Vivarte gets flood of bids for La Halle, 600+ stores could be saved

By

Sandra Halliday

Published
Jun 12, 2020

French group Vivarte has said that takeover offers for its fashion brand La Halle could mean up to 607 stores staying open and more than 4,000 jobs could be saved.

The company has received 25 offers for a partial takeover of the brand, nearly four times the number expected, Vivarte CEO and chairman Patrick Puy said on Friday in an RTL radio interview. He also said that he’s hoping for more offers.

The news comes after Vivarte has spent several years dismantling what was once a giant fashion retail operation and selling brands to shore up its finances and pay off debt. While the coronavirus crisis has dealt a major blow to many business, Vivarte’s problems pre-dated the pandemic and since Puy took over at the firm’s helm in 2017, he has overseen the sale of numerous brands, including Chevignon, Cosmoparis, André, Kookaï, Naf Naf and Besson.

Prior to the radio interview, Vivarte had said that 607 stores being saved was good news as this was 100 more than the company had expected would be able to continue. The brand has 830 locations in total.