There are several stores in the Alpes-Maritimes and in the Var: the Jennyfer brand partially taken over by the Beaumanoir Group

"I am convinced that only takeovers by solid groups like the Beaumanoir Group, offering a coherent ecosystem and adequate resources, succeed," said Roland Beaumanoir, president of the Breton group bringing together a multitude of brands such as Caroll, Bonobo and Cache Cache, in a press release.

The group has "demonstrated its ability to take over companies in complex contexts and to get them back on their feet while preserving jobs as much as possible; almost 5,000 accumulated over the course of successive takeovers" , adds the same document, citing La Halle, Caroll, Sarenza and Boardriders (Quiksilver, Roxy, Billabong, DC Shoes).

Beaumanoir has offered to take on 350 employees (including 150 redeployments for employees of non-taken-over stores) and 26 points of sale of the brand, which had been placed in receivership at the end of April in France.

He intends to deploy his brands in the 26 stores "selected for their strategic location" and gradually relaunch Jennyfer in order to "attract a younger clientele, complementary to the current targets of his brands" , he explains.

A redeployment which will take place first via its Sarenza.com website, "followed by the implementation of specific ranges in its network of stores" .

The men's ready-to-wear brand Celio told AFP that it was taking on 47 employees and seven stores which "will be transformed into Celio bi-stores" , i.e. presenting both Celio men's collections and Be Camaïeu women's collections.

"A partial safeguard of jobs"

For this takeover, the Beaumanoir/Celio consortium has put more than 2 million euros on the table .

Eleven takeover offers had been made to the court, notably by Pimkie and Jules.

The CGT Commerce et Services union declared in a press release that it could not "be satisfied with a partial safeguarding of jobs. From tomorrow morning, more than 600 of the brand's workers will find themselves without a job."

The federation called for a "legislative and regulatory framework so that employers can no longer liquidate companies through financial arrangements."

Twists and turns

"The explosion in costs, the decline in purchasing power, changes in the textile market and increasingly aggressive international competition have made its economic model untenable," Jennyfer's management told AFP in April when the liquidation was announced.

Founded in 1984, Jennyfer had, by mid-2024, 220 stores in France and 80 internationally , notably in Belgium, and claimed an annual turnover of around 250 million euros.

But the brand has faced a series of challenges, despite constantly trying to reinvent itself. In vain.

Placed in receivership in June 2023 due to the "sudden increase in costs combined with galloping inflation" , the company announced its exit less than a year ago, announcing "an initial investment of 15 million euros" and "the arrival of a new shareholder" .

"The group failed to achieve the objectives (...) set"

A job protection plan (PSE) had been implemented in the meantime, leading to the elimination of 75 jobs (60 at headquarters and 15 in warehouses) without closing any stores.

The company had once tried to relaunch itself with a new brand identity, "Don't Call Me Jennyfer," which failed to resonate with customers and ultimately reverted to its historic name, Jennyfer, in 2024.

Despite the reduction in staff, investments and name changes, "the group has not managed to achieve the objectives (...) set" , noted the Bobigny commercial court on Thursday.

In the context of the crisis facing the ready-to-wear industry, Jennyfer is not the only brand to multiply its attempts at survival . Naf Naf, barely acquired, was again placed in receivership in May , for the third time in its history, like the shoemaker André , which has undergone the same procedure three times in five years .