Camaieu and its 2,600 employees in the cable: the Hauts-de-France region and the shareholder of the northern ready-to-wear brand said they were ready on Wednesday to inject more money to avoid liquidation, if the State also provides financial support, before a decisive hearing before the commercial court. The Region and the European metropolis of Lille are “ready to put money on the table” to save Camaieu “if the State makes a gesture”, the cabinet of the LR des Hauts-de-France chief, Xavier Bertrand, told AFP.
“Aucun engagement formal n’a été pris” de la part de la Première ministre Elisabeth Borne, avec qui Xavier Bertrand s’est entretenu dans la matinée, mais “le dossier continue d’être étudié” par le gouvernement, at- is added .
The shareholder, Hermione People and Brands (HPB), had told AFP early this morning that it was willing to inject more funds to save the brand, if the state agreed to provide financial support. “The shareholder is ready to settle in a round table with additional financing”, HPB management, its president, Wilhelm Hubner, had assured, calling “all public actors, state and local authorities” to an “urgent meeting”.
HPB had indicated on Monday that it had requested an advance of 48 million euros from the State, but Bercy had judged that this request was not “realistic”, as the State could not “in any case replace the shareholders”.
Autumn-winter season
The shareholder’s continuity plan, which will have to be examined two months after the bankruptcy of the brand, foresees the closure of 208 stores and the elimination of some 500 jobs, but it would make it possible to avoid the social catastrophe of a liquidation: 2,600 jobs Cut. The shareholder hopes to buy some time to relaunch his brand, harassed by the health crisis and a costly cyberattack. “The hour is serious, it requires the mobilization of all,” insisted Wilhelm Hubner on Wednesday.
A total of 79.2 million euros is needed, according to HPB, over the next eight months to ensure, among other things, purchases for the autumn-winter season and to prepare the spring collection. The plan so far provides for an initial payment of 14 million euros from the Financière immobilière bordelaise (FIB) of businessman Michel Ohayon – of which HPB is a subsidiary – to buy the Camaieu headquarters and warehouse in Roubaix. These would then be “valued” and resold for an estimated $55-60 million.
HPB “is the only one” capable of saving the brand, after the withdrawal of several candidates for the acquisition, including the US fund Gordon Brothers, Wilhelm Hubner told AFP on Monday.
Source: BFM TV
