After 112 years of existence, this Saturday, October 5, the “Gillet-Lafond” store in Belfort closed its doors. An institution that many customers came, a little moved, to explore one last time.
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“We said to ourselves that this was the last time we could come here,” Betty explains. With his companion, Pierre, they came “buy clothes that you usually buy”. This Saturday, October 5, in Belfort (Territoire de Belfort), the Gillet-Lafond store opened its doors to the public for the last time.
In the aisles of the store, there are many of them, several dozen, taking advantage of the big clearance markdowns. But the smile is not there. “It’s weird, it’s a big surprise for me” explains Vincent. “It saddens me, I’ve been dressing here for over 60 years and I never thought they would close one day”laments Bertrand. “I have come to make one last pilgrimage.”
I wanted to enjoy a little… To live one last moment, to turn the page
Vincent, Gillet-Lafond customer
Same speech for Arlette: “It’s a great sadness, I never thought we could get to this point, and so quickly.” “It’s a closure that we don’t understand” Betty and Pierre agree. The store is in reality a victim of the fall of its parent company, the Bayard clothing brand, which the Dijon commercial court declared liquidated on October 1.
“It’s not really a surprise, we have been in receivership since July 2023, and our manager has been very transparent with us” explains store manager Marina De Almida. Over the past two years, the group’s revenues, already in debt, have fallen.“I think there was the covid effect which played a role, and then the role of orders on the internet” believes the manager.
Still, the emotion is there: “It’s a store that’s 112 years old, it’s an institution, and we’re going to empty everything” sighs the manager. “It’s a shame for Belfort, it’s an emblematic brand and little by little, the city center is closing many stores” constate Betty. “Belfort, it’s over!” says Arlette, “All stores are closing! The situation is very serious.”
