On the displays of a Parisian Gifi, on Tuesday, November 2, the flashy and frightening Halloween decorations still sit, which will soon be replaced by garlands and other Christmas baubles. But it is not time for celebration on the shelves and among the teams. The Gifi group, whose nearly 500 stores employ 6,000 people in France, was placed in receivership a few hours earlier by the Toulouse commercial court.
“We will not comment,” says one of the employees present in the Parisian store. A silence encouraged in high places. “Management instructs all employees not to communicate,” reports Pierre Laforre, CFDT union representative within Gifi, to franceinfo.
In detail, the court ordered a six-month observation period for this popular brand founded in 1981. A hearing must be held on January 8 to "determine whether the company has sufficient financial capacity to continue its activity", according to the court decision, consulted by AFP.
A market that has become very competitive
This placement in receivership, carried out at the initiative of Gifi, confirms a difficult situation suffered by a brand which had nevertheless experienced, for decades, a real success story by allowing consumers to "treat themselves at low cost", analyzes Philippe Moati, professor of economics at Paris Cité University, co-founder of the Obsoco observatory. A "growing" market, certainly, due to "increasing poverty in the country", but now subject to strong competition.
“For a long time, Gifi was almost alone in this market. Then, suddenly, its competitors flourished. The Action brand quickly spread across the territory, with an impressive love rating."
Philippe Moati, economist
at franceinfo
And the expert also cites the “less spectacular”, but significant, competition from the Normal brand. The development of Chinese platforms like Temu has further contributed to putting stores in difficulty.
“Chaotic management”
In addition to these cyclical explanations, there are more surprising technical considerations. In 2023, the group acquired a new integrated information system (ERP) which should make it possible to manage all stores and “improve performance”, explains the economist. However, the implementation of this new integrated information system "has seriously disrupted purchasing management, inventory management and store supplies, with direct and lasting repercussions on the group's turnover", deplores the Toulouse commercial court.
The group, already weakened, further suffered from wavering leadership. The unions already spoke last year of “chaotic management” which began in 2017 with “loss-making stores and obsolete warehouses”. Gifi has had a new general director four times in two years, the latest appointment dating back to October with the arrival of Patrick Puy, a specialist in the restructuring of large groups, who notably led the dismantling of Vivarte.
In this type of situation, "the changes depress the troops and the one who arrives often proceeds, to stand out, to a change in the policy established by his predecessor", analyzes Philippe Moati. All of these factors have caused finances to plunge into the abyss. The gross operating surplus, which makes it possible to gauge profitability, expected at 9 million euros for 2025, came out negative, at -100 million euros in 2025, again according to the court.
“A Titanic atmosphere”
The group had, however, made numerous attempts to clean up its finances, with legal conciliation procedures to renegotiate its debt. In 2025, the brand even decided to reduce its workforce by 5%, before interrupting this social plan. Gifi has also undertaken to sell 32 stores out of 500 to the Grand Frais brand to replenish the coffers, an operation already effective in around twenty stores, according to our information.
According to the Toulouse commercial court, the group also suffered "from unfavorable weather conditions from April 2024 [which] penalized sales of seasonal products". An explanation considered not very credible within the brand. “I don’t think the Gifi stores experienced a microclimate that would have spared its competitors,” laughs an internal source.
The time has now come to save the furniture, with the hope that a buyer will be positioned in the coming weeks. And this internal source concludes: “Gifi has socially become a field of ruin, with a Titanic atmosphere.”
