Could a court decision in June put many companies in difficulty?
In any case, this is what the San Marina shoe brand suggests.
Formerly owned by the Vivarte group, the company, which employs 680 people in 163 stores in France, has requested its placement in receivership by the Marseille commercial court, it announced in a press release on Tuesday.
San Marina, based in Gémenos, in the Bouches-du-Rhône, says in particular that it has suffered the backlash of the judgment of the Court of Cassation which forced, last June, so-called non-essential traders and who had had to keep their doors closed during from the spring 2020 confinement to pay their rents.
“After a disappointing summer season for the market”, completes the company, it “requests the opening of a receivership for its benefit with the Commercial Court of Marseille”.
The hearing is scheduled for Thursday and “a judgment will be rendered shortly after this hearing”.
San Marina, which says it is "not in a position to assume at the same time, in particular, the payment of its current rents and the immediate repayment of its debt due", intends to propose "a recovery plan which will include a repayment spread over a maximum duration of ten years” of debts dating from before the reorganization procedure.
Camaïeu had already targeted this court decision
The company, which had been sold at the beginning of 2020 by Vivarte to Stéphane Collaert, had already announced in the spring of 2022 a job protection plan (PSE) "covering 152 out of 680 positions" and "the adaptation of its fleet of stores”.
At the time of entering into negotiations with Vivarte, there was talk of 230 stores, the brand claimed 163 on Tuesday.
The management, which informed the social and economic committee (CSE) of the brand on Tuesday of this request for receivership, specifies that the PSE should be "temporarily suspended" during the observation period following the receivership. judicial.
At the beginning of August, another French ready-to-wear brand, Camaïeu, had requested its receivership, citing "the consequences" of the judgment of the Court of Cassation.
The textile distribution sector, particularly in the mid-range, has been suffering for years in France.
Business remains complicated this year, notably with concerns about purchasing power, which are pushing many consumers to postpone their purchases of clothing, considered to be less of a priority than food or children's equipment, for example.
