After experiencing a boom during the Covid-19 pandemic, the DIY sector is becoming disillusioned in France. The cause: the drop in real estate transactions but also in births.
The DIY brand Castorama is planning a collective contractual termination which could affect up to 100 employees at its headquarters near Lille, or one in seven, while its competitor Leroy Merlin also recently reduced its workforce in its central functions. “The collective contractual termination only applies to voluntary employees of the brand's headquarters. No store employees are affected.specified Castorama in a press release received on Friday.
This system is part of a Castorama strategic plan launched in March, which aims to restore its profitability and help it remain competitive “in a constantly evolving competitive context”added the company. A brand of the British group Kingfisher, Castorama has a total of more than 11,000 employees and 95 stores in France. After experiencing a DIY boom during the Covid-19 pandemic, the sector is becoming disillusioned in France.
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“Weak consumer morale”
In the third quarter, Castorama sales fell 4.9% year-on-year, according to the latest Kingfisher results published on Monday. The British group, also owner of Brico Dépôt (whose sales declined by 3.3% over the same period), blamed these poor figures on “weak consumer morale and unfavorable weather conditions”.
Castorama's great rival, Leroy Merlin has also carried out a collective contractual termination in recent months at its headquarters in Lezennes, in the Lille suburbs, leading to the departure of 130 employees, the brand told AFP on Friday, confirming information of the Echoes.
Leroy Merlin’s turnover “records a decline like the market”added a spokesperson, without detailing further. “Essentially at issue is the decline in real estate transactions and births », which diminishes the work carried out by the French, she explained. With around 30,000 employees and 144 stores in France according to its site, Leroy Merlin belongs to the Mulliez galaxy, also owner of the distributor Auchan, which announced at the beginning of November a massive social plan threatening 2,389 jobs in France.
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