SGM, owner of Paris department store BHV Marais, enters receivership

SGM (Société des Grands Magasins), the company that operates the BHV Marais department store in central Paris, was placed in redressement judiciaire, a French court-supervised receivership, at the start of 2026. The procedure is meant to keep a business trading while a court-appointed administrator reviews its accounts and looks for a way to restructure its debts.

SGM was led by businessman Frédéric Merlin, who took over the BHV brand in 2023 from the Galeries Lafayette group. The retailer had struggled with weak sales, high costs and pressure from suppliers and landlords, and had already scaled back its network of stores outside the capital.

The decision mattered because BHV Marais, which opened in 1856 opposite Paris city hall, is one of the city's best-known shops and employs hundreds of people. Receivership put the store's future under the oversight of the Paris commercial court. It opened a period in which a rescue plan, a takeover or a sale of assets could be considered, and it set the backdrop for the later problems that affected the store's day-to-day operations.