Overview
- Gifi, which told staff on Tuesday that it will seek placement in redressement judiciaire, said the request is intended to protect the business and allow activity to continue while a commercial court decides the next steps.
- The company has assured employees that stores remain open, employment contracts are unchanged, and the procedure does not by itself trigger immediate layoffs or a new redundancy plan.
- Patrick Puy, appointed president of the directoire on October 12 as a turnaround specialist, is leading the filing and will steer emergency measures and negotiations with creditors and buyers.
- Gifi's troubles build on a failed 2023 IT migration that disrupted operations, stronger low‑price competition and online rivals, and earlier cost moves including a paused 2025 plan to cut about 5% of jobs and the sale of roughly thirty stores to Grand Frais.
- The group employs about 6,000 people and is a major employer in Villeneuve‑sur‑Lot, where local officials warn that a collapse would cut municipal receipts and local services and could force a smaller store footprint to preserve the central buying operation.