The crisis in the clothing industry claimed another victim: the French retail chain Burton of London closed 26 of its 109 branches at the end of February. Up to 221 out of 441 jobs are potentially at risk.
The group – originally the French branch of an English brand founded in 1904 – was acquired by entrepreneur Thierry Le Guénic at the end of 2020 for a symbolic euro. Burton of London, which describes itself as “the most English of all French brands”, was placed in bankruptcy proceedings last October. Currently, the French ready-to-wear industry, with the brands André, Camaïeu, San Marina, Kookaï or Gap France, is experiencing a series of bankruptcies and judicial reorganization proceedings, due to the health crisis but also to competition from online sales and the second-hand goods market is.
“26 Burton stores will be closed from tomorrow Saturday,” including those in Aix-en-Provence, Clermont-Ferrand, La Roche-sur-Yon, Creteil, Montauban or Paris Montparnasse,” said Anne-Marie Da Costa, union representative the CFTC, told AFP on Friday.
The union, which controls Burton, added that according to the job security plan – approved a few days ago by the Regional Directorate for Business, Employment, Labor and Solidarity – “221 out of 441 workers will be made redundant”, “62 shops be closed or ceded and only 47 remain open”.
In a statement, the CFTC said it was “concerned about the remaining jobs and future operations of the business” and denounced “a real social cut”. For his part, Thierry Le Guénic, the majority shareholder, told AFP that the company “has been put under protection to create a new concept for Burton, which is achieved by having to make the company profitable”.
Refocusing on menswear
In the 47 stores that Burton of London is not closing or attempting to divest, the women’s collections will be phased out to “refocus on men” and the stores will add “other brands” of menswear. Three stores – Colmar, Rouen and Chartres – will be the first to test this multi-brand store concept.
“We will change the business model”, because “if we do the same thing, we will have the same result”, judges Thierry Le Guénic. In 2020, Le Guénic also bought the furniture store Habitat from the Cafom group and, together with the investor Stéphane Collaert, the Shoemaker San Marina, which filed for bankruptcy on Monday.
He also acquired ready-to-wear brand Paule Ka and lingerie brand Maison Lejaby, and is part of a trio of investors that includes Stéphane Collaert, who bought Chevignon from Vivarte in 2019. (AFP)
This translated post previously appeared on FashionUnited.fr.