The BHV Marais and BHV Parly 2 stores are temporarily closing

According to the management of the Parisian department store, the BHV Marais, in receivership for a week, had to close Monday November 9 at 4 p.m. She mentions a temporary “administrative regularization”, linked to an insurance issue. The BHV Parly 2, in Yvelines, is also affected by this closure.

Closure due to non-transferred insurance

The management of the brand explained that the BHV Marais and the BHV Parly 2 had to close as a precaution, because one of their insurance policies had not been transferred during the receivership, according to a message from the president of the brand, Karl-Stéphane Cottendin, addressed to employees and sent to Agence France-Presse (AFP). He specifies: "We are finalizing the new contract, which is being signed and will take over tomorrow", ensuring that this "administrative regularization" does not "call into question the continuation" of the company's activity.

According to management, this decision, taken with the “judicial administrators” appointed during the recovery, lasts “until tomorrow during the day”.

Before 6 p.m. on Monday, the Parisian department store had closed its doors and turned off its lights. There was no one inside and no signs for customers.

Employees were not reassured by this closure. To AFP, the department store's inter-union organization deplored: "We never believe it", referring to "unpaid insurance". She added, believing that the BHV was “really not on track” in terms of “building compliance”: “Our fear is that it will not reopen, we hope to know more quickly”.

According to data from September, the brand employs 700 people.

Alerted by employees, the mayor of Paris, Emmanuel Grégoire, that of Paris Centre, Ariel Weil, and the deputy mayor of Paris in charge of employment, Nicolas Bonnet Oulaldj, "noted", according to the latter, the closure of the Bazar de l'Hôtel de Ville. Nicolas Bonnet Oulaldj informed Le Monde that he was informed at 3:30 p.m. by staff representatives that management had asked them to close the store at 4 p.m. He commented: “This is further proof that we are faced with people who are not serious and who make fun of the world.”

For his part, Emmanuel Grégoire reacted to several journalists Monday evening, on the sidelines of a meeting with residents of Paris Center: “This shows the extent of what we anticipated.” He added: “I have no information on a possible reopening, but everything leads me to believe that it will remain closed. For the judicial administrator to take such a rapid and firm decision, it is because, unfortunately, there are big problems in the file on the payment of the providers who are responsible for the insurance.”

Machine-translated from French