Comptoir des Cotonniers, a brand owned by the Japanese clothing giant Fast Retailing, like Uniqlo, is preparing to close 74 stores in France and to cut 217 jobs there, the CGT assures on Wednesday in a press release denouncing "
the brutality
" of this job saving plan.
In detail, it will be 24 stores and 50 corners, spaces located within department stores.
To read also: Uniqlo, a story of stitches
“
Despite the very good results of Fast Retailing world, the management of Comptoir des Cotonniers wishes to close 74 stores, including all the stores located in Printemps and Galeries Lafayette: 40% of the workforce is affected by the social plan (i.e. 217 positions eliminated at this date)
”, specifies the Commerce Services federation of the only union present in the company.
Asked, the management did not follow up.
According to CGT union delegate Nathalie Michel, this announcement was made on February 8 during an extraordinary meeting of the social and economic committee and management has set the end of negotiations for May 11.
From the same source, the Comptoir des Cotonniers brand, founded in 1995 in the Toulouse region and acquired in 2005 by Fast Retailing, is present in several regions of the world, but mainly in France, where it employs 517 people and operates 191 points of sale.
In mid-January, the Japanese ready-to-wear juggernaut, with a strong presence in Asia, confirmed its forecasts for its 2020-2021 fiscal year which began on September 1 and expects an annual net profit of 1.3 billion euros, in increase of 82.6%.
Its big global rivals like Spain's Inditex (Zara) and Sweden's H&M are suffering more due to their greater presence in Europe, where tougher restrictions against Covid-19 are applied.
