Inside a store of the Daniel X Diamond brand, owned by Titan Footwear which will take over the French shoemaker Clergerie, on January 6, 2023 in Nashville, Tennessee (GETTY IMAGES NORTH AMERICA/AFP/Archives/Jason Kempin)
The American company Titan Footwear will take over the emblematic shoemaker Clergerie, in receivership since the end of March and which was one of the last to manufacture its leather shoes in France, according to a decision of the Paris commercial court consulted by AFP .
“The insolvency administrators are in favor of Titan’s proposal, it is the only option that avoids a dry liquidation”, can we read in this document.
The Californian company specializing in “haute couture” shoes, the only one to have maintained its offer, should take over 45% of the Clergerie workforce and relocate part of the production which until now remained entirely in Romans-sur-Isère (Drôme) , in the historic factory.
Titan Footwear wants to “preserve the high-end positioning” of the brand, the lawyer for the buyer Laurent Azoulai, from the firm T&A Associés, specializing in this type of takeover, told AFP on Thursday.
The latter confirmed with AFP that Titan Footwear had bought Clergerie for 700,000 euros, with “initial investments (revival of activity and brand)” of an amount of 6.5 million, according to the terms of the offer registered mid -June at the registry of the Paris Commercial Court and consulted by AFP.
Titan Footwear, a subsidiary of the Californian group Titan Industries, owns brands such as Daniel X Diamond and Badgley Mischka, and says it achieved gross annual sales of $50 million in 2022.
The company is committed to maintaining 45% of the workforce, i.e. 59 of the 134 employees, by making significant reductions, particularly among technical staff (stitching operators, prototyping, assembly, retouching, finishing, etc.)
Robert Clergerie, founder of the shoemaker of the same name, in Paris, November 30, 2017 (AFP/Archives/Martin BUREAU)
But this offer “risks being improved” with more job retention, according to a source familiar with the matter at AFP.
“They are committed to maintaining the workforce for two years but after that, what are they going to do? We are afraid that they will keep the brand and produce entirely abroad”, was moved with AFP Christophe Chanron, CFE-CGC union representative, at the Paris Commercial Court on June 14.
If the group has promised to keep a “minimum production in the workshops of Romans”, it intends to lean on a Spanish company whose “collaborations are made in India, China and Morocco” to relocate part of the production, can we read in the takeover offer.
It would be a historic break for the shoemaker, which was until now one of the last to manufacture leather shoes in France in its factory, just like Paraboot, JM Weston or Heschung.
From Lauren Bacall to Madonna, the biggest stars have had Clergerie on their feet.
In financial difficulty, the company founded in 1981 in Romans-sur-Isère by Robert Clergerie had, during its golden age, exported its shoes to Hollywood and its historic store in the center of Paris sold up to 11,000 pairs per year.
© 2023 AFP
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