The GiFi group, in serious financial difficulty, is to seek the opening of court-ordered receivership proceedings from the competent court. L'annonce was made to employees on Tuesday evening by Patrick Puy, the new chairman of the management board of the bazaar-store chain, based in Villeneuve-sur-Lot (Lot-et-Garonne), where its head office is also located.
"Comme vous le savez, le marché s'est nettement dégradé au cours de l'été et GiFi n'a pas été épargnée. (...) Pour protéger l'entreprise et poursuivre son activité, nous avons décidé (...) de solliciter l'ouverture d'une procédure de redressement judiciaire auprès du tribunal compétent", a indiqué Patrick Puy.
He said that this procedure would have "par elle-même, aucune conséquence immédiate sur l'emploi et aucun nouveau PSE n'est engagé à ce stade". GiFi has 6,000 employees in France, spread across more than 500 stores.
A fourth chief executive in two years
Patrick Puy, whose appointment was announced a few days ago, is the fourth chief executive in two years tasked with turning the group around. He has in the past run several companies in crisis, from Moulinex-Brandt to Vivarte and Go Sport.
GiFi's difficulties date back to a botched IT system changeover in 2023, compounded by competition from other chains such as Action and Maxibazar, as well as online platforms such as Temu. In 2025, the chain, founded by Philippe Ginestet in 1981, had considered cutting its workforce by 5%, before halting that redundancy plan. It has since moved closer to food retailer Grand Frais, to which it is selling around thirty stores.
