It are difficult times for shoe retail, not only in Belgium and the Netherlands, but also in France: Vivarte will discard 100 of its 680 La Halle Aux Chaussures stores and sell its Spanish subsidiary Merkal.
400 to 500 jobs lost
Vivarte is the French clothing group which owns about 15 brands and chains, like André, Minelli and La Halle aux Vêtements and it just announced it wants to get rid of 100 of its 680 shoe stores. According to labour union CFDT, by any means necessary: “sale, franchising or a merger with clothing affiliate La Halle aux Vêtements” are all possible apparently.
The labour unions fear the worst: the 100 most onerous stores will be targeted (and according to CGT, 150 La Halle aux Chaussures stores are onerous) and if no solution is found, they may be closed and 400 to 600 people (out of 2,800 employees at the chain) may lose their job.
1.3 billion euro debt
The Vivarte board also decided to put its Spanish shoe chain subsidiary Merkal up for sale. Unlike La Halle aux Chaussures, Merkal is performing very well, is very profitable and could actually create a bit of financial breathing space for the company, something it sorely needs due to the financial trouble the French retail group is in. Vivarte faces a 1.3 billion euro debt and major shareholders (4 investment funds) are turning up the pressure.
It is not the first time this year Vivarte has put up brands for sale, with Kookai, Chevignon and Pataugas as its most recent examples in June 2016. Only last year, the French retail group, which employs 15,000 people, said it would cut 1,600 jobs in its clothing division because of the increased competition from companies like H&M, Zara and Primark.
