Popular brands are failing one after the other because of the health crisis.
During the summer of 2020, the chain of grill restaurants Courtepaille was placed in receivership before finally being acquired by its competitor Buffalo Grill. Four months later, it is another brand well known to families who is in great difficulty: Flunch, known in particular for its unlimited vegetables and its famous slogan "
Only at Flunch we can fluncher
".
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Friday, January 29, Flunch, which belongs to the Mulliez group (Auchan, Leroy Merlin, Decathlon, Kiabi ...) asked to be placed in the safeguard procedure and plans to sell around sixty establishments.
"
A maximum of 1,300 people
", or a quarter of the total workforce, would be threatened, according to the company.
A hell of a blow for a brand which will celebrate its 50th anniversary this year.
From cafeterias to food halls
Before Covid-19, Flunch served 55 million customers per year in 227 restaurants in France.
Most are based in the north of France, where the brand was created in 1971 (in Lille) and where it has its head office (in Villeneuve-d'Ascq).
Hard hit by the health crisis, Flunch saw its turnover collapse by nearly 212 million euros (-57%) in 2020 for the 161 owned restaurants in France.
Read also: Restaurant chains weakened by the Covid
The cafeteria principle, which has made the company successful for several decades, is no longer in line with current consumption patterns.
The Covid crisis has only amplified the extent of the damage.
"
We did not expect a plan of such magnitude
, reacted Grégory Dubois, central union delegate CFDT, while acknowledging that"
well before the health crisis, the company was already not in great shape
.
To remedy this, the new general manager put in place a plan last September, “Cap à 5 ans”.
The goal ?
Replace cafeterias with “food halls”.
This concept, which is a hit across the Atlantic and in Europe, is developing more and more in France (Paris, Lyon, Marseille, Bordeaux, etc.).
These huge spaces offer different types of cuisine in one place where life is good.