Breakage continues in the clothing sector. Based in Fougères (Ille-et-Vilaine), the manufacturer and distributor of shoes JB Martin, which has 120 employees, was placed in compulsory liquidation by the Commercial Court of Paris, we learned from a judicial source, confirming information from the regional daily newspaper Ouest-France. The company was declared in suspension of payments on May 26, specifies the court in its judgment dated Wednesday. A liquidator has been appointed.
RIP JB Martin 1921-2020 #shoes # Ferns pic.twitter.com/Z9KRTZUlZa
- Jean Bombeur (@RealJeanBombeur) June 4, 2020"Abandoned, we will all go to point", "Management without management. We are paying the bill, ”we could read Thursday on signs hanging on the windows of the historic site of Fougères. Employees "have bitterness, a sense of waste," said Yannick Desneux, CFDT union representative, on the sidelines of a staff meeting.
A society affected by many social plans
He pointed to "the great responsibility" of the shareholder, the financier Francis Lagarde, who, according to him, did not seek a buyer. "We could have done otherwise, with the notoriety of JB Martin in the world of footwear," said the unionist, stressing that it was a brand "almost centenary".
Founded in 1921 by Jean-Baptiste Martin, the company was affected by numerous social plans, the last of which was in 2009, when 70 people working in production were dismissed after a month of social conflict. "There were up to 1,200 to 1,400 employees in the 1970s. Everything was done on site," said Yannick Desneux. "From the 1970s, production went further and further," he added.
The last shoe factory
JB Martin was the last shoe factory in this Breton commune, which was a Mecca for this industry until the 1970s. "It's a page that turns for shoes in Fougères," said the unionist. "We were sick before the Covid, we had significant losses in 2019 but the Covid did not allow us to raise cash quickly".
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- Coronavirus
- Reindeer
- Covid 19
- Clothing
- Judicial liquidation
- Shoe
- Economy