Industrial action ends at Lacoste’s French logistics subsidiary

After a week of picketing, the strike at the Solodi 2 site in Buchères, near Troyes, France, operated by Lacoste’s logistics subsidiary Solodi, ended on the evening of February 19. The workers – who had been joined in solidarity by the employees of Solodi’s other site in nearby Ecrevolles – have accepted the offer put forward by Solodi, according to information gleaned by FashionNetwork.com.

The bone of contention was the employees’ demand for a wage increase. The workers at the two Solodi sites, in Buchères and Ecrevolles, were asking for a 4.5% pay rise and better working conditions, backed by their inter-union employee committee (comprising the CFDT, UNSA and CGT unions).

The industrial action severely disrupted deliveries to Lacoste’s end-consumers, as Solodi’s logistics hubs incorporated the warehouse and order preparation facilities catering to the European and Mediterranean basin markets. The strike was called off on Monday evening, after the union representatives met local authorities in Troyes, both from the prefect and the mayor’s office.

On the same evening, Solodi made an offer to the striking workers. “The management made an offer which put an end to the industrial action, as a majority of the workers accepted it: a generalised 3% pay rise from January 1, an upgrade in bonus pay for day and night work from March 1, and a fifth day of furlough leave after 25 years,” as FashionNetwork.com was told by Ophélie Leclerc, local secretary general for the CFDT union, who was striking with her colleagues.

Solodi also added a one-off bonus of €1,000 before tax for all employees, split up in a €500 tranche in the March pay packet, a €250 tranche in the December one, and another €250 in December linked to a productivity target. In addition, according to Leclerc, “the strike hours will be spread out over several months.”

“Many are disappointed. But we’re proud of the industrial action, and of the strength and tenacity we showed,” said Leclerc, an order picker who has worked at Solodi for 12 years.

Contacted by FashionNetwork.com last week, Lacoste, which is owned by Swiss group MF Brands (also the owner of Aigle, Gant and The Kooples) said that it takes “the quality of its employees’ working conditions at all Lacoste sites very seriously,” and is “investing significantly, in Buchères and elsewhere in France, for the safety and comfort of [its] employees.”

The premium sportswear brand celebrated its 90th anniversary last year, and in 2022 it recorded an “exceptional” result, generating a revenue in excess of €2.5 billion. Thriving Lacoste is driving the growth of the MF Brands group, and is aiming to reach the €5 billion revenue mark in 2026.