Go Sport will finally be decided on its fate in mid-January 2023

The 2000 employees of Go Sport will have to wait another month before being fixed on the fate of their company. While a decision from the Grenoble Commercial Court was expected on Wednesday, the courts preferred to give themselves additional time to render their decision.

If certain elements suggested that the chain of stores specializing in the sale of sports products would be placed in receivership, the court ruled that it was not able to decide. An independent investigating judge has therefore been appointed to continue the investigations and a new hearing will be held on January 16. With this decision, the Grenoble prosecutor’s office intends to send “a message of vigilance but also of confidence, which calls for the mobilization of all players to save the company“, is it written in a press release.

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The judge will rely on documents already presented to the court, in particular the conclusions of the auditors of Go Sport, according to which the group is in cessation of payments in October and November. The group’s financial results in December and January will be decisive in the judgment rendered in early 2023, according to a source familiar with the matter.

“The challenge is to determine with certainty the amount of Go Sport’s debt, a subject on which doubts remain“, explains Evelyn Bledniak, employee lawyer. According to the group’s auditors, the debt amounts to 36.3 million euros.

Management and employee representatives cross swords over the company’s financial situation. On the one hand, the parent company of Go Sport, named Hermione People & Brands, argues that the chain of stores is not in default, based on a report it commissioned from an audit firm . On the other hand, the unions are alerting on the other hand on the finances of the company, worried about the conclusions made by the auditors and an independent expert appointed by them.