On Tuesday, December 17, the Paris Commercial Court declared the judicial liquidation of Cafés Legal, the Le Havre company established for 170 years in the port city. A decision which causes the immediate cessation of production and the dismissal of the company’s 110 employees.
Legal, more taste. It’s one of those companies whose ads have left their mark on generations in France. Johnny Hallyday himself extolled the merits of Cafés Legal in a spot in 1992 where he drank a cup in the middle of a concert. A glorious past which did not save the Le Havre company from bankruptcy. This Tuesday, December 17, it had to stop its production after the Paris Commercial Court declared judicial liquidation. The Cafés Legal brought with them the 110 employees who still worked for the brand.
The controversial businessman, Michel Ohayon, bought and then resold the company in 2022. Nearly a year ago, the brand, which was particularly popular in the 1990s, was bought by the agri-food investment fund FNB . Its identity and product range had been revised with a view to becoming “the biggest of the little actors” coffee in front of brands such as Malongo or Segafredo. But in the meantime, Cafés Legal have been victims of a difficult context. It was in particular the explosion in coffee prices that was fatal. Beans have never been so expensive in 50 years, with the surge affecting both Arabica and Robusta, a cheap and less aromatic variety.
The Normandy region came to the brand’s aid
In difficulty, the company was placed in receivership on October 8, in anticipation of a new takeover. In a press release, Cafés Legal explain that “Despite the company’s strong activity in recent months, in a difficult period marked by a historic rise in coffee prices, no recovery solution has been successful. The court ruled that the only takeover offer submitted did not present sufficient guarantees to ensure the sustainability of this company.. Production had, however, been maintained for the 110 employees of the factory located on the heights of Le Havre after the placement in recovery. In order to ensure the continuity of the activity, the Commercial Court had set a deposit in the amount of one million euros after the recovery. The Normandy region then decided to guarantee this sum.
In its press release, management, “who worked tirelessly to find a buyer”regrets this conclusion and “would like to warmly thank the employees, partners, consumers and customers who have supported Cafés Legal throughout its journey”. With the judicial liquidation of the institution, it is the end of a 170-year-old French company which had established itself, with its workers, in the industrial heritage of France and the city of Le Havre.
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