• The shoe brand San Marina was placed in liquidation on Monday by the Commercial Court of Marseille.
  • None of the three takeover offers were successful.
  • San Marina leaves 676 employees on the floor and a slate of nearly 55 million euros.

As anticipated at the end of the hearing of the Commercial Court of Marseille on February 10, the shoe brand San Marina has been placed in liquidation, the judges recorded on Monday. It "can only be noted the lack of viability of San Marina to date and the urgent need to put an end to a situation that it is no longer possible to rectify and that is worsening day by day," motivated the court, in the copy of its decision that "20 Minutes" consulted. San Marina had been in default of payments since 20 September 2022.

Nearly €55 million in debt

The 163 stores of the Marseille-born company will not reopen after lowering their curtains one last time last Saturday. The judges rejected the three takeover offers made considering that they "were clearly liquidation offers without vocation to maintain the activity or employment", said the court in the reasons for its decision. Offers on which the representative bodies of the 676 employees of San Marina had "unanimously issued unfavorable opinions". There are "no surprises" in this decision, commented a union source.

Since the announcement made in our columns Tuesday of the permanent closure of stores, customers have rushed to the stores of the brand that offered a 50% discount on all their products. "It was more than people, these last days were madness," continued our interlocutor. "It's simple, on Wednesday alone I achieved as much turnover as on the previous 15 days." A rush that went crescendo until the last curtain fell and that should "help negotiate severance packages". The cost of the dismissals is estimated "at a minimum amount of 5 million euros," the receiver told the court.



In the reasons for their decision, the judges of the commercial court mentioned the sequence of yellow vests, lockdowns and inflation against the backdrop of international armed conflict as factors in this bankruptcy of a company in a sector of activity that "is going through a period of significant change". Elements that were the "coup de grace" for a company that did not survive the rise of the sneaker against traditional boots and moccasins.

In addition to its 676 employees made unemployed, San Marina leaves in its accounts a hole of 55 million euros, including a little more than 8 million euros in salaries, 3.8 million euros of PGE (Loan guaranteed by the State), 7.9 million in tax arrears and respectively 10 million euros to suppliers and donors. The company's management told the judges that they estimated the price of their 13,500 pairs of shoes remaining in stock at 000 million euros.

  • Economy
  • Marseille
  • PACA
  • Compulsory liquidation
  • Shoe
  • Closure