New documents filed at Companies House have shown that influencer-linked fashion e-tailer In The Style owed £21 million+ ahead of its administration filing and purchase by an entity linked to its previous owner Baaj Capital.
In The Style
Alps Sourcing Limited bought it last week with 87 of its jobs having been saved.
City AM report that administrator FTS Recovery has filed the new document in which it said the company’s cash flow contained to be fragile in recent months “as a result of significant legacy contracts, at a time when the market has seen a significant downturn in sales” due to “the current economic climate and cost-of-living crisis”.
The board had said the contracts in question cost the company around £1 million since the new management takeover.
FTS added: “These cash flow pressures have led to a failure to meet contractual obligations, which in turn has led to negative publicity and damage to the company’s goodwill.”
There had been press reports citing a number of celebs/influencers saying they hadn’t been paid and when it filed for administration almost 200 unsecured creditors were owed more than £4.5 million.
The administrator also said it had contacted company founder Adam Frisby to see if he was interested in a rescue deal for the business but “this route was unfruitful”.
The Manchester-based fast-fashion label has had a rocky period in this decade. Having been founded by Frisby in 2013, it grew fast and listed on the stock exchange in 2021 with a valuation at one point of £105 million.
But its sale to Baaj for just over £1 million in 2023 showed just how tough the market had become in a short space of time.
It continued to be loss-making in the year to the end of March 2024, although the pre-tax loss of £2.6 million was narrower than the prior year’s £7.7 million deficit.
In a partnership that we’re told was born out of “exceptional craftsmanship and timeless elegance” Paris-based luxury footwear brand Maison Corthay is to share space at peer Cifonelli’s London Mayfair’s Clifford Street store.
Bringing together “two legendary French Maisons”, the combination presents a wider curated selection of footwear and tailoring.
The two brands said the harmonious new setting “offers a curated luxury experience, where visitors can immerse themselves in the worlds of both,” delivering harmony between a perfectly tailored suit and a crafted pair of shoes.
It makes sense in many ways with two clearly complementary labels co-existing in a space in one of the most upscale London neighbourhoods that’s a magnet for affluent locals and tourists alike.
“This collaboration in London feels like a natural extension of our shared vision. It connects us with a clientele that values exclusivity and personalisation,” said Pierre Corthay.
Corthay founded his brand in Paris in 1990 with the aim of “defin[ing] luxury footwear by merging tradition with innovation”.
Every pair is made in France and the brand offers both bespoke, made-to-measure shoes and a curated selection of ready-to-wear men’s footwear.
Meanwhile, Cifonelli stretches back somewhat further having been founded in 1880. It’s known for its precise tailoring and signature shoulder construction.
Crew Clothing is moving its HQ from Earlsfield to The Drapery, Kingston-upon-Thames. It said the new space will support the continued growth of the company, with it set to occupy a 32,000 sq ft, six floor, office.
The move will happen early next month and follows on from recent news from the brand of 17% like-for-like Q4 sales growth, and a plan to open 20 further stores in 2025.
It’s taking over three of the six floors of The Drapery, with the remaining three floors that cover around 17,000 sq ft offered on the rental market.
Crew said the opening of new headquarters “is a significant investment for the brand and further demonstrates Crew’s position as a key player in the retail sector”.
Its HR Director Rupert Hay called it a “major milestone” for the business that began “as a collection of rugby shirts, sold out of a shop in Salcombe”. And he said it “paves the way for further development in the years ahead”.
Back in January, Crew had said that as well as the 17% Q4 sales jump, the final two weeks of the trading year saw even bigger double-digit gains. And digital demand leapt 70% but with no negative impact on store demand. The company had also seen a record Black Friday period.
Spinnova, a Finnish company specialised in producing cellulose fibres free from harmful substances using paper, carton, cotton, leather and agricultural waste, has named its co-founder Janne Poranen as CEO. He takes over from Tuomas Oijala, who announced he was stepping down as CEO at the beginning of March.
Janne Poranen – Spinnova
Poranen has a PhD in Physics, and had previously been in charge of Spinnova between 2014 and 2022, subsequently serving as chairman of the board of directors. “Our organisation is currently focusing on making fibre production profitable, with a view to increasing output on an industrial scale,” said Poranen.
The new appointment comes after a pivotal year for Spinnova. In March 2024, the company announced it wanted to concentrate on selling its manufacturing technology to other industrial partners. This was followed by a financially challenging period, as production costs soared.
In 2024, the company generated revenue of €762,000. A staggering downturn compared to the €10 million generated in 2023, when Spinnova supplied industrial equipment to Finnish company Woodspin, a producer jointly set up by Spinnova with paper pulp specialist Suzano.
At the end of February, Suzano said it no longer intended to invest in a continued collaboration with Spinnova, following a reorientation of its business strategy. This led it to negotiate exclusive rights for the exploitation of the Woodspin factory. The latter is said to be able to produce 1,000 tons of fibre per year, an output capacity that still needs to be industrially exploited.
Spinnova
Spinnova was founded in 2014, and made a name for itself in 2020 by producing handbags for Bergans of Norway. The following year, it won the ANDAM Innovation Prize. It has also launched several high-profile collaborations, for example the Terrex hooded T-shirt with Adidas, as well as developing products for Puma, The North Face, Marimekko and Bestseller.