French brands Princesse Tam Tam and Comptoir des Cotonniers, which have been in receivership since July 1, will accelerate the pace of mutualization in a bid to get out of the rut.

The brands, which belong to the Japanese Fast Retailing group, had already legally merged in September 2024. Now, in addition to a slimming-down process, a visible alliance is taking shape, and customers will be able to see it for themselves. An e-mail sent to fans of the two brands on July 17 prewarned that they have “decided to move forward together,” and details the changes that have been made and those to come.

To begin with, a joint loyalty program has been set up. Called “Le Club”, it brings together purchases made by customers of both brands. What’s more, access to the customer account on both sites has become identical (with the same login and password), and both brands will soon be listed on the same web platform.

In the same vein, newsletters sent to consumers will now be common, with the aim of offering “a mix between the casual elegance of Comptoir des Cotonniers and the refined audacity of Princesse Tam Tam”, management hoped, combining lingerie and ready-to-wear.

After a first test in 2022, with a shared store opened in Paris (at Les Halles), management intends to intensify the implementation of boutiques housing the offer of both brands. There are currently four such stores. This format is set to proliferate, sometimes on larger surfaces. A new boutique concept is also due to be launched in a few months’ time.

But this strategy goes hand in hand with a program of store closures, for which the PSE is currently being negotiated with employee representatives. According to newspaper Le Monde, a third of the total number of stores is to be affected, i.e. 26 out of the 90 units operated by the two banners, and 65 jobs.

On July 10, the CFDT organized a rally in front of the Uniqlo Opéra store in Paris to protest against the provisions of the redundancy plan, with compensation packages “far inferior” to those obtained during the 2021 and 2023 PSEs.

“We refuse to be the collateral victims of a legal choice that allows management to make savings on the backs of its teams”, wrote the union in a leaflet, calling for “a real reflection on the future of our brands, refocused on their identity, their history, their know-how, and built with the field. Not yet another meaningless standardization.”

In an attempt to revive their business, the two labels chaired by Kunii San had announced in the spring of 2024 that they would lower their selling prices by around 30%, in order to reach a wider customer base, particularly the 25-35 age group. Their products have also found a place in some Uniqlo stores. A policy questioned by several fashion industry observers, as described by FashionNetwork.com.

The Japanese group, which still has the wind in its sails thanks to the Uniqlo locomotive (with sales up 10.7% in the first half of 2024/25), acquired Princesse Tam Tam and Comptoir des Cotonniers just twenty years ago.