Pending official communications that should arrive at the end of the month, rumors about the identity of possible buyers follow one another in the corridors of Conbipel.
The offers, binding and irrevocable, from January 16 to be examined by the extraordinary commissioner Luca Jeantet and his consultants are three: unofficially there was talk of operators in the clothing sector and financial groups with experience in the retail sector. In the quarterly report published a few days on the company website, the Commissioner maintains absolute confidentiality on the names but underlines that: “The offers demonstrate great market interest in Conbipel, which includes not only the registered office, the brand, the platforms. e-commerce and omni-channel, but also the employees of the company and the fleet of points of sale, for the protection and maintenance of which, from the beginning, the utmost commitment was made ».
Now the tam tam offers some names, all to be confirmed. One of the most popular is Italy Square, fast fashion brand founded in Nola, Campania, in 1993. The multi-channel group operates throughout Italy with about 300 points of sale, including direct management and franchising. It is also present with one or more stores in about twenty foreign countries, including Cyprus, Greece, Iran, Moldova, Serbia, Switzerland, Ukraine.
In recent months, Piazza Italia managers visiting the Cocconato headquarters would have found the automated department store particularly interesting. A structure defined as «of great potential». By acquiring Conbipel, the brand that today has a single headquarters in Campania, it would have the possibility of serving the Northern Italian market faster, including some foreign countries.
According to the rumors gathered in these hours, a Canadian and a German investment fund are competing with Piazza Italia.
«The Commissioner is at work and at the moment we have no information on the 3 offers – he comments Mario Galati of Filcams CGIL – the only thing we can hope for is that, beyond the profile concerned, whoever comes forward will ensure a future for all workers who, in the Asti area alone, are about 300 ».
The wish of Francesco Di Martino of Uiltucs: «The tender provides for the obligation to maintain the company perimeter for at least two years but we hope that the industrial plan of potential buyers offers ample and long-term guarantees». While the sales season continues in the shops, in the Cocconato headquarters we are working at full speed on the next autumn-winter collection. In pointing out the next steps of the extraordinary administration, Jeantet specifies that “by the end of February there will be an eventual invitation by the bidders to formulate better offers or clarifications, with the granting of a short deadline for compliance”. The Commissioner foresees by April «the choice of the contractor (s) – subject to the authorization of the Ministry of Economic Development, after consulting the Supervisory Committee – with the relative start of the trade union procedure, if necessary».
The signing of the business branch transfer agreement is expected by 30 April. Finally, Jeantet points out that despite all the difficulties connected with the pandemic and the insolvency procedure “thanks to the intense work of its employees” Conbipel was awarded the “Brand of the Year” award for the women’s clothing (4th consecutive year) and clothing categories man (5th consecutive year), competing against competitors of the caliber of OVS and H&M.