PARIS — Ailing French fashion group Vivarte has completed its sale of footwear retailer André to Spartoo. The online retailer will take over all but one of André’s 210 boutiques and its 700 staff following negotiations that began in January, Vivarte said.
As well as continuing to offer its own brand, André stores will add international labels from Spartoo’s offer, and in-store tablets will allow consumers to access the e-tailer’s full catalogue. The stores will also become click-and-collect points for Spartoo customers.
The combined activity will have annual sales of approximately 250 million euros, with revenues split roughly equally between online sales and physical stores, Vivarte said.
One of France’s largest clothing groups by sales, Vivarte has struggled to pay back about 1.5 billion euros to four investment funds that serve as shareholders and lenders to the company. The debt-stressed group continues to restructure, and has sold off its Naf Naf, Kookaï and Pataugas brands in recent months, as reported. It is also in talks to offload Besson Chaussures to Weinberg Capital Partners and Groupe Philippe Ginestet.