GiFi requested its placement in receivership, decision of the commercial court on November 3

The GiFi group, whose stores employ 6,000 people in France and which is experiencing great difficulties, requested Friday October 23 to be placed in receivership before the Toulouse commercial court, indicated manager and union representatives leaving the court. The new chairman of the GiFi board of directors, Patrick Puy, told the press that he wanted to “protect as many employees as possible” and “leave it to the court to make its decision” on November 3, before refusing to comment further.

The four union representatives who came from GiFi's head office in Villeneuve-sur-Lot (Lot-et-Garonne) to attend the hearing said they were a little groggy when they left the commercial court. “Frankly, we were bombarded with figures,” confided Patrick Brun, secretary of the social and economic committee (CSE) of GiFi and CFDT union delegate, while one of his colleagues underlined that “the relationships and financial flows” between the different entities of the group had been exposed before the court.

“The market has clearly deteriorated”

“As you know, the market deteriorated significantly over the summer and GiFi was not spared. (...) To protect the company and continue its activity, we have decided (...) to request the opening of a judicial recovery procedure with the competent court,” Patrick Puy announced to employees on Tuesday. The latter, whose appointment was announced in mid-October, assured that this procedure would not lead “by itself to any immediate consequences on employment and no new PSE (employment protection plan, Editor’s note) is being initiated at this stage”.

The GiFi group's problems began with a failed change of IT system in 2023, to which was added competition from other stores (Action, Maxibazar) or internet platforms like Temu. In 2025, the brand founded by Philippe Ginestet in 1981 had considered reducing its workforce by 5%, before interrupting this social plan. It has since approached the food distributor Grand Frais to sell it around thirty stores, out of the more than 500 it has.