“of a judgment of the Court of Cassation, dated June 30, “refusing to traders the lower rents of the Covid period“. Even before this stop, the sign had been “largely weakened” by one “period of several months marked by a series of exogenous difficulties“, noted HPB on Monday. The group invokesa wave of successive major and unprecedented crises due to the Covid crisis, repeated confinements (…) and the disorganization of global transport“. HPB also cites a “massive cyberattack” — at a cost estimated by management at 40 million euros — “as well as the consequences of the war in Ukraine and the increase in the price of raw materials“.
Unpaid “from 50 to 60 million euros»
HPB Chairman Wilhelm Hubner clarified on Wednesday:that part of the rentshad been suspended in June 2021, to initiate negotiations with donors, some of whomwent to litigation“. “Even if the court validates a continuity plan, there will be a reorganization of the workforce, therefore a social plan, therefore social damage“, reacted for AFP Thierry Siwik, CGT delegate of Camaïeu. “To minimize this social damage, we are going to build an action with the CGT HPB“, he added. According to Thierry Siwik, unpaid rent concerns “between 250 and 300» stores, for an amount of «50 to 60 million euros“, a debt “considerable“.
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Nordine Misraoui, CFDT secretary of the CSE, asserted himself “confidenton the sidelines of the hearing on Wednesday, while expressing concern that “some stores» close. “Our shareholder will have to put money back on the table (…) His credibility depends on all the brands he wears.“, he noted. In August 2020, the FIB had taken over 511 of the 634 stores in France and around 2,600 employees out of more than 3,100, as part of a restructuring led by the commercial court. She had launched a major transformation plan.
The new management had given itself two years to bring the company back into balance, with the objective of returning to a turnover of 552 million in 2022, at the level of 2019. But according to management, the turnover business reached only 333 million over the 16 months after the recovery. “The recovery took place in an appalling context“, had pointed to AFP a year ago Wilhelm Hubner.
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The brand, which has 538 stores in France, had requested the opening of this procedure last Monday, declaring itself in cessation of payments, weighed down in particular by unpaid rents. This request was madeafter a period of several months marked by a series of exogenous difficulties“, developed HPB. “Already very fragile at the time of its recovery“in 2020”Camaïeu has been confronted with a wave of major and unprecedented successive crises due to the COVID crisis, repeated confinements (…) and the disorganization of global transport“, According to the press release.
HPB also cites a “cyberattack on an exceptional scale as well as the consequences of the war in Ukraine and the increase in the price of raw materials“. “Already largely weakened by this succession of unprecedented facts, Camaïeu has had to face, since June 30, the judgment of the Court of Cassation, refusing to traders the right to request a reduction in their rents for the Covid period.adds HPB. “Even if the court validates a continuity plan, we know very well that there will be a reorganization of the workforce, therefore a social plan, therefore social damage“, reacted for AFP Thierry Siwik, CGT delegate of Camaïeu. “To minimize this social damage, we are going to build an action with the CGT HPB“, he added.
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