Gifi management suspends redundancy plan for its headquarters

"This joint decision will allow Mr. Christophe Mistou, when he takes office as Chairman of the Board on September 1st, to analyze the situation and build a target organization faithful to his vision," wrote Gifi in a press release, which specifies that the other procedure in 11 stores slated for closure (116 job losses) will be completed.

These plans were announced at the beginning of April by the group to recover after two years of losses, the first in its history which began in 1981.

Gifi's problems began with a botched IT system change in 2023, compounded by competition from other stores (Action, Maxibazar) and internet platforms like Temu.

After rescheduling its debt last year, Gifi obtained a financial support plan from its banks in January, in exchange for new governance and the withdrawal of the brand's founder, Philippe Ginestet.

Several executives have since succeeded one another at the helm of the company, which achieved a turnover of 1.2 billion euros in 2024, and the current CEO of Mr.Bricolage, Christophe Mistou, will take over as chairman of the board in September.

In its press release, Gifi explains that "the target organization, as decided last April by the former management, did not allow for the strategic turnaround necessary for the company."

He added that "if it turns out that adjustments are necessary" after Mr. Mistou's arrival, "negotiations will be opened, in light of the new social dialogue established."

"There will be no redundancy plan, which is a good thing, at least temporarily, for 186 jobs," the figure put forward by Gifi in the spring, Pierre Laffore, a representative of the CFDT, the majority union, told AFP. "I don't know who exactly is responsible for this; the CFDT and management are taking joint responsibility for this."

The brand initially wanted to reduce its workforce by 5% out of a total of 6,000 people in France, by eliminating 186 positions out of 730 at headquarters and 116 in the stores slated for closure.

The deadline for negotiations on the terms of the job protection plan at headquarters was set for next Friday, after having been postponed several times.