The 800 employees of France Loisirs will be fixed tomorrow. On Monday, December 13, the Paris Commercial Court will decide on the total liquidation or the partial takeover of the book club. In Burgundy, only two bookstores could be taken over. The others without hope, take advantage of the last moments.
Every day, for fifteen years, Simone Laffay has been going to work with a smile. The manager of the France Loisirs store in Mâcon (Saône-et-Loire) is particularly fond of her bookstore.
Yet this Saturday, December 11, his smile hides many regrets. She knows it: her shop, her “baby“, will close.
“It’s very hard, she breathes. “I loved this box, somewhere I saw it as a failure.“
On October 25, Actissia, the parent company of France Loisirs, announced the bankruptcy of the cultural store.
It’s not really a surprise for Simone Laffay. “We felt that attendance was dropping. There were the yellow vests, the Covid crisis and our sales system was outdated.“
The hardest part is seeing customers come and say goodbye to us. And watch the shelves empty
Simone Laffay
France Leisure Mâcon
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Launched in 1970, this book club concept offered its subscribers a selection of books at reduced prices, with an obligation to purchase every three months.
At its peak in the 1980s, the club had up to 2 million members. Today, they are only 800,000.
“The hardest part is seeing customers come and say goodbye to us. And watch the shelves empty“, concludes Simone Laffay bitterly.
On Monday, December 13, the Paris Commercial Court will render its decision on the future of France Loisirs.
Either the total liquidation of the company will be pronounced and the 122 shops will close. Either the court will decide in favor of one of the two buyers.
In both cases, Thierry Grizard is under no illusions. Like Simone Laffay in Mâcon, her business in Auxerre (Yonne) will not be taken over.
“The adventure for me ends there, and for my team“, accepts Thierry Grizard. An adventure which began for him in 1984; a student job while he was destined for a career in Law.
We are a big family. We have known each other for a very long time and we have created unwavering bonds.
Thierry grizard
France Leisure Auxerre
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This very probable last opening weekend, he lived it in an intense way “on a physical and above all sentimental level.“
“We are a big family. We have known each other for a very long time and we have created unbreakable bonds “, tenderly tells the manager in Auxerre, passed through multiple regions at France Loisirs.
“With our clients too. Certainly, we did not please everyone. But we had a real bond with our customers, it went beyond simple turnover.“
In Burgundy, however, the shops are relatively spared. If the bookstores in Nevers (Nièvre) and Le Creusot (Saône-et-Loire) Should they also be forced to close, those of Dijon (Côte-d’Or) and Chalon-sur-Saône (Saône-et-Loire) could be maintained.
They are in fact on the lists of the two potential buyers. The first offers the takeover of 32 points of sale, or 84 jobs.
The second, favored by employees, offers to take over 14 points of sale, or 37 jobs.
We talk about it every day. There are a lot of questions, stress, fatigue. It is a test.
An employee
France Leisure
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Less generous in appearance, but “more in the spirit of France Loisirs“, says an employee, preferring to remain anonymous. “Despite everything, we do not know what the intentions of the buyer are afterwards. We talk about it every day. There are a lot of questions, stress, fatigue. It is a test.“
A stressful situation that many employees have already suffered in 2018. Four years earlier, France Loisirs was then going through great difficulties. Nearly 40 stores had already closed, including the one in Sens (Yonne).
The court will therefore rule tomorrow, the employees could be informed of the decision Tuesday, December 14 during a meeting with the social and economic committee.
The closure may be imminent or even postponed for a week at the request of the court administrators.
On this one unknown, Simone Laffay, Thierry Grizard and many others are therefore preparing to lower the curtain, with heavy hearts, on “years of good memories“.
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