2023-06-05 20:50:02
The Fast Retailing France group, a subsidiary of the Japanese giant of the same name, announced on Monday June 5 that it is considering the closure of 55 stores of the Comptoir des Cotonniers and Princesse Tam Tam clothing brands out of 136 in France, as well as the elimination of 304 positions.
The announcement of this “distribution strategy overhaul project” and of “reorganization of the network of points of sale” was made on May 23 to the representative bodies of the staff of the two brands, the group told AFP, confirming information from the specialized site FashionNetwork.
Comptoir des Cotonniers (women’s clothing) and Princesse Tam Tam (lingerie) are two companies owned by Fast Retailing France, an entity of the Japanese textile giant whose flagship brand is Uniqlo.
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The objective of the plan is to “continue to adapt Fast Retailing France to changes in the clothing market and stem the serious difficulties encountered by the company and its subsidiaries in order to ensure their sustainability”according to the group.
“The situation today is such that it no longer allows Fast Retailing France to continue without risking compromising its future and that of its brands. Especially since no prospect of a real recovery is envisaged.says the group.
Concerning Comptoir des Cotonniers, the project provides for the closure of 28 points of sale out of the 67 currently operated in France, and the elimination of 101 positions out of 272 permanent contracts. For Princesse Tam Tam, the closure of 27 points of sale out of 69 is planned, as well as the elimination of 84 positions out of 235 permanent contracts.
To this is added the elimination of 119 positions within Fast Retailing France “in order to adapt the workforce to the reorganization of the distribution network but also to reduce its oversizing”. “The objective is to end the closures (of shops) by August 2024, but the support for employees will be done over a longer period”the group said.
The difficulties of ready-to-wear
The ready-to-wear sector in France has been shaken for several months by a violent crisis, which resulted in particular in the liquidation of Camaïeu in September 2022 and the placements in receivership at the beginning of this year of Go Sport (since largely taken over by Intersport) and Gap France (partially taken over by JD Sports).
Kookai also announced the closure of 20 stores, while the shoemaker San Marina (650 employees) was placed in compulsory liquidation.
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