“The end of a great story” for the “camaïettes” of Vendôme

Camaïeu has existed for 28 years in Vendôme (Loir-et-Cher), 16,000 inhabitants. It is one of the flagship stores in the city center, located in the small shopping street, a stone’s throw from the town hall. Nadège, behind her salaried fund for 24 years, is upset: “It is with sadness that we accept these last customers, who have been there for years. I feel like I am in mourning today at Camaïeu in Vendôme and I will miss my customers a lot.”

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Her voice cracks, tears well up in her eyes. But Nadège tries to keep smiling in the face of the very many customers who came this Saturday. About forty even waited for the opening this morning, and all of them have a little word of affection when paying. “It is sadreacts this regular of the store. We could not pass by the pedestrian street without coming for a walk in Camaïeu. We know the girls, too. Since the time ! I’ll think of them every time we put on a piece of clothing!”

The mannequins in the window are dismantled to recover the clothes, the shelves are empty very quickly: everything is at -50%. Hangers are even given away: just take them from a box left at the entrance. The manager, Carine, cannot hide her emotion: “Seeing the store like that hurts because it’s emptying so ugly. It’s not the sales, it’s the end of a great story.”

Employee representatives at the national level are hoping for reclassifications. But the store’s four saleswomen want to take the blame first before thinking about the post-layoffs: “I think we need moral rest, we’ll see later. It’s too early to consider anything. We are still under the influence of a very strong emotion.” But all have already received job offers with signs that give priority to “camaïettes”, the name they gave themselves.