Princesse Tam Tam and Comptoir des Cotonniers placed in receivership

French ready-to-wear brands Princesse Tam Tam and Comptoir des cotonniers were placed in receivership by the Paris Business Court on Tuesday, AFP learned on Wednesday from a source close to the case.

FashionNetwork had revealed at the end of June that Fast Retailing France, owner of the two brands and a subsidiary of the Japanese giant of the same name whose flagship brand is Uniqlo, was preparing its application to be placed in receivership. The company highlighted “the continuing financial deterioration” in the accounts of the lingerie and womenswear brands respectively, “in a market context that has not improved”, as a source later told AFP.

The group had already announced in June 2023 that it was considering closing 55 Comptoir des Cotonniers and Princesse Tam Tam stores out of 136 in France, as well as cutting 304 positions for these two brands.

The aim of the plan was to “continue to adapt Fast Retailing France to changes in the apparel market and to stem the serious difficulties encountered by the company and its subsidiaries in order to ensure their sustainability”, according to the group.

Comptoir des Cotonniers and Princesse Tam Tam would not have withstood the crisis affecting mid-range ready-to-wear brands, which are facing competition from the rise of “ultra fast fashion” and second-hand clothing. Some of them had already been hit by the Covid pandemic, which brought economic activity to a standstill, followed by inflation and rising energy, raw material, rent and wage costs. This explosive cocktail has severely tested these well-known businesses in city centers and shopping zones.

But many industry observers are questioning Fast Retailing’s strategy for its French brands. The former chairman of Comptoir des Cotonniers, Frédéric Biousse, is even proposing to join forces with the Japanese group to relaunch the two brands.

With AFP