BHV in receivership: will the store survive Christmas?

Introducing Shein to BHV emptied the store of its brands, and management is now paying the price. Even the unions, which demanded redress, repeat that there will be no future with this same management.

The very long way of the cross of the BHV Marais and the BHV Parly 2 is experiencing yet another chapter. On November 2, the Paris Economic Activities Court took the difficult decision to place the two historic stores belonging to the Société des Grands Magasins (SGM) into receivership, after a closed-door hearing lasting 2.5 hours on October 30.

This protection procedure comes after the economic activities court noted that the company was in cessation of payments. It allows previous debts to be frozen while keeping the store open during a renewable observation period of six months. A way to “secure the recovery plan due to lack of execution of agreements with the lessor” according to management, considered “incompetent” by the unions.

According to the judgment, the company SGM BHV lost 1.8 million euros in 2025, for a turnover of only 170.3 million euros. As of August 31, the group accumulated more than 120 million euros in debt, for less than 1.5 million in cash. Le Monde explains in particular that sales fell from 274 million euros in 2024 to 170 million in 2025, which represents a drop of 38%. Between January and August 2026, they would have only reached 21 million euros, suggesting the worst for the annual balance sheet.

The BHV on rue de Rivoli and the BHV Parly 2 will therefore remain open while continuing to employ nearly 700 people, compared to 1,100 three years ago. On December 18, a first follow-up hearing of the BHV before the Paris court will be held, at the end of which it will have to rule on whether or not to maintain the observation period. In particular, it will check whether the company can continue to operate under the protection of the procedure, or whether another outcome is necessary, such as a potential closure.

Our request for legal relief, heard by the court, does not in any way constitute support for the current management. – Unions

The unions want to believe in the future of the BHV and in the preservation of some 700 jobs. “Our request for legal relief, heard by the court, does not in any way constitute support for the current management.” And added: “There can be no future at BHV with this same management.”

It was in November 2023 that the storm intensified for the BHV, when SGM bought the store from Galeries Lafayette, then owners of the “Bazar de l’Hôtel de Ville”. The store then lost 15 million euros per year. Two years later, the boss of SGM, Frédéric Merlin, caused an uproar by introducing the ultra-fast fashion expert, Shein, into BHV Marais. Around a hundred brands then decided to leave the store, leaving it completely empty.

Machine-translated from French