La Redoute headed for major restructuring

Jobs lost in France and abroad

Currently, La Redoute employs 3,300
people, with 2,400 in France and 900 abroad. It is expected that the redundancies will occur both at home and abroad.  

La Redoute ran into problems by clinging on to its
original activity as a mail order company, missing out on the surge of
online sales. In 2008, it employed some 5,000 people, but after a large
restructuring 672 people were let go. After that, La Redoute changed its focus
to web sales.

Nevertheless, the company keeps on
struggling. It has lost one third of its turnover in the past five years and had to take a
yearly loss of some 50 million euro.

For sale for a dime and a nickel

La Redoute is part of the Kering
group, who is looking for a buyer, as it wants to concentrate on luxury
products. Brands like Gucci, Yves Saint Laurent and sports brand Puma are part
of its portfolio. Investment funds OpCapita, HIG Capital and real estate
company Altarea Cogedim are considered to be interested buyers.

Press agency Reuters claims Kering is willing to invest at least 300 million
euro into La Redoute to increase its marketability, meaning the company is up for a
dime and a nickel. Union representative Thierry Bertin told press agency AFP that Kering needs to
announce the future buyer by the middle of November.

(translated by Gary Peeters)