Naturalia is no longer a candidate to take over its competitor Bio c'Bon

FRANCE. One week before the examination of the offers by the Commercial Court of Paris, Naturalia withdrew, Tuesday evening October 6, 2020, its application to take over the Bio c'Bon brand, which had been filed on September 15, 2020 with Bernardo Sanchez Incera (ex-Monoprix and Zara France, now Deputy Managing Director of Société Générale) associated with his son Xavier. The company of the Casino group evokes "multiple grey areas" to explain this renunciation.

Naturalia and its partners planned to keep some ninety stores out of the 120 in the network. Two-thirds would have remained under the Bio c'Bon banner, the others becoming Naturalia. 85% of the employees (out of a total workforce of 1,035) were taken over (and even 100% in the Ile-de-France region). The Casino group also planned to invest €20 million in the network.

Placed in bankruptcy on August 21, 2020 and in receivership on September 2, 2020, Bio c'Bon (120 points of sale and €146 million in sales in 2019) would have liabilities of €40 million. The brand is owned by its founder (in 2008) Thierry Brissaud and the Marne & Finance group.

Biocoop, the Zouari family (Picard Frozen Foods), the Carrefour and Auchan retail groups are currently still in the running to take over the brand after the closing on September 15, 2020 at noon of the reception of takeover offers. The deadline for improving their proposals has been set at midnight on October 13, 2020. The Commercial Court of Paris will start examining them on October 16, 2020.