Shoemaker Clergerie once again in receivership

The iconic shoemaker Clergerie, a symbol of French know-how and in difficulty for years, was once again placed in receivership on December 4, according to an announcement from the Romans-sur-Isère commercial court consulted on Wednesday February 26 by AFP.

Clergerie had already been placed in receivership in 2023, before being taken over the same year by a Californian company, at the cost of relocating part of the production and cutting jobs.

The company founded in 1981 in Romans-sur-Isère (Drôme) by Robert Clergerie, has been insolvent since December 2, the Romans commercial court ruled in its judgment. The information was revealed by the specialist website FashionNetwork.

Titan Footwear, a subsidiary of the American group Titan Industries, which took over Clergerie, had promised in 2023 to maintain "minimum manufacturing in the Romans workshops", while relying on a Spanish company whose "collaborations are in India, China and Morocco" to relocate part of the production.

In mid-2023, the company had committed to keeping only part of its staff: around thirty jobs (out of around 90) for the production part, a dozen (out of around 20) for design and marketing and around twenty (out of more than 30) for product marketing.

Clergerie, which exported its shoes to Hollywood during its golden age and dressed the feet of Lauren Bacall to Madonna, was one of the last to manufacture leather shoes in its factory in France, just like Paraboot, JM Weston and Heschung.

But the shoemaker has suffered from the unfavourable economic climate which has hit ready-to-wear hard in recent years.