Naf Naf’s monitoring period extended by court in receivership proceedings

Naf Naf has been granted an extension in the receivership proceedings which it entered into in September 2023. On March 6, the trade court of Bobigny, France, decided to prolong the monitoring period for the French fashion retailer by an extra six months, until September 6 2024, as indicated in a ruling that FashionNetwork.com was able to consult.

Naf Naf, owned since 2020 by Franco-Turkish group SY, has therefore been given a little breathing space before presenting its financial documents to the court-appointed receivers, as it hopes for its recovery plan to be eventually approved.

To restructure the company, Naf Naf introduced new measures last October, which led to the closure of 17 stores and the loss of 87 jobs within the stores and at the brand’s headquarters. A first job protection plan was introduced in June 2023, accompanied by the loss of 37 jobs.

A new assessment of the company’s financial situation will be made at a hearing that has been set by the Bobigny trade court for May 28.

Naf Naf filed for receivership last autumn, burdened by the cost of rents it had failed to pay during the pandemic, and by slumping sales. The French mid-market brand currently operates some 180 stores, employing approximately 600 people. A year ago, several of its top executives, including CEO Luc Mory, stepped down from their roles. In 2022, Naf Naf reported sales of €141 million.

Naf Naf was founded by the Pariente brothers in Paris’s Sentier district in 1973. Between 2006 and 2018, it was owned by French group Vivarte, which then sold it to Chinese group La Chapelle. The company first filed for receivership in 2020, and this led to it being acquired by one of its suppliers, SY, after a court ruling favoured the latter over the Beaumanoir group’s bid.