After the bankruptcy of GiFi, other clearance brands in danger?

© Inverse Couple Images/Getty Images

– Are certain clearance brands in danger?

GiFi is for sale. The information was revealed a few days ago: after 45 years of good and loyal service, Philippe Ginestet has decided to hand over the reins, the clearance brand having been crumbling under difficulties for several months. If the Lazard bank, mandated to find a buyer as part of a conciliation procedure, has already received six letters of intent, including one from Carrefour and another from Moez-Alexandre Zouari, another scenario with an investor could arise. draw.

A new hope for GiFi fans not to see their brand disappear? It must be said that historic discount or clearance brands are no longer always popular. Faced with the juggernaut Action, it is now difficult to exist in a sector where many players have decided to position themselves, recalls BFMTV. This is the case of Maxi and Stokomani, bought by the family office of the Zouari family in 2021 and 2022, but also of B&M or new additions like Normal and Wibra.

Competition from Chinese platforms

But faced with the rise of e-commerce platforms like Amazon and especially the Chinese Temu or Shein who are trying to open pop-up stores, what will become of the oldest ones like Foir'Fouille? The brand, which has 235 stores in France, has seen its turnover decline in relation to its 50 years. The bazaar brand is therefore taking a gamble by leaving, for example, the outskirts to arrive in the city center, as in Suresnes (Hauts-de-Seine) recently. The goal: to compete with Action or Normal!

In the past, several big names in distribution well known to the French such as Prisunic, Mammoth and ED had not been able to make the right shift. But the situation is different today in France, and despite the number of discounters, there is demand in the face of the purchasing power issues of the French. It remains to find the right formula, which the low-cost brand Toujust was unable to do last year.