Iconic lingerie company Marie Claire to close after 106 years of uninterrupted production

After more than 106 years of uninterrupted production, the management of the emblematic textile company, owned by B2TEX for just over two years, has announced that they are throwing in the towel: Marie Claire It will close its doors on June 20.

Gone is more than a century of industry history that has turned the lingerie firm into an institution of the Valencian business fabric. Its centenary presence in the interior regions of Castellón, and more specifically in the small town of Vilafranca, where it was founded and still had its headquarters, is equivalent to what the presence of the Ford.

The last few years have been especially difficult for the firm. The various challenges that it has had to face, such as the impact of Brexit, the arrival of the pandemic and the increase in prices, have ended up bringing down this iconic brand.

Beginnings of a visionary

The history of the Castellón lingerie factory goes back to the last century, when its visionary founder, Francisca Inigo, decides to establish a small clothing workshop in Vilafranca. Thus was born the modest industry, which at that time had only 15 people, and which began with the manufacture of basic underwear to satisfy local demand.

As the years passed, the quality and distinctive style of the firm’s products eventually caught the attention of customers, leading to steady growth and expansion of the company. It was during the decade of the 1920s when the firm reached a stage of splendor that not even the Civil War could obscure.

The years of developmentalism in our country were also years for the firm, which went from being called Eugenia de Montijo Lingerie to adopt its characteristic -and more international- Marie Claire. It was a time when their products became popular for their comfort and elegant style, appealing to women of all ages. The company transcended national borders and began to export its products to other European countries in the 1970s.

one hit after another

During the last few years, however, the company faced financial difficulties that it could not overcome «despite the effort of the last management in the reduction and optimization of costs that it has carried out». The problems have been increasing since 2019, the year in which the company was plunged into a difficult situation due to the withdrawal of the United Kingdom from the European Union. And it is that the British supposed one of the strong markets of Marie Claireand the impact of climate change on production in the sector was beginning to be noticed.

The year 2020 began after months of uncertainty due to the financial difficulties that the company was going through, with an ERE that affected 100 workers, and marked by a meeting of the social and economic agents involved to draw up a roadmap for the firm, once their economic viability assured after receiving help from the ÏVF, and at a time of job stability.

The situation added to the problems derived from a downsizing of the workforce, after years of expansion in international markets at the hands of the firm Reckitt & Benckiserowner of the brand Schollwhich concluded with the presentation in April 2019 of an employment regulation file for 100 workers, a consequence of a delicate economic situation that set off all the alarms in the administrations.

In this context, the firm opted for the financing line, Fininval, which launched the Valencian government that same year, through Valencian Institute of Finance (IVF), achieving a grant of 2.5 million euros, a lifeline that made it possible to guarantee the viability of the production center of Marie Claire in Vilafanca. The hardest blows, however, were yet to come.

And then came the pandemic

At that time the presence of the textile company in the province still translated into more than 500 jobs; of which around 400 were in the small town, which had become the largest lingerie production center in Europe. With the arrival of the pandemic, the management tried to diversify its production, incorporating the manufacture of masks into its offer.

However, that didn’t seem to have any effect either. Despite the fact that the firm managed to weather the pandemic, its effects translated into a drastic reduction in demand that the firm quantified at 50% of pre-covid levels. In addition, the company had to face a “Logistics and raw materials crisis that has increased manufacturing costs, further aggravated by the increase in energy costs”.

At present, the public aid that the company has received from the company amounts to 21.5 million euros. Valencian government through different financing channels.

What will become of Marie Claire?

It was well into the afternoon of Tuesday, two days after the 28M elections, when the leadership of Marie Claire dropped the bombshell: the company was planning to shut down. In addition to negotiating the debts with its main creditors and guaranteeing its long-term viability, the decision was accompanied by a personnel restructuring plan and a last desperate attempt to find investors interested in backing the project to relaunch the brand. .

If the ERE materializes, the 214 people that the workforce currently maintains -of which 130 are still under an ERTE-, would see their jobs disappear. Most of these employees remember from the Federation of Industry, Construction and Agriculture from General Union of Workers and Workers (UGT FICA)They are women over 50 years of age.

From this union they recriminate the company for not presenting any documentation that justifies the decision made by the management. Also remember that «Decisions of this magnitude require prior information on the exact economic situation of the company. Even more so when we talk about a firm that has received very powerful public aid».

The desperate workers

The next steps to be taken have been assured by sources of UGT FICA to this medium, will consist of asking the company for explanations to justify the measures it has taken in recent years. And they claim that “We must know what the 21.5 million in aid from the Administration has been invested in, even more so taking into account that many workers, even today, are in an ERTE situation”.

That the end of the emblematic textile has been a death foretold, does not prevent the workers, explain from the union, “be very outraged, by the outcome after so many efforts made”. The concern has spread to an area -the interior of the province of Castellón- with a high risk of depopulation, for which a company such as Marie Claire it supposed the existence of a future for the population.

«The company talks about its intention to maintain a minimum activity in the factory. However, from now on we must go to a negotiating table where, as in any file, the necessary information is provided. In this country, a management cannot simply decide that it closes and that’s it. We cannot fool ourselves either, there are few doors to knock on, but we have to propose a negotiation that decides how many people will be affected»concludes a union spokesman.