Habitat Furniture Chain Fate Decided – Commercial Court Ruling Imminent

At the end of a hearing this Wednesday, December 20, the Bobigny commercial court will render its decision in a week on the fate of the brand specializing in furniture, placed in receivership for two weeks.

It’s not the end yet but it feels like it. At the end of a crucial hearing for the future of Habitat, this Wednesday, December 20, the commercial court of Bobigny (Seine-Saint-Denis) informed the employees’ lawyer that it will rule on December 28 on a possible liquidation of the chain of stores specializing in the sale of furniture and accessories. This measure would mean dismissal for the group’s nearly 400 employees.

Zora, cashier manager at the Parisian République store, and 33 years in the box, is present in court this Wednesday. But after having “warned for a year about the deteriorating situation”, today she is only “anger and frustration”. While employees have “always done their job well”, today “everything is falling apart”.

In France, 25 points of sale and just under 400 employees

It has only been two short weeks since the group was placed in receivership, on December 7. In a press release published on November 24, the company explained that it was facing numerous “difficulties” with “the energy crisis” and the “increased cost of transport and that of raw materials”. On November 30, it requested recovery, citing “deep financial difficulties, largely attributable to previous failing management” as well as “more recent factors” including “a significant drop in store traffic”. But only ten days after it was placed in receivership by the Bobigny court, the judicial administrators ended up announcing on Friday in the CSE (social and economic committee) that they were going to request liquidation.

Founded in 1964 in London, the company opened its first store in France in 1973. It has 25 points of sale in the country and employs just under 400 people. According to the judgment opening legal recovery, rendered at the beginning of December, Habitat France (65 million euros turnover in 2022) has 315 employees while its parent company, Habitat Design International (51.8 million euros of turnover in 2022), employs 68 people. A compulsory liquidation would mean the dismissal of all staff.

In this matter, many point to the role of entrepreneur and investor Thierry Le Guénic. He bought Habitat in 2020 from the furniture distributor Cafom. An acquisition described as “dubious” by the lawyer representing the employees and the CSE, Arthur-Léo Gandolfo. According to him, the entrepreneur and “his team of corporate gravediggers” are accustomed to doing so. They would take over companies in difficulty for a pittance and transfer their cash flow to holding companies. In 2020, Thierry Le Guénic bought the clothing brand Burton of London, currently in receivership. The same fate was reserved for the shoemaker San Marina, liquidated on February 20.

“Thief and liar”

For the employees present at the Bobigny commercial court this Wednesday, the man, described as a “thief and liar”, is the main person responsible for the Habitat debacle. According to lawyer Arthur-Léo Gandolfo, Thierry Le Guénic explained during the hearing that he had only been made aware of Habitat’s economic difficulties very recently. Crying “shame” at the end of the hearing, the staff representative and CGT elected representative Ratiba Hamache strongly contested this version, affirming that the owner “was copied on numerous alert emails” and could not ignore the situation. If the unionist still wants to believe that a buyer could come forward by December 28, she fears that the outcome will be “catastrophic” for the employees.

Since December 11, all non-franchise Habitat stores have been closed. Even before the company was placed in recovery, most orders were no longer honored and certain employees found themselves confronted, sometimes violently, with customer dissatisfaction. In Lille, for example, a customer came to help himself in a store with his friends to reimburse himself, reports Mediapart. According to CSE representatives, “nearly 9 million euros in deposits” would have been paid by customers for the purchase of furniture and other products. Their chances of recovering their dues are slim if liquidation is declared.

For Marie-France, present this Wednesday in court, “disappointment and sadness” dominate. She has been working at Habitat for thirty-six years, at the Wagram store in Paris. So when talking about a potential liquidation, his voice chokes and tears come to his eyes: “Habitat is such a beautiful brand. And a family. After sixty years, it can’t collapse like that.”

2023-12-20 18:38:55
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