Pimkie in the process of being acquired by a consortium

Lille - The women's ready-to-wear brand Pimkie, owned by the Mulliez family association (AFM), announced on Wednesday that it had entered into exclusive negotiations to be acquired by a consortium made up of the Lee Cooper France, Kindy and Ibisler Tekstil groups.

"The joint proposal of these three groups was selected on the basis of their capacity, both financial and operational, to recover, develop and sustain the Pimkie brand in the long term,” declared Philippe Favre, general manager of the brand, quoted in a press release. The formal disposal process, which is currently being finalised, should take place at the beginning of 2023.

Pimkie: 200 million euros in sales in 2020

Pimkie, which has 232 own stores and 81 affiliated stores with 1,500 employees, had achieved nearly 200 million euros in sales in 2020. The brand founded in 1971 has been experiencing difficulties for more than a decade. The search procedure for a new buyer was launched last May.

The brand assures that all three of the buyers “have recognised expertise in the textile industry" and that their experiences will allow "the brand to continue its transformation and ensure its sustainability in a context of strong competitiveness". “Respect for the interests of employees also guided the selection process,” indicated Mr. Favre, a manager specialising in the management of companies in difficulty and appointed in January. A meeting between takeover candidates and unions is scheduled for next week, according to the CFDT and FO.

"We are satisfied with this announcement, but we are surprised that there are three of them and it is difficult to imagine how it will all work out,” Marie-Annick Merceur, union delegate CFDT, second union of the sign behind the CGT, told AFP.

"We are especially very disappointed to have to wait several more months before knowing which stores will be closed," she added. The next few weeks will be "very complicated" , warned Maley Upravan, FO staff delegate. "The profile of the buyers worries us and nothing has been announced on the social level. It's great manipulation,” she noted.

Since the beginning of the 21st century, the brand has suffered from the textile crisis, which has hurt many once flourishing groups in the clothing sector, such as André, La Halle or most recently Camaieu. (AFP)

This article originally appeared on FashionUnited.FR. Translation and edit by: Rachel Douglass.