Fifteen potential takeovers for the down jacket brand Jott

Around fifteen candidates have submitted a takeover offer for the Marseille clothing company Jott. The company filed for bankruptcy at the Marseille Economic Court (TAE) in December, management announced on Friday.

“Jott has attracted great interest thanks to the popularity the brand enjoys,” company management said in a statement. In total, around fifty actors came forward to obtain information.

Around fifteen of them ultimately submitted a takeover offer. The candidates had until January 5th to position themselves. Jott reports that the interested parties have “different profiles”: “industrialists, financial investors, family offices and brand managers”.

The offers will be examined during February. The evaluation criteria are jobs, financing of business operations and repayment to creditors, according to the statement. A decision is expected in the second half of March.

Jott “does not want to make any comment on the offers” in detail. The company employs 183 people and, according to documents submitted to the court, achieved sales of 24 million euros. The Jott brand (“Just over the top”) was founded in Marseille in 2010 and became known for its light and colorful down jackets.

“Mode in Sud”, the association of fashion companies in the region, described the bankruptcy filing in a statement at the time as “significant for our fashion ecosystem in the south”. “Jott is not just a local company, but a Marseille success story.”

In recent years, the French ready-to-wear industry has been suffering from a serious crisis. It is burdened by competition from second-hand fashion and ultra-fast fashion from Asia.