"The company Office Depot France announces that it has been placed in receivership in order to face the major difficulties linked in particular to the Covid-19 crisis", the company said on Friday in a statement.
Office Depot France, which specializes in office supplies, announced Friday its placement in receivership, a consequence of the Covid-19 crisis which hampered its transformation plan and generated "substantial financing needs".
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"At the end of a hearing at the Lille-Métropole Commercial Court and at the request of the company, Office Depot France announces that it has been placed in receivership in order to face the major difficulties linked in particular to the crisis Covid-19 which directly impacted the transformation plan initiated by the new management upon its arrival in March 2019, "the company said in a statement.
The company employs some 1,750 people in France.
Decrease in turnover of nearly 20% in 2020
This transformation plan, which should allow the company to raise its head after difficulties in recent years, aimed to return to profitability from 2021 and "began to produce its effects when the health and economic crisis intervened", assures Office Depot France.
But "this unprecedented crisis marked a halt in the deployment of this transformation plan, generating a significant financing requirement", explains the company, which says it has suffered a drop in turnover of nearly 20% in 2020 with the effect of increasing its economic difficulties.
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This judicial reorganization "will allow management, with the support of the procedural bodies, to continue operating the company, to give itself time to bring out all solutions likely to sustain its activities but also to accelerate the completion of its transformation plan, "the statement continued.
Specializing in office equipment and supplies, Office Depot France currently operates 60 stores, e-commerce sites as well as an integrated logistics center with three warehouses and 22 distribution platforms, according to figures given in the press release.