France’s Burton of London enters receivership

Following an application by its director Thierry le Guénic, the mixed-fashion chain Burton of London was officially placed in receivership by the Paris Commercial Court on June 12, according to the company’s articles of association filed on the société.com website. The company had been under safeguard procedure since October 2022, and has already seriously scaled back its operations in the first half of 2023.

At the end of February, 26 of the company’s 110 outlets closed, resulting in the loss of almost 120 jobs. The job protection plan launched at the time covered a total of 220 positions, with the company also planning to sell around thirty shops over the following six months.

However, while a handful of shops have been sold since then, according to our information, between 20 and 25 shops went out of business for good in mid-June, notably in Saint-Brieuc, Beauvais, Le Mans and Brest in France. As a result of these closures, Burton of London is now down to around fifty stores, or half of its original network.

Sold for one euro by the Omnium group at the end of 2020 to businessman Thierry Le Guénic (Habitat, Paule Ka, Lejaby, etc.), the company is said to have applied for this receivership because of difficulties in paying compensation to employees made redundant in March. This procedure may relieve Burton of London of the responsibility for paying these balances, with AGS insurance taking over, including the payment of salaries.

Recovery plan or possible sale? According to our information, the CEO still intends to revive the brand, focusing in particular on the men’s range, rolling out the Sauvage Poésie multi-brand concept and offering retail solutions to third-party companies. Contacted, he has not yet responded to our request.