Paris – The Paris Commercial Court kept the French subsidiary of low-cost jewellery retailer Claire’s in receivership on Thursday. This decision followed the submission of a takeover bid from three companies, which was deemed “very minimalist” by lawyers for the staff representatives.
The court opened receivership proceedings for Claire’s France at the end of July. Management justified this move by citing a continuous decline in in-store sales over several years. This decline was accelerated by US customs duties on Chinese products, which Claire’s uses extensively.
An observation period was then opened. The court decided on Thursday to maintain this period until the end of January following a call for tenders for a partial takeover of…