Spain: Marionnaud confirms closure of 60% of its outlets

Marionnaud, the largest perfumery chain in Europe, has confirmed plans to close the majority of its outlets in Spain and to lay off more than half its workforce in the country.

The retailer, which is part of the multinational A.S. Watson group, currently owns 116 stores across Spain. The closure plan will see 70 of these stores shut down, according to Granconsumo.tv, quoting a union source from within the company. Currently Marionnaud claims to have over 1,100 stores in 11 countries across Europe, including France, Italy and Portugal as well as Spain.

Along with the store closures, a deal on redundancies has also reportedly been agreed between the firm’s management and unions. However unions also criticized the decision, stating that the measures were “disproportionate” and would result in the company losing market share.

The mass closure of Marionnaud stores was first mooted over a month ago, with the retailer citing difficult operating conditions and weak results over a number of years. In common with other perfumery retailers, Marionnaud saw an explosion in store numbers at the beginning of the century, but saturation has led to poor sales at the individual store level, it is reported.

Source: Granconsumo.tv / Marionnaud