French fashion retailer Camaïeu, which collapsed in September 2022 leaving more than 2,000 staff without jobs, is restarting operations in August, including opening a store in Brussels.
First founded in 1984, Camaïeu was a prominent player in the French high-street ("prêt-à-porter") market for decades. However, in more recent years the women's fashion brand was hit hard by the pandemic and a costly cyberattack, as well as increasing competition from other global fashion retailers.
The company was liquidated in September 2022, leading to the loss of more than 2,000 jobs and the closure of approximately 500 stores. A few months after the liquidation, in December 2022, French men's fashion brand Celio bought the Camaïeu brand for €1.8 million.
Celio's management have now confirmed that they will be relaunching the Camaïeu brand, as the company is looking to expand into the women's fashion market.
Menswear brand had to 'broaden its range'
"We only bought the Camaïeu brand, not the stores or personnel, with the intention of launching a women’s line within Celio," said Celio’s President, Sébastien Bismuth.
"Celio needed to broaden its range … All large international brands now cater to both men and women," Bismuth said, naming companies like Zara, H&M, Uniqlo, and Gap as examples.
The company's goal is to “establish large-scale stores of between 700 and 1,000 square metres,” mainly by expanding existing Celio outlets, which in addition to their usual men’s range will also offer women’s fashion under the be camaïeu brand.
The be camaïeu brand will be available across 12 stores and online from 29 August, including a new store in Brussels which will be dedicated solely to the new womenswear collection.
The Camaïeu brand was previously available in Belgium across 25 outlets, but the company's Belgian subsidiary shut down in 2020 due to financial difficulties heightened by pandemic restrictions.
75 new jobs
Celio said its target is to open around 50 stores over the next three to four years which feature the new format, and in the short term plans to create around fifty retail jobs and a further 25 jobs at its headquarters.
Founded in 1978, Celio currently operates 320 men’s wear outlets in France and also has operations in Belgium, Spain, and North Africa.
Mr Bismuth did not disclose the costs of the expansion or Celio’s sales figures but claimed the company “has been growing, profitable, and gaining a larger market share for the last three years.”
