PARIS — Redcats, the mail-order division of French retail-to-luxury group PPR, is shedding its underperforming casual chic clothing brand Somewhere, a spokesman said Tuesday.
The decision was announced to staff at a meeting of the company’s works council on Nov. 29. Dominique Guisiano, chef executive officer of Redcats Children Family Brands, and Philippe Defontaine, financial director of the division, have made an offer for the brand that would preserve all jobs, the spokesman added.
With estimated 2010 sales of around 35 million euros, or $46.5 million, Somewhere represents a mere fraction of turnover at Redcats, which posted revenues of 695 million euros, or $984 million, in the third quarter of 2011 alone. All dollar rates are calculated at average exchange rates for the period concerned.
Related Articles
Though PPR announced in September that it was postponing the planned sale of Redcats due to adverse market conditions, it has decided to sell Somewhere because of difficult trading conditions in the ready-to-wear segment and the poor recent performance of the brand, the spokesman said.
You May Also Like
French clothing sales fell 3.2 percent in October and were down 2.6 percent in the first 10 months of the year, according to the latest data from the French institute of Fashion (IFM).
In an interview with WWD in July, PPR chairman and ceo François-Henri Pinault said weak sales at Somewhere were partially to blame for a drop in recurring operating income at Redcats in the first half.
At the time, he warned that if Somewhere did not post a better performance in the second half, it would be folded back into the marketplace of catalog retailer La Redoute rather than being run as a separate brand. Somewhere has 30 stores in France, which generate the bulk of its sales, in addition to a mail-order division.