Camaieu, “it’s a brand that has value, which has been the leader in women’s ready-to-wear for decades in France and we want to try to relaunch it,” said the president. by Celio, Sebastien Bismuth. The men’s ready-to-wear brand bought this brand on Wednesday for 1.8 million euros at an auction in Vendeville (North), by the Mercier house.
Celio and Camaieu “have always been two sister companies, which had the same positioning”, respectively for men and women, he added. However, this relaunch “will take time, we are not going to open stores overnight,” said Sébastien Bismuth.
In a press release, Celio France underlined its desire to “revive this iconic French brand, known and loved by several million women” thanks to its “expertise”. “The sale concerned the two names of Camaieu, its old name with umlaut and its new without umlaut”, specified the management of Celio. Founded in 1984 in Roubaix, the brand was known for its “basics” available in multiple colors.
Hope for the future of the brand
In addition to the brand, logos and domain names of Camaïeu, acquired by Celio, the auction involved lots of clothing and accessories from Camaieu, sold for sums sometimes reaching 100,000 euros per lot.
“What is interesting is that the brand has been taken over, so there will be another story,” said CGT union representative Thierry Siwik after the sale, saying that there were “a lot of expectation from our customers. “A group like Celio has the means to set up a project around this brand,” he wants to believe.
VIDEO. Closure of Camaïeu in France: “We are in mourning”, confides an employee
The northern ready-to-wear giant was placed in compulsory liquidation on September 28 by the Lille Commercial Court, two years after its takeover by Hermione People and Brands, a subsidiary of Financière immobilière bordelaise (FIB).
Already very fragile at the time of its takeover, Camaieu was confronted with a wave of major and unprecedented successive crises due to the COVID crisis, repeated confinements (…) and the disorganization of global transport”. The liquidation had left approximately 2,100 employees unemployed.
A first auction had enabled the hard discount brand Noz to buy two million pieces for 4.2 million euros. These products have since been resold in chain stores.