Go Sport goes into receivership

Translated by
Cassidy STEPHENS

Published
Jan 19, 2023

The verdict is in, the commercial court of Grenoble announced on January 19 the placement of Go Sport in receivership, whose financial state worried its employees and auditors. The sporting goods retailer is following the same path as Camaïeu, another chain owned by the HPB group, which began this procedure in the summer of 2022, ending in a judicial liquidation on September 28.

“In a well-reasoned judgement, the court (…) noted the state of cessation of payments of the company Groupe Go Sport and opened a procedure for judicial recovery,” announced the Grenoble public prosecutor in a statement. It said that “Go Sport France has not been declared in suspension of payments, but its situation will be affected by that of its parent company”, which is also the subject of a preliminary investigation for “abuse of corporate assets.”

A six-month observation period has been opened, with the appointment of two administrators and two legal representatives. This is to “manage the company in the best interests of employees and creditors, under the control of judges and the public prosecutor,” the Grenoble public prosecutor’s office added.

On Wednesday, the court also confirmed the opening of a preliminary investigation into the misuse of corporate assets since November 2022, in light of financial movements that appear suspicious, in particular a 36 million euro transaction from Go Sport to its parent company, the HPB group.

The company was headed in early January by Patrick Puy, who previously restructured the Vivarte group. It has 2,160 employees, and a network of 223 shops including Go Sport, Endurance Shop and Bike+. It recently acquired the Gap France entity, another HPB asset. 

The group owned by Michel Ohayon had insisted a few weeks ago that the company was a “healthy business”, “in full development”, and that “no confusion” should be made between Go Sport and Camaïeu, even announcing that it was counting on “a return to profits as early as 2023, after seventeen years of losses”.

What will happen now that the court-ordered reorganisation has been triggered? A possible sale, once mentioned by the management, could be on the table again, within the framework of this procedure which allows calls for tenders.

Fashion Network with AFP