Burton of London’s fate to be determined on February 13, liquidation the likely outcome

The fate of the ready-to-wear brand Burton of London, currently under judicial reorganization, will be determined on February 13 by the Paris Commercial Court, with liquidation being the likely outcome, according to a source close to AFP.  This development confirms earlier reports by Capital.

The French retail chain, whose principal shareholder has been businessman Thierry Le Guénic since late 2020, initially entered a safeguard procedure before entering judicial reorganization during the summer of 2023.

No comprehensive takeover offer was presented to the judges overseeing the company’s judicial reorganization, which led the management to propose an alternative continuity plan.

However, this plan was deemed insufficient by the administrators and judicial officers, as well as the supervising judge, who consequently supported a request for the liquidation of Burton of London, as explained by a source close to the AFP.

It is “likely” that this option will be chosen by the judges, despite a negative opinion from the employee committee, the same source added.

This decision would result in the closure of stores and a social plan affecting the entire company workforce, approximately 250 employees, as mentioned by the interviewed source. In this scenario, there may be individual store takeover offers.

At the beginning of 2023, Burton of London operated 109 stores and employed 440 workers, but it closed 26 stores in February and divested others during the year. According to the tender offer released in November 2023, the brand had only 52 stores by that time, while the multi-brand concept Sauvage Poésie, launched within the network in 2020, owned four boutiques.

The company’s projected revenue for 2023 was estimated at 34.3 million euros (compared to 50.1 million in 2021).

Thierry Le Guénic’s empire continues to falter. The lingerie chain Orcanta was liquidated in September 2023, while the home decor brand Habitat suffered the same fate at the end of December. In early January 2024, the lingerie brand Maison Lejaby entered judicial reorganization. The businessman also owns brands such as Paule Ka and Cosmoparis.

The French ready-to-wear sector has been shaken by a severe crisis for several months. Brands like Camaïeu, Kookaï, Naf Naf, Gap France, André, San Marina, Kaporal, Don’t Call Me Jennyfer, Du Pareil au Même, and Sergent Major, well-known to French consumers, have suffered from a combination of factors: the pandemic, rising energy and raw material costs, rent and salary increases, as well as competition from the second-hand market and “fast fashion.”

(With AFP)