One more.
The ready-to-wear group IKKS announced this Monday that it was considering reducing its workforce and closing stores, to face a “complex economic reality”, according to a press release.
This Job Protection Plan (PSE), which was presented to the CSE on Monday, could concern 202 employees in France (out of 1,328) and provides for the closure of 77 stores and corners (out of 604).
IKKS therefore joins the list of ready-to-wear brands facing economic difficulties since the pandemic.
In September 2022, the courts declared the judicial liquidation of the Camaïeu brand, leading to the closure of stores and the dismissal of employees.
The Kookaï brand, placed in receivership in February 2023, announced the closure of 20 stores a few months later.
San Marina, Kaporal, Don't Call Me Jennyfer…
Other textile or shoe brands have announced difficulties in recent months such as San Marina, Kaporal, Don't Call Me Jennyfer, Naf Naf, André, Minelli and Gap France.
Some are downsizing, like IKKS, others have been placed in receivership, and still others have been liquidated.
Also read: Jennyfer, Camaïeu, Pimkie, Burton of London… an update on ready-to-wear brands in difficulty
Fashionable in the 1990s, these brands began to decline at the time of the 2008 financial crisis. The Covid crisis also hit brands already weakened by the rise of “fast fashion” giants like Zara or H&M. and online sales.
“The conjunction of various external factors such as the global health crisis due to Covid-19, the consequences of the war in Ukraine where the group was strongly established, as well as persistent inflation, have had a strong impact on the entire sector,” justified IKKS in its press release.
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This project “aims to rationalize the distribution network and optimize the company's performance in an unstable economic context,” explained IKKS, which is also committed to “maximizing reclassifications.”
Founded in 1987, the IKKS group brings together brands such as I.Code, One Step and IKKS, and offers clothing for women, men and children.
The group is present in France and internationally with 700 points of sale and 1,700 employees worldwide, according to the press release.