Comptoir des Cotonniers and Princesse Tam Tam plan to cut 304 jobs and close 55 stores in France.

Two new victims of the ready-to-wear crisis? Fast Retailing France, a subsidiary of the Japanese giant of the same name, announced on Monday that it plans to close 55 Comptoir des Cotonniers womenswear and Princesse Tam Tam lingerie stores in France and cut 304 jobs. .

“The situation today is such that it no longer allows Fast Retailing France to continue operating without risking its future and the future of its brands at risk. Moreover, no prospect of a real recovery is foreseen, ”the group said. Both brands belong to this division of the Japanese textile giant, whose flagship brand is Uniqlo. For Comptoir des Cotonniers, the project involves the closure of 28 outlets out of 67 currently operating in France and the elimination of 101 positions out of 272 permanent contracts. Princesse Tam Tam plans to close 27 out of 69 points of sale and eliminate 84 positions out of 235 permanent contracts.

Added to this is the elimination of 119 positions at Fast Retailing France “to adapt the workforce to the reorganization of the distribution network, as well as to reduce its size.” “The goal is to close the closures (of stores) by August 2024, but employee support will be implemented over a longer period,” the group said.

Negotiations regarding this reorganization plan are “ongoing” and “the goal is to limit its impact on employees and layoffs as much as possible” with “a very comprehensive social support system that will include, among others, proposals for reclassification within the group and a plan for voluntary departure,” the group said in a statement. “In order to support employees whose layoffs could not be avoided, appropriate support measures for external redeployment (training, assistance in starting a business, redeployment leave, etc.) should also be provided,” he said.

Roots of two brands in Uniqlo stores

The announcement of this “project to revise the distribution strategy” and “reorganize the network of points of sale” was made on May 23 in the representative bodies of the employees of the two brands, the group said, confirming the information from the FashionNetwork specialized website. . The aim of the plan is to “continue to adapt Fast Retailing France to changes in the apparel market and overcome the significant challenges facing the company and its subsidiaries in order to ensure their sustainability,” the group said in a statement.

Fans of Comptoir des Cotonniers and Princesse Tam Tam will still be able to find merchandise from the two brands in Uniqlo stores, the group’s brand that “benefits from strong appeal”. Fast Retailing France plans to create “corners” offering products of these two brands and announces “in the near future in major cities a new concept of stores that combine” the offer of the two brands. The project also aims to “accelerate” online sales.

The ready-to-wear sector in France has been rocked by a violent crisis for several months, leading, among other things, to the liquidation of Camaïeu in September 2022 and the takeover of Go Sport earlier this year (because largely of Intersport) and Gap France (partially taken over by owned by JD Sports). Kookai also announced the closure of 20 stores, and the San Marina shoe company (650 employees) went into forced liquidation.