This decision was awaited by the employees, in the absence of a candidate for the takeover of the company which had been in receivership since October 2022.
The home delivery company for food products Place du Marché (formerly Toupargel) was placed in compulsory liquidation on Friday, resulting in the loss of 1,900 jobs, according to a deliberation of the Lyon commercial court, which AFP was able to consult. In the absence of a candidate for the takeover of the company, which had been in receivership since October 2022, this decision was awaited by the employees.
The Lyon commercial court had given itself 48 hours on Wednesday to render its deliberation concerning this company based in Civrieux-d’Azergues (Rhône). But the outcome was hardly in doubt, because no buyer had filed an offer, despite the interest for a time shown by the discount brand Tazita. On Friday, the court thus placed Place du Marché (1,600 employees) and its two sister companies, Eismann and Touparlog (300 employees between them) in compulsory liquidation, according to its deliberations which AFP was able to consult. “There is no hope of recovery“, assured Wednesday Wafaa Kohily, the secretary (CGT) of the Social and Economic Committee (CSE).
A liquidation with heavy social plans
“Our priority is to work on the preparation of this judicial liquidation and to accompany the employees as well as possible with the State services so that they bounce back as quickly as possible.“, had affirmed for his part the president of the company Brieuc Fruchon. The 48-hour delay had been justified by the president of the court by “the importance of the case and the number of employees in the group“, according to Ms. Kohily. The liquidation will indeed lead to one of the most important social plans of recent months, after that of the textile brand Camaïeu in September (2,100 employees) and the elimination of 1,200 jobs (out of 2,300) announced at the end of December at Scopelec, a group specializing in communication technologies.
“Silence of the Bahadourians»
The situation of Place du Marché deteriorated very quickly: the group had requested its placement in safeguard proceedings at the end of October, then had been placed in receivership at the end of November 2022.Such a procedure in three months, putting 1,600 families on the floor, it’s grotesque!“, denounced Ms. Kohily, pinning in passing the “deafening silence of the Bahadourianson this file. The two brothers Léo and Patrick Bahadourian, shareholders of the flourishing Grand Frais brand, took over Toupargel in 2020 via the Agihold France holding company. They “did not botherto be at the hearing on Wednesday, lamented the union official.
“Once again some people’s capital comes before broken lives“, she added, pointing out that the unions were demanding “100,000 euros per employee of supralegal bonus, given the heritage of the Bahadourians“, ranked 90th fortune of France in 2022 by the magazine Challenges. After its takeover, Toupargel was renamed Place du Marché in 2021, with the idea of significantly extending its offer beyond frozen food, towards fresh products and groceries. Some products distributed came from the same suppliers as Grand Frais. The project also aimed to accelerate online sales, while the company built its model on telephone sales.
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But this strategy failed, fueling a drop in sales, which fell from 271 million euros in 2017 to 200 million in 2021-2022. “The average age of our clientele is quite high, many are over 70 and do not have access or do not know how to use the internet. The name change also disturbed her“Explained Lise Delaizé, CGT delegate and telemarketer for 24 years. And if the liquidation represents a real shock for the employees, it will also affect, according to them, part of the clientele. “For many people, the Place du Marché delivery man was the only person they saw during the day, especially in rural areas.“, said Wednesday Lionel Massa, elected FO at the CSE, himself a delivery man in the Saint-Brieuc region.