Giochi Preziosi Workers Secure Income Protection Through 2026 Amid Store Closures

The Italy Ministry of Labour has finalized an agreement securing extraordinary wage integration for 135 retail workers at Giochi Preziosi, the toy giant now navigating a €410 million debt burden and a sweeping store closure plan. The deal, struck with the country's three major retail trade unions, guarantees salary coverage through the end of 2026—a lifeline for employees caught in the collapse of the group's direct-to-consumer experiment.

Why This Matters

• 135 workers across six regions will receive extraordinary unemployment benefits (CIGS) until December 31, 2026, protecting income during store closures.

• Giochi Preziosi Store and Startrade, the group's retail arms, are shutting down approximately 30 locations, affecting regions from Lombardy to Tuscany.

• The Ministry of Business and Made in Italy has opened a parallel inquiry into the group's industrial plan, expected by June 8, which will reshape the company's wholesale and retail footprint.

• A new industrial strategy seeks fresh investors to stabilize a company that has already placed six subsidiaries under concordato preventivo (composition with creditors) protection.

The Retail Retreat

Giochi Preziosi, once synonymous with Italian toy retail through branded stores and franchises like Hamleys, is now executing a controlled demolition of its brick-and-mortar network. The CIGS agreement covers 88 employees at Giochi Preziosi Store and 47 at Startrade, with suspensions ranging from zero-hour contracts to partial reductions as individual locations wind down operations. Workers are scattered across Lombardy, Emilia-Romagna, Veneto, Piedmont, Liguria, and Tuscany, plus head office staff.

Filcams Cgil, Fisascat Cisl, and Uiltucs—the three unions representing retail and service workers—signed off on the wage guarantee but issued a pointed warning: "This agreement is a necessary step to protect income and rights, but it does not resolve our deep concerns about the group's overall crisis." They have demanded continued dialogue with both corporate leadership and government ministries as the industrial plan takes shape.

The retail closures are part of a broader retrenchment. The group has already shuttered around 30 stores nationwide, putting more than 300 jobs at risk. The strategy now pivots hard toward wholesale distribution, offloading direct retail risk while preserving relationships with independent toy shops and department stores.

The Debt Mountain

At the close of 2025, Giochi Preziosi reported consolidated debts of approximately €410 million, with roughly €265 million owed to banks and financial institutions including Banco BPM, UniCredit, and Intesa Sanpaolo. The company's equity had turned sharply negative, a red flag that triggered creditor action and forced the group to seek court protection.

In March 2026, the Milan Tribunal granted an extension of the concordato preventivo to six key subsidiaries: Giochi Preziosi Italia, Grandi Giochi, Giocheria, Giochi Preziosi Store, GPH (the Hamleys franchise operator), and Startrade. The restructuring plan calls for the creation of a Newco GP to absorb operational assets and liabilities, accompanied by a €50 million capital increase partially underwritten by the founding Preziosi family and a new financial partner.

Creditors DeA Capital Alternative Fund (part of the De Agostini Group) and Sagitta SGR (backed by Europa Investimenti of the Arrow Capital network) have acquired distressed debt and may convert their positions into equity stakes, potentially diluting or displacing the Preziosi family's control. Rumors have circulated about potential involvement by Invitalia, Italy's state investment agency, though no formal confirmation has emerged.

What This Means for Residents

For workers, the CIGS coverage until December 31, 2026 provides breathing room but not certainty. Extraordinary unemployment integration typically replaces around 80% of gross salary, capped by statutory limits—a meaningful cushion but one that rarely matches full pay, especially for those with dependents or fixed expenses like mortgages. Employees should consult union representatives or regional labor offices (Centri per l'Impiego) to understand eligibility for re-skilling programs or mobility allowances.

The retail closures also signal a shift in the Italian toy market. Giochi Preziosi built its brand on impulse buying in high-footfall shopping centers, but the company is now betting on wholesale partnerships with chains like Toys Center and e-commerce platforms. Consumers may find fewer standalone Giochi Preziosi outlets, though products such as the Gormiti and Cicciobello franchises will remain widely available through third-party retailers.

For investors and business observers, the case underscores the risks of over-leveraged expansion in a sector hammered by Amazon's logistics dominance and the pandemic's supply chain disruptions. Giochi Preziosi's troubles began years ago, with covenant breaches in 2022 and mounting losses exceeding €100 million between 2020 and 2022. Rising raw material costs and shipping rates—legacies of the COVID-19 lockdowns—eroded margins further.

The Industrial Reset

The forthcoming industrial plan, due before the Ministry of Business and Made in Italy by June 8, is expected to formalize three pillars: strengthening wholesale operations, rationalizing retail, and securing new industrial investors. The wholesale bet makes sense on paper—toy manufacturers traditionally earn higher margins selling through distributors than operating their own stores—but execution hinges on brand strength and product innovation.

On the investor front, the most advanced talks involve Superhisen, a major supplier to Famosa, the Spanish doll maker that Giochi Preziosi acquired on April 13, 2026. That acquisition, completed by a group affiliate even as the parent company struggled, signals a counterintuitive strategy: doubling down on manufacturing and intellectual property while retreating from retail. Famosa's brands command loyalty in Iberia and Mexico, and the integration aims to build a competitive pan-European toy platform with projected EBITDA exceeding €50 million by 2030.

Whether that projection survives contact with market reality remains an open question. The unions have publicly criticized the lack of a "credible and transparent" turnaround plan, and the timeline for identifying a controlling investor is tight. The Milan Tribunal has granted several extensions for filing the final composition proposal, most recently to March 23, 2026, but patience among creditors and employees is finite.

Historical Context

Giochi Preziosi, founded in 1978 by Enrico Preziosi in Milan, rode waves of licensing deals—Pokémon, Dragon Ball, Ben 10—to become a household name. But the company's financial structure became brittle during a previous debt restructuring a decade ago, and the post-pandemic environment exposed vulnerabilities in its retail-heavy model. Lease disputes, evictions, and failure to renew contracts plagued the store network, while the group's eight-entity corporate structure complicated collective bargaining and crisis management.

The pandemic's supply freeze forced the closure of two loss-making units and triggered bank covenant violations, accelerating the spiral. By 2025, the group's net worth had collapsed, and the founding family faced the prospect of ceding control to debt-holding investment funds.

What Happens Next

The next 60 days are critical. If Giochi Preziosi and its creditors finalize a concordato proposal acceptable to the Milan Tribunal, the company may emerge leaner but intact, with new capital and a streamlined footprint. If negotiations falter, creditors could push for asset liquidation, putting the entire workforce—not just the 135 workers under CIGS—at risk.

For now, the 135 employees covered by the extraordinary wage integration can count on income continuity through year-end, a rare certainty in Italy's turbulent retail sector. The unions have vowed to press for transparency and job-saving measures at every stage. "The crisis is far from over," they warned, "and the burden cannot fall solely on workers while industrial plans remain vague."

In a market where nostalgia and brand equity still matter, Giochi Preziosi retains value—but the window to unlock it is closing fast.