IKKS enters administration, over 1,000 jobs at risk

Fashion brand IKKS has been placed into administration. This procedure puts over 1,000 jobs at the group at risk, AFP learned on Friday from the Paris Commercial Court, confirming a report from Les Echos.

The brand, which had ceased payments and was already facing difficulties a few years ago, secured a debt waiver from its creditors in 2024. Its investors also provided a cash injection.

On Thursday, the Paris Commercial Court placed IKKS into administration and initiated an observation period that will run until April 2026. These proceedings only concern its operations in France.

IKKS, founded in 1987, is a premium ready-to-wear brand for womenswear, menswear and kidswear with a “rock DNA”, its chairman told AFP in June 2024.

With its brands I.Code, One Step and IKKS, the group operates in France and internationally with 600 points-of-sale and 1,500 employees worldwide, the same source indicated.

In February 2024, the company announced a job protection plan (PSE). The plan involved cutting 202 jobs in France, out of a total of 1,328, and closing 77 stores and corners, out of 604, amid a general downturn in the ready-to-wear sector.

“A combination of various external factors has significantly impacted the entire sector. These include the global health crisis caused by Covid-19; the consequences of the war in Ukraine, where the group had a strong presence; and persistent inflation,” the company explained. Ultimately, 140 jobs were affected by the PSE, as “the redeployment process” saved around sixty positions, Ludovic Manzon, the group's chairman, revealed to AFP.

According to a source close to the matter speaking to AFP, 30 million euros were reportedly released to help the brand return to profitability.

IKKS joins a long list of struggling French ready-to-wear companies, including Camaïeu, Kookaï, Gap France, Jennyfer, André, San Marina, Minelli, Comptoir des Cotonniers, Princesse Tam Tam and Kaporal. These companies have been victims of a crisis that has lasted for several years.

These brands, well-known on French high streets, have suffered from a potent cocktail of factors. These include the pandemic; inflation; rising energy, raw material, rent and salary costs. They now also face competition from second-hand fashion and ultra-fast fashion, spearheaded by Shein.

This article was translated to English using an AI tool.

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