Celio wins Camaieu. The men’s clothing brand bought the Camaïeu brand at auction on Wednesday, December 7, at the Vendeville auction house (Nord), for an amount of 1.8 million euros. Sold following the liquidation of the company which, until October, operated 511 stores in France and employed 2,600 employees, the brand fell into the hands of the sign founded by Laurent and Marc Grosman in 1978, leader of the menswear market.
Sébastien Bismuth, the president of Celio, is well aware of the development potential and reputation of Camaïeu, which was once the leading distributor of women’s fashion in France. This specialist in brand relaunch worked to get the Jennyfer brand, renamed Don’t Call Me Jennyfer, back on track before joining Celio in 2020.
“Many of us regretted the disappearance of a brand to which we were attached. (…) We are enthusiastic about the idea of giving a second life to Camaïeu so that it can continue to write its history in women’s ready-to-wear.” argues Mr. Bismuth in a press release on Wednesday, a few minutes after the auction.
“Bringing this iconic French brand back to life”
This sale covered around twenty lots, most of which were dozens of pallets of clothes. In November, a first sale allowed the liquidators to obtain 3.8 million euros. Noz, a destocking brand, had won the majority of the clothes. This time again, this distributor was in the room. Most of the lots were sold for more than 40,000 euros, each for around 5,600 pieces.
However, Celio was not interested in clothing bundles. The brand has not acquired any. According to the company, which operates 374 stores in France and 300 abroad, this takeover should make it possible to “to revive this iconic French brand, known and loved by millions of women”.
A dozen bidders declared themselves for the sale of the Camaïeu brand, with a price of 500,000 euros. Among them was the SME MLP, which intended to relaunch the label in the niche of fashion made in France. It was without counting on the financial power of Laurent and Marc Grosman, who appear in the list of the 500 first fortunes of France, established by the magazine Challenges. The precise nature of the project of Celio, a large distributor of clothing made abroad, has not yet been revealed.