French group Beaumanoir interested in 11 stores of the Des Marques et Vous chain

French retail group Beaumanoir is always on the lookout for assets to buy, and has now set its sights on a number of stores operated by recently liquidated fashion chain Des Marques et Vous. Beaumanoir, owner among others of Cache Cache, Caroll and La Halle, and which has recently bought the European business of the Boardriders group (owner of Quiksilver, Roxy and other board sports brands), is targeting 11 stores operated by Des marques et vous.

This potential operation is currently being reviewed by the French competition authority, which will await comments by third parties until July 18 2024. A statement published by the authority indicates that Beaumanoir is planning to use these stores for its own brands.

Des Marques et Vous (formerly Devianne) went into liquidation on May 27, and is continuing operations in the hope of finding a buyer. The multi-brand fashion retailer currently operates 34 stores (and two outlet stores) in France, all of them of significant size, mostly located in suburban areas. A retail format that is a good fit for Beaumanoir’s multi-brand chain Vib’s, and its family apparel retailer La Halle.

Contacted by FashionNetwork.com, Beaumanoir said that “the units in question are located in areas that would allow the Beaumanoir group to extend its retail footprint. Workers who have an employment contract with these stores would be retained.”

The deadline for submitting bids to acquire Des Marques et Vous assets has been set for July 3. Other potential buyers may be involved. The bids will be examined by the trade court of the city of Lille, which will issue its ruling in the coming weeks.

In recent years, Beaumanoir has carried out several external growth operations. It bought La Halle in 2020, Caroll a year later, and fashion e-tailer Sarenza in 2022. The group’s most recent coup, in June 2024, was acquiring the European business of US group Boardriders.

In fiscal 2023, Beaumanoir reported a revenue of €2.3 billion – a slight increase over 2022 – generated by a total of 2,000 retail outlets.