Ready-to-wear: strike day at Princesse Tam Tam and Comptoir des Cotonniers

To the cry of "The counters and the princesses are angry" , around fifty employees of the Comptoir des Cotonniers and Princesse Tam Tam brands gathered in Paris, rue Scribe, in front of the Uniqlo store, operated by their parent company, Fast Retailing, on Thursday, July 10.

The Japanese group, with a turnover of 18 billion euros, had requested the judicial reorganization of its two subsidiaries on June 20th at the Paris Economic Activities Court. This became effective on July ^1st .

Nearly a third of the hundred stores it operates are threatened as part of a "recovery plan," Fast Retailing France, which employs nearly 500 people there, announced at the time. According to information from Le Monde , the restructuring plan notably concerns sixty-five employees in twenty-six stores. "Women, especially," notes Véronique Révillod, general secretary of the CFDT Services Federation. In addition, positions at headquarters will be eliminated.

Twenty Princesse Tam Tam stores, including eight of the twelve operated in Paris, and six Comptoir des Cotonniers stores, including three in the capital, are slated for closure. Although it plans to relaunch these two high-end brands, the group has chosen to write off thirteen locations located in the Paris region, a catchment area known for its strong purchasing power. "Fast Retailing has been making mistakes for a long time," points out a Princesse Tam Tam employee, who, like Frédéric Biousse, former head of Comptoir des Cotonniers, has little faith in the revival announced by Fast Retailing by operating stores selling the two brands.

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