Clergerie has found a new owner. Today, Titan Industries, Inc. has taken over the French footwear brand — saving it from liquidation.
Titan CEO and founder Joe Ouaknine confirmed the buyout, telling FN the company is committed to maintaining 45% of the workforce (59 of the 134 employees). Titan had paid 700,000 euros to buy the Clergerie name, with a commitment of 6 million euros of investment.
Clergerie filed for court protection March 29. The company had been placed in receivership after a relaunch under new parent company French Legacy Group in 2020 that failed to take off.
“The situation at Clergerie Group was very fragile at the time of our takeover, and the impact of the pandemic and situation in Ukraine was a double shock. We hit a wall with the decrease of traffic in stores, longer lead times and delays in deliveries from suppliers,” FLG president Jerome Espinos told FN in April.
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“There’s a lot of work to do. We are shoe people and there’s a solid following of the brand that we are going to take advantage of,” added Ouaknine.
Clergerie was founded by Robert Clergerie in 1981 and manufactured shoes in its owns factory in the historic shoe-making capital of Romans-sur-Isère, France. Ouaknine said they will keep the factory in France.
The brand has 13 standalone stores, with shops across France and boutiques in Brussels, Geneva, Los Angeles, London, Madrid, New York City and Tokyo. Ouaknine said there are plans to close some locations, and the brand will continue to partners with key retailers.
Through Titan, Ouaknine has built one of the industry’s most notable shoe businesses. His brand roster now includes Badgley Mischka, L’Agence, Daniel x Diamond and Dee Ocleppo. Ouaknine has worked with many celebrities over the years and launched Gwen Stefani’s L.A.M.B. collection and Daya by Zendaya as well.
