Strike at Marionnaud: unions call for store closures

The inter-union union (CGT, UNSA, CFDT and CFE-CGC) of Marionnaud called this Saturday, September 5, on employees of the perfume brand not to open their stores to demand guarantees on employment and social benefits, as part of the group's takeover project announced this summer. On July 6, the Hong Kong conglomerate CK Hutchison announced that it had entered into discussions with David Konckier, the main shareholder of the Bogart perfume and cosmetics group (Jacques Bogart, Ted Lapidus, Carven, etc.) with a view to selling the brand to him.

In a press release, the unions believe that the conditions of the project “provide no sufficient guarantee for the future of our jobs and our social achievements” and call on the approximately 2,400 employees to strike. “The slogan is clear: do not open, lower the curtain, make our anger heard,” they write. “In Lyon, 14 stores out of 20 are announced closed, three out of five in Toulouse, several in Paris, Marseille, Limoges, Fécamp, Nancy or Auxerre, some only in the afternoon, others for an hour or two depending on the financial capacities of the employees,” indicated Myriam Dequéant of Unsa. An employee of a store in Limoges confirmed that it would be closed on Saturday afternoon.

Considering that “Marionnaud employees are not an adjustment variable”, the unions are demanding written guarantees on the maintenance of jobs, the future of the network of stores, possible departure conditions or the preservation of social gains. According to Myriam Dequéant, the buyer has already indicated that in the event of store closures "he did not have the means to give anything other than the legal minimum" in terms of severance pay, while the advantage linked to sales objectives, which represented up to a 14th month for certain employees, appears to have been suspended since June.

The representative of Unsa regrets “the catastrophic decisions” of the Hong Kong shareholder in recent years, concerning the pricing policy or the reduction of an offer of aesthetic treatments “which built customer loyalty”. In July, CK Hutchison indicated that the information-consultation procedure for the sale was underway. An extraordinary CSE is planned for Monday “and for the moment the opinion is very reserved”, indicated Myriam Dequéant.

According to the latest accounts consulted, Marionnaud achieved a turnover in France of around 536 million euros in 2024 and operates 377 stores. The network is made up of nearly 700 points of sale in Europe. According to Myriam Dequéant, Marionnaud currently has 372 stores and employs 2,400 people in France, including 150 at headquarters. Furthermore, 98% of employees in Marionnaud stores are women, she specifies, while management could not be reached early Saturday afternoon.