3Suisses may get new owner

French former mailorder giant 3Suisses has entered exclusive acquisition talks with Lille-based eCommerce company Domoti. Both companies know each other well already because Domoti acquired 3SI’s linen brand Becquet in the spring of last year.

Including 3Suisses Belgium

Domoti owns two brands, Temps L (for seniors) and former 3SI brand Becquet, but wants to expand its reach with the acquisition of 3Suisses France and 3Suisses Belgium. No possible take-over bid has been revealed, but things should be finalized before the summer, if the French Competitive Authority approves. Not only would Domoti acquire the brand, but it also wants to keep all of 3Suisses France’s 40 employees and 3Suisses Belgium’s 18 employees. 

3Suisses, founded in 1932, cannot seem to find an answer to the increased competition from companies like Amazon, Zalando and its eternal competitor La Redoute. In 2014, it halted its famous paper catalog and shifted its attention entirely onto eCommerce, but it has struggled to succeed with a 60 million euro loss in 2016 alone (based on a 120 million euro turnover). About 10 years ago, the company still generated a billion euro turnover, but losses have built up to more than 650 million euro since 2009.

In the spring of 2016, 3SI (formerly 3Suisses International) already revealed it wanted to sell its web shops and focus on services towards eCommerce companies, resulting in 80 people losing their job in France. Compared once more to 2009, about 1,000 jobs were lost at the company, even in Belgium.