Liquidation has far-reaching consequences

A number of market players were astonished that, in its statement about the demise of its French subsidiary, Bob Martin UK made no mention of the fact that the liquidation of Bob Martin France, which took effect on 25 June, was not the consequence of closure by the parent company but the end point of bankruptcy proceedings implemented by the administrative court in Melun. In view of the desperate situation of Bob Martin SAS, this had no other option but to put the brakes on its operation. 
Criticism has also been voiced that many trading partners, including some leading French pet store chains, were not informed in good time of the liquidation of the French subsidiary and are now experiencing out-of-stock problems with some of their private labels. Word has it that payments for agreed refunds and premiums have not been paid either.
In the last eighteen months, Bob Martin SAS, which had annual sales of approx. 16 mio euros, must have run up a mountain of debt in the order of a massive seven-figure sum. Its creditors may be left empty-handed.
The English parent company conceded that Bob Martin SAS was not doing well. "The business environment in France was much tougher than expected over the last 30 months." 
Apart from the creditors, the others primarily facing hardship are the 50 or more employees of the French subsidiary. Many of them are over 45 years of age and fear they may not get another job, and there is evidently no severance safety net in place. Nor is anything known of any offer by Bob Martin UK to redeploy the staff in other business units of the company. In their desperation, the employees asked the previous owner, Nestlé Purina PetCare France, to reincorporate the plant into its group, but without success. 

Bob Martin UK now intends to focus on its business units in the UK, Germany, Italy and Spain. The company says that these are all viable and profitable. Bob Martin UK does not expect "that the events in France will impact our service level in other countries". The events in France have had an impact on Bob Martin's CEO Savi Madan, however. He resigned with effect from 30 July. The name of his successor had not become known before the edi­torial deadline of PET worldwide.