From an urgent curative solution to preventive management of unpaid bills: how the French champion of stylish skiwear transformed its approach to client risk with Coface's Debt Collection and Trade Credit Insurance services, clearing its old debts and ensuring its commercial development.
Fusalp, alpine style
Founded in Annecy in 1952 by two tailor craftsmen (and skiers!) tired of making classic suits for men, Fusalp specialises in the manufacture of skiwear and ready-to-wear clothing. With a presence in France and overseas, Fusalp distributes its products through three main channels: around 60 points of sale in France and abroad, through a network of multi-brand retailers and via its e-commerce site. The company, which employ around 200 people, has an annual turnover of around €50 million.
S.O.S. receivables: six years of unpaid debts to collect worldwide
Upon his arrival as Chief Financial Officer, Rémi Jallat faced a major problem for Fusalp's business development: a significant volume of old receivables, dating back several years, from clients in France and abroad. In response to this urgent issue, Fusalp turned to Coface's third-party Debt Collection services.
We chose Coface because it is a global company with a network of local experts in every country. What's more, the payment terms were based on success fees, so we only paid for the debts that were actually collected.
explains Rémi Jallat, Chief Financial Officer at Fusalp.
Debt Collection and Trade Credit Insurance: Rémi Jallat, Chief Financial Officer at Fusalp, explains how Coface's solutions help him mitigate customer risk.
Unpaid debt management: from curative to preventive
The strong results of this initial partnership led Fusalp to equip itself with other solutions. The main goal was to manage unpaid invoices more proactively with Coface's trade credit insurance solutions.
After the success of the first debt collection mission, we decided to move from a curative solution to a preventive approach in managing unpaid invoices.
The company now assesses the risk of each client or prospect at an early stage in order to adapt payment terms (prepayment, extended payment periods, request for guarantees, payment on delivery) according to the financial health of the business partner and Coface's recommendations.
We use trade credit insurance for several purposes: scoring prospects, insuring our receivables in France and abroad, and collecting unpaid debts from our clients.
explains Rémi Jallat.
Coface Trade Credit Insurance as a game changer
On a daily basis, Coface's commercial risk management solutions, global network and local experts enable Fusalp to cover client risk along the entire value chain: from prospect assessment to trade credit insurance and debt collection (depending on the case), while complying with various international laws, which is a huge asset for its development and the management of its unpaid debts abroad.
When we mention Coface as a partner, our debtors tend to pay us much more quickly. Finally, since implementing Coface trade credit insurance, we have been managing unpaid debts more effectively: we haven't had a single claim to report since!
emphasises Rémi Jallat, Chief Financial Officer at Fusalp.
Ready to secure your growth like Fusalp? Discover Coface’s trade credit insurance and debt collection solutions to transform your customer risk management today.
