French discount retailer Gifi ended the first half of 2026 still deep in financial difficulty, having fired its chief executive, agreed to transfer dozens of stores to rival Grand Frais, and kept a formal redundancy plan on hold while its workforce quietly shrank. One piece of better news emerged in May, when the company posted its first positive operational performance indicator in many months.
A revolving door at the top
The leadership upheaval at Gifi's headquarters in Villeneuve-sur-Lot, in the southwestern department of Lot-et-Garonne, has continued since founder Philippe Ginestet was pushed into an operational back seat in late 2024 under pressure from the company's creditor banks. His departure set off a succession of short-lived appointments that have so far failed to stabilise the group.
Christophe Mistou, a former executive at Castorama and Mr. Bricolage, was the latest casualty. He was dismissed on January 29, 2026, just five months after joining, amid what the source describes as an atmosphere of acute tension. At the time of his removal the company had only a few months of treasury visibility. Mistou has since taken legal action against his former employer, while the shareholder group has accused him of excessive personal spending during the crisis.
After an interim period led by Remy Lecomte, the supervisory board acted in February 2026 and appointed Gerard Walter, a former senior figure at the Casino retail group, to chair Gifi's management board.
Twenty-five stores handed to Grand Frais
To generate the cash it urgently needs, Gifi has been selling off commercial leases on stores across France. A strategic partnership with the Prosol group, owner of the Grand Frais fresh-food chain, moved into a decisive phase during the first half of 2026. Gifi initially targeted the leases on around 30 outlets; the two sides eventually agreed on 25 sites.
One store that will not change hands is the Bias location. Local planning rules governing the greater Villeneuve area still prevent Grand Frais from setting up a site on the outskirts of the town, blocking the transfer there. Elsewhere, the handover of keys has been rolling out since June, giving Grand Frais time to begin conversion works. The proceeds are intended to reduce Gifi's debt and, where possible, protect jobs at the sites being sold.
Redundancy plan paused, but staff numbers falling
One of Christophe Mistou's first acts after arriving had been to suspend a formal job-protection plan, known in France as a Plan de sauvegarde de l'emploi, that had been launched a few months earlier. His successor appears to have maintained that pause. However, according to a union source cited by the publication, voluntary departures are not being replaced, which means the headcount at the Villeneuve-sur-Lot headquarters has been declining steadily since the crisis began.
The financial troubles at Gifi can be traced to a failed software migration in 2023, a problem that was subsequently compounded by intensifying competition from discount rivals including Action and Temu.
First green light, and a possible Ginestet comeback
Against that difficult backdrop, one indicator offered a measure of encouragement. According to the specialist website L'Informe, Gifi recorded a positive operational performance figure in May, described as the first such result in many months.
It is with that data in hand that Philippe Ginestet, who remains the principal shareholder through his holding company GPG, is expected to hold fresh talks with the creditor banks. According to L'Informe, he may table a buyback offer at those meetings. The autumn, the sources suggest, could be decisive for the future of the group he founded in 1981.
Gifi remains one of the most significant employers in Lot-et-Garonne, and each development at its headquarters draws close attention locally. Whether the May performance figure marks the beginning of a genuine recovery, or simply a brief respite in a prolonged crisis, is a question the second half of 2026 is likely to answer.
