Under judicial recovery for a week, the Parisian BHV Marais department store has been forced to abruptly close its doors on Monday at 4:00 p.m., the management citing a temporary “administrative regularization” related to an insurance issue, while unions fear a definitive curtain call.
The iconic Paris department store, just like BHV Parly 2, its little brother in Yvelines (Île-de-France), “must close tonight as a precaution for our teams and our customers,” announced the store’s president, Karl-Stéphane Cottendin, in an internal message forwarded to AFP.
“One of our insurance policies could not be transferred as part of the ongoing judicial restructuring,” he justified.
Before 6:00 p.m., the Bazar de l’Hôtel de Ville was empty and its lights off, with no sign informing passersby that the shop was closed.
“We are finalizing the new insurance contract, which is being signed and will take over starting tomorrow,” reassured his 660 employees Mr. Cottendin, according to whom this “administrative regularization” does not “affect the continuation” of their activity.
The management claims a decision made “with the judicial administrators” appointed in the restructuring process and running “until tomorrow during the day.”
Deserted by brands due to numerous unpaid bills and/or a controversial partnership with the Asian fashion giant Shein, the BHV had been sold at a loss in June to some of its managers by the entrepreneur Frédéric Merlin, who had bought it from Galeries Lafayette in 2023.
This summer, the management announced a revival plan without Shein, acknowledging that the installation, last year, of this symbol of ultra-ephemeral fashion on the BHV’s 6th floor was a “strategic error.” But it ran into cash-flow problems.
In the meantime, the BHV cannot reimburse the rents already paid by Shein to accelerate its departure.
“As the contract provides, Shein will be present until spring,” the Asian giant recently stated.
At the end of October, BHV’s management admitted that the store was insolvent, which it had denied only recently.
The company’s placement under judicial recovery, requested by both management and the unions, was decided on Monday, November 2, by the Paris Court of Economic Activities.
