255 jobs lost
Industrial entrepreneur Stéphane Dedieu, who had been the company’s export director and who took control of the company between 2009 and 2012, has been allowed to continue the company. The business plan keeps 128 out of 383 people employed, 105 at its Drusenheim (Bas-Rhin) location, which was where the company was founded, and 23 in Oberhausbergen. The company will restart on 1 November and the board has guaranteed employment for the next two years.
Dedieu will own 65 % of Caddie, with 25 % going to supermarket chain Orvea’s Italian owner Bertoldi, which has been Caddie’s distributor since 1961. The remaining 10 % is for German ShopBox, specialized in shopping cart cleaning and maintenance. Its new owners have also gained control of the Caddie name. Altia had owned the name ever since it purchased the company in 2012, but it is now struggling to survive itself.
Full focus on retail
The buyers will invest 6 million euro into Caddie “to relaunch the company. We will focus on wholesale and store equipment. The hotel and hospital business will be put on hold.”
Dedieu and the others plan to reach a 17 million turnover in 2015, well below the 37 million euro turnover it managed in 2013. “The first goal is to please the customer. It is our duty to deliver on time and the next 6 months will be crucial for the company’s future.”
