The ailing fashion group C&A is facing upheaval.
CEO Giny Boer announced a restructuring of the company, which will result in job cuts.
Düsseldorf - In order to lead the ailing fashion group C&A into a profitable future, CEO Giny Boer is apparently planning a fundamental realignment of the company.
The 59-year-old, who moved to the top of the Belgian-German fashion chain over a year ago, is planning major changes in the group structure in two areas in particular.
The restructuring will probably take place at the expense of jobs.
C&A before restructuring: online trade in focus - Düsseldorf location to be strengthened
As
Manager Magazin
reported last Wednesday, Boer should see additional investments in C & A's online business as a central point in the company's realignment.
Especially in times of the corona pandemic, in which the sales of the classic retail trade had fallen further into the abyss, a well-running online business represents a basis for survival for companies. But this sector in particular has been severely neglected at C&A in the past and will probably also be therefore declared a top priority by Boer.
As a second point, the C&A boss is planning a restructuring of the administration.
The 57-year-old hopes that this will centralize the tasks and thus accelerate the processes involved.
These measures could effectively affect the Belgian headquarters in Brussels in particular.
According to insiders, this could be eliminated in the future as part of the restructuring.
This would go hand in hand with a strengthening of the Düsseldorf location, where the company's second head office is currently located and from where the company could be managed centrally in the future.
C&A confirms job cuts - consequence of realignment
The country organizations of the fashion chain are also to be restructured in the future. Germany, as the most important sales market, is to be retained as an independent organization. The remaining markets are to be combined in Southern Europe, Central Eastern Europe and Benelux. In this context, C&A has already confirmed the cutbacks in the company. How many of the approximately 23,000 Europe-wide employees will be affected by the lost jobs has apparently not yet been finalized.
C&A had already recorded significant losses in the 2019/2020 annual balance sheet.
The company's turnover fell by 2.26 to 2.16 billion euros.
A decrease of more than 50 percent and that, mind you, before the coronavirus pandemic led to temporary store closings in large parts of Europe.
The balance sheet for the 2020/2021 financial year is therefore likely to be even more devastating.
C&A in crisis - Boer is supposed to get the fashion company back on track
Giny Boer followed the former Rewe boss Alain Caparros to the top of C&A in January 2021 after the latter failed with a reorientation of the group.
The 57-year-old previously held various positions at the Swedish furniture giant Ikea for over 23 years.
Primark is seen as the reason for the slump in sales at C&A, in addition to the dwindling relevance of classic retail in city centers, as well as the increasing competition from discount chains.
(fd)