A name from French agri-food heritage about to go out of business? Thursday, in an interview with specialist journalist Olivier Dauvers for his blog “Le Web Grande Conso”, Lucien Georgelin, boss and founder of the family business of the same name, the second largest producer of jams in France (behind Andros), revealed the difficulties financials through which his company has passed. According to him, it is “on the edge of the precipice”, and 350 jobs are threatened, because of “a cash flow problem”.
Interviewed this Sunday by the regional daily Sud Ouest, Lucien Georgelin wanted to be a little less alarmist. “We are not quite on the edge of the precipice, but it is something that could happen,” he admits. He explains, “The company does not have the finances to buy all the fruit it should in view of the large end-of-year orders, which alone are worth 5 to 6 million euros.” “The months of November and December weigh nearly a quarter of our activity,” said the boss to the blog “Le Web Grande Conso”.
He therefore fears not being able to deliver to his large-scale distribution customers. “I wouldn’t have the means to do this without financial assistance that would allow me to make ends meet. I would need 3 to 4 million euros to get to a quiet job, ”he warns South West. Behind this lack of cash, there is, according to the founder of the company based in Virazeil, in Lot-et-Garonne, “a succession of phenomena”: external shocks, the Covid and the inflationary crisis, in particular of its materials raw materials (fruit, glass, etc.), but also “significant investments” in recent years, amounting to more than 20 million euros. However, profitability is “good”, according to Lucien Georgelin. “Are we going to condemn a profitable, 100% family-owned, heritage-based company that has the support of its customers, just because it cannot buy raw materials?”, he pretends to wonder.
The cry of alarm from the boss of the company, which also sells compotes, spreads and even cereals, probably had an effect. “Following the article published on Thursday, I received calls from all the bosses of large retailers to affirm their support for me, to help me pass this course”, he reported to Sud West. According to him, “some are also ready to grant us campaign credits, to commit to taking volumes over two years, until we can find the balance”. To get out of this bad patch, Lucien Georgelin also said that he would “publicly commit to giving 10% of the company to employees. (…) Because if we get out of it, it will be with them”.
