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A chronic signed Anne Baron, general manager of the Association Les Rebondisseurs Français.
Industry: When a company’s rebound goes through its employees
Employees are the first to worry about the closure of their company, sometimes they decide to collectively recover by becoming employee entrepreneurs. Some companies have been successfully taken over by employees. Therefore, the roadmap of Scop-Ti has held since the tea factory (formerly L’Éléphant, Fralib) near Marseille was taken over in 2014. They have tasted entrepreneurship and instilled ideas so that this rebound tastes of success. 1336, the brand launched by these employee-entrepreneurs, has been an inspiration to others.
Like the MBF aluminum foundry in the Haut-Jura, some entrepreneurs get started when they learn of the liquidation of the company that employs them. The employees of this factory that counts a lot in the local economy, but also in culture, have chosen to join forces so that the company does not fall apart. This alloy in the form of SCOP, employees believed us to be as tough as iron. However, a leaden sky is falling over their heads: the confirmation of the liquidation of the MBF foundry by the Court of Appeal at the end of 2021. There is no doubt that this experience will have left a mark on these entrepreneurs for a day, but this will also allowed some to consider (and implement) a rebound towards enterprise creation. Every setback is a source of learning and forges entrepreneurs.
Rebirth” made in France”
Diversify to recover… The purchase of a brand and more generally of a company is a rebirth for those who are taken over, but also a real rebound for those who invest. Some companies have lost their luster and are sometimes revived before their last breath by companies that want to pivot. Thus, the Lemoine company, which acquired the Peaudouce brand: leader in baby diapers of the 80s, had disappeared in 1999. However, it was reborn following the acquisition by the Lemoine company in 2020, which decided to put a diaper back on. !
This diversification for the group allows him to take his first steps in early childhood but above all gives a new lease of life to a well-known French brand that had collapsed. It will be difficult to find a place in the diaper market, but the company is counting on its experience and the reputation of its new baby to play in the big leagues by juggling a 100% digital strategy, French and organic production to attract new parents.
Craftsmanship: from customers to buyers
Being an entrepreneur, be it a VSE, an SME, an ETI or a company, (also) means having to make difficult decisions. When the unexpected puts your business at risk, you need to know how to arbitrate and decide. This was the case in 2022 for the owner of the Vert-Pré butcher shop in Mouvaux. For almost 20 years this craftsman has had to put his business into compulsory liquidation (in which he started as an apprentice 35 years ago). But, before the court could settle it quickly, the village shop was saved by two loyal customers. On the menu: Acquiring the company and retaining the team and the business without changing the recipe.
Sometimes, before leaving for the slaughterhouse, there are rebound solutions, which the entrepreneur does not necessarily think about. Opportunities to bounce back can come from those around you, from clients, partners, employees, colleagues or organizations… It is important to be well surrounded and to have the courage to speak up!