Lingerie company Eveden Huit awaits buyers

The Eveden Huit company, from Rennes, France and owned by Japanese group Wacoal, specialised in lingerie and swimwear, is looking for a buyer after going into receivership in early April.

Candidates for the acquisition of the company, which employs a staff of 83, must respond by 17th May to the invitation to tender issued by the receiver. The Rennes trade court is expected to convene in June to decide on the company's fate.

The Huit company was created in Rennes in 1968 and began to experience difficulties in 2010. After filing for bankruptcy, it was acquired by UK company Eveden, a specialist in plus-size lingerie. At the time, the operation also involved about forty dismissals.

Then in May 2012 the Rennes manufacturer became the property of Japanese group Wacoal, after the latter acquired Eveden, and always struggled to relaunch its business.

Despite the brand's "good reputation" and "the support by a shareholder that always shouldered its responsibilities, revenue never managed to meet expectations," admitted Patrick Bordessoule, is in charge of the company since January 2016.

In 2015, the company posted a loss of €2 million for a revenue of €6.2 million.

Besides being affected by the highly competitive situation in the lingerie industry, which is "declining by between 2 and 3% per year nationally," the executive pointed out how the company also suffered from not having a Huit brand website, for selling its own products online.

Patrick Bordessoule is however optimistic about the company's acquisition: "contacts with potential buyers are ongoing," he said, without providing further details.

"The factory - which includes the research centre and support services - continues to function as usual. Our 2016 collection is available in-store and the 2017 one is being designed," he stated, indicating that the employees are kept regularly abreast of the situation, notably with "fortnightly meetings of the employee representative committee."