“We know what we want to do. The situation is not dramatic”: what is the action plan for Toiles du Soleil placed in receivership

“Today is a special day.” This Wednesday, November 6, 2024, the incessant comings and goings of employees and the changes in the arrangement of objects and furniture in the store herald the arrival of new collections from the Athezza product ranges arranged alongside those of the Toiles du Sun. In addition, the time has come for checkout automation. But in Saint-Laurent-de-Cerdans, something else is happening behind the scenes.

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They are an emblem of Catalan craftsmanship: bought two years ago, the Toiles du Soleil are placed in receivership

Since October 2, the Nîmes commercial court has pronounced a judgment opening a judicial recovery procedure. According to information from The Independentthe company, which continues its activity, would have been in a situation of cessation of payments since January 1, 2024. “This decision was taken to protect our brands”explains Stéphane Torck at the head of Toiles du Soleil for two years, of Athezza specializing in furniture and decoration and of Maison Pichon Uzès, a ceramics factory, with Jean-Christophe Astruc.

To date, an observation phase to draw up a social and economic diagnosis of the company is underway for six months. It is renewable once. “Staff are not going to move, are not going to be reduced and we are not going to go under given the objectives that we want to applyaffirms Stéphane Torck who agreed to speak on the subject installed in the heart of the store. We have a plan. A growth plan.”

The building must serve us for the future

How did the Toiles du Soleil, the flagship of the industrial heritage of the Pyrénées-Orientales and the artisanal jewel of Haut-Vallespir, bought by the Gard company JCST Holding after being relaunched in 1993 by the well-known Françoise and Henri Quinta, arrived at this situation? ? “Because the development of fabrics internationally is taking longer than expected, and the move upmarket and maintenance of the French market is taking place, describes the one who comes from the group Camaïeu and Cache Cache. Our project was in particular to invest in warping machines and contemporary weaving machines. The reality is that the machines in question were not purchased because it would have been unreasonable. We do not have the capacity to receive them in this building where we are tenants and which is not maintained. However, it must serve us for the future, to show it around and guarantee better working conditions. Moreover, I am in contact with the Regional Directorate of Cultural Affairs to protect ancestral machines.” Moreover, “Given the economic situation, we have to pay the state-guaranteed loans (PGE).”

“We know what we want to do by bringing know-how back into trend to reconquer international marketsinsists the entrepreneur. It’s not paying off yet, but it will come. The situation is not dramatic.”