At BHV, unions call for strike

Several trade union organizations at the Bazar de l'Hôtel de Ville (BHV) have called for a strike and demonstration on Friday, July 4, at 3 p.m. near the Parisian department store located, as its name suggests, near the Hôtel de Ville.

In their leaflet, staff representatives (CFDT, CFTC-CSFV, CGT, SUD-Solidaires) denounce "the atmosphere [which] is becoming unbearable: between the overload, [the] pressure and [the] lack of prospects, morale is at its lowest" among the ranks of the employees of the Parisian commercial jewel. They also report "a lack of merchandise" and "late payments to suppliers" , which, according to them, jeopardize customer satisfaction and the sustainability of the department store.

While he "understands that the in-depth transformation of BHV could disrupt employees' habits and raise their questions" , Karl-Stéphane Cottendin, general manager of the department store, is surprised that these walkouts come after "the signing by three majority groups (CFDT, CGC, CFTC) of salary increases of more than 2% this year" , and especially after "the general meeting of June 30 where we announced the payment of a profit-sharing scheme to remunerate employees" .

Since the acquisition, at the end of 2023, of BHV from the Moulin family, owner of Galeries Lafayette, by the Société des grands magasins (SGM), a young family property company specializing in the recovery of struggling shopping centers, chaired by Fréderic Merlin, the situation of this commercial jewel of the capital has been complicated.

The difficulties continued. Suppliers complained of significant payment delays that were penalizing them. Many of them operate under the concession system, a common practice in department stores, where brands manage their own sales (as well as their staff, inventory, etc.) within the allocated square meters. The department store collects the revenue and returns it, commission deducted, usually within two weeks of the end of the month.

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