It's a relief ... at least until the next hardship. Tuesday, the Grenoble commercial court validated the offer to take over the footwear brand André, according to information from Franceinfo confirmed by Europe 1. It is François Feijoo, former boss of the company between 2005 and 2013, who takes up the challenge. The last to have succeeded in making money for the group. But the weight loss cure will be severe. François Feijoo is only to take over 55 stores out of the 180 existing points of sale. Only 221 jobs will be maintained out of 409.
A legendary brand
André nevertheless remains a mythical brand in the shoe world. The story begins in 1896, in Nancy, when Albert Lévy joins forces with a namesake, Jérôme Lévy, to start making shoes. They have a vision: it is necessary to manufacture and especially then mass sell shoes not too expensive in stores.
Ironically, at the start, the brand should have been called Mathieu. It was in 1904, when Lévy and Lévy bought two stores called André, that they decided to change their names. In 1978, a record year: the group sells more than 10 million pairs of shoes. André will have up to 500 stores in France and abroad. But this time, the recovery promises to be much more modest.