The announcement of this "project to overhaul the distribution strategy" and "reorganization of the network of points of sale" was made on May 23 to the representative bodies of the staff of the two brands, said the group to AFP, confirming information from the specialized site FashionNetwork.

Comptoir des Cotonniers (women's clothing) and Princesse Tam Tam (lingerie) are owned by Fast Retailing France, an entity of the Japanese textile giant whose flagship brand is Uniqlo.

The objective of the plan is to "continue to adapt Fast Retailing France to changes in the clothing market and to stem the serious difficulties encountered by the company and its subsidiaries to ensure their sustainability," according to the group.

"The situation is now 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 real recovery is envisaged," says the group.

Regarding 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 envisaged, as well as the elimination of 84 positions out of 235 permanent contracts.

Added to this is 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".

In Uniqlo stores, a brand that "enjoys a strong attractiveness", the group plans to set up "corners" offering Princess Tam Tam and Comptoir des Cotonniers items, and announces "in the near future, in major cities, a new concept of stores combining" the offer of the two brands.

The project also aims to "accelerate" online sales.

"The objective is to close the closures (of stores) by August 2024, but the support of employees will be done over a longer period," said the group.

Negotiations on this reorganization plan "are ongoing", and "the objective is to limit as much as possible its impact on employees and redundancies" via "a very comprehensive social support system that would include proposals for reclassification within the group and a voluntary redundancy plan", according to the group.

"To support employees whose departure could not be avoided, appropriate support measures for external redeployment should also be put in place (training, assistance with business creation, redeployment leave, etc.)," he detailed.

The ready-to-wear sector in France has been shaken for several months by a violent crisis, which resulted in the liquidation of Camaïeu in September 2022 and the placement 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 liquidation.

© 2023 AFP