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Générale pour l’Enfant (GPE) declared itself in cessation of payments on March 6, and benefits from a six-month observation period.
New blow in ready-to-wear… Générale pour l’Enfant (GPE), parent company of the children’s brands Du Pareil Au Meilleur (DPAM) and Sergent Major, was placed in receivership on March 14, according to a court decision. GPE declared itself in cessation of payments on March 6 and benefits from an observation period of six months, until September 16, according to the decision of the Bobigny commercial court (Seine-Saint-Denis). Last June, GPE management announced the placement of the DPAM brand in receivership, while Sergent Major was placed in safeguard proceedings.
Sergeant Major was finally also placed in receivership in December, according to the commercial court. The group indicated in June that it had been “impacted” by “social crises, the Covid-19 pandemic, the energy crisis and inflation”. A source close to the matter then specified that GPE, which also owns the Natalys brand and employed 2,500 employees, had suffered a decline of 100 million euros in its turnover over the Covid period. “due to store closures during the pandemic”. The turnover had reached 275 million euros in 2022, added this source. Camaïeu, Kookaï, Naf Naf, Gap France, Don’t Call me Jennyfer, André, San Marina, Minelli, Pimkie, Comptoir des Cotonniers, DPAM, Sergent Major, Princesse Tam Tam, Kaporal, IKKS… Ready-to-wear Porter has been going through a violent crisis for over a year.
It was fatal for certain brands, which were liquidated, such as Camaïeu in September 2022, with the dismissal of 2,100 employees which had strongly marked people’s minds. Some companies are cutting staff and closing stores, like Pimkie. Others are placed in receivership, like Naf Naf, or, more rarely, are liquidated, like Camaïeu or San Marina and Burton of London more recently. These well-known brands in French city centers have suffered from an explosive cocktail: pandemic, inflation, rising prices of energy, raw materials, rents and wages, or even competition from second-hand and “fast fashion”. The volume of sales in the fashion sector fell by 4% in 2023, according to the French Fashion Institute (IFM).