The verdict is in: the Beaumanoir Group has won a partial takeover of the Naf Naf brand, which was placed in receivership on May 30.The company had fallen into receivership despite the efforts of its Turkish supplier Migiboy Tekstil to get it back on its feet. On Thursday, August 7, the Bobigny Commercial Court ruled on the five takeover bids submitted, validating the label’s fifth owner in eight years as Naf Naf thus avoids total liquidation.

Although five candidates were vying for the takeover of the women’s ready-to-wear brand, the main rivalry was between the Beaumanoir group and Amoniss, owner of Pimkie. The two groups had already battled last June over the partial takeover of the women’s ready-to-wear brand Jennyfer, which was in receivership. In the end, the Beaumanoir group won the bid.

“A solid financial situation”

Beaumanoir’s bid seemed more solid than its opponent. In addition to retaining jobs and stores, the group undertook to take over the Naf Naf brand and around 300 of the 600 or so employees currently employed by the brand, according to the same document, as well as 12 of the 102 existing stores, but to operate them under its own brands. As part of the deal, Groupe Beaumanoir is taking over 55 employees and offering outplacement to 253 of them.

The decision to dismiss Amoniss was taken by the court, as the group had been “under a safeguard plan since October 2024” and was therefore “financially fragile”, whereas Groupe Beaumanoir was in a “solid financial position”, the court ruled, citing “positive shareholders’ equity of 365 million euros” and “cash of 187 million euros”.

“A considerable social waste”

The Sud trade union had reported on the takeover offers made for Naf Naf. The Amoniss company wanted to retain the brand by taking over 165 out of 521 jobs, plus 20 employees at head office, as well as 34 out of 101 stores. The partial takeover of Naf Naf by Beaumanoir is a decision that the Sud trade union is content with. “We obviously cannot be satisfied with the social break-up that the end of the brand, created in 1973, will entail, but we can only approve the choice of this takeover offer, which our union has clearly supported from the outset”, states the company’s minority union in a press release, in line with their opinion on the takeover by Beaumanoir for the past five years. Indeed, the company’s recent buyer had already come out in favour of a takeover of Naf Naf in 2020, and had been rejected in favour of the SY International group. Two insolvency proceedings have since taken place.

The Sud union also highlighted the “shameful absence” of public authorities “throughout the company’s agony”. For its part, the CFDT, the company’s other trade union, considers that a takeover by Beaumanoir does not constitute a “genuine takeover offer, as it does not maintain Naf Naf’s identity and provides for the takeover of a very limited number of stores and employees”. In a press release issued on July 23, the union expressed its unfavourable opinion of both takeover bids, pointing to a “considerable social mess”.