Princesse tam tam and Comptoir des Cotonniers placed in administration

Paris - The crisis continues in French ready-to-wear. Lingerie brand Princesse tam tam and clothing brand Comptoir des Cotonniers have entered administration. AFP learned this on Wednesday from a source close to the matter.

Struggling for several years, these two brands have found it difficult to withstand "a market context that has not improved". This was summarised in late June by a source close to the matter to AFP at the time of the administration filing.

Their owner, Fast Retailing France, a subsidiary of the Japanese giant Fast Retailing, whose flagship brand is Uniqlo, had to apply to the Paris Commercial Court at the end of June for administration. This was approved on Tuesday.

For several years, mid-range brands have been struggling due to ultra fast fashion and second-hand fashion. These appeal to consumers with their low prices.

The Singapore-based site Shein accounted for 3 percent of clothing and footwear spending in 2024 on the French market by value, according to a Médiamétrie survey. In terms of second-hand, the Lithuanian platform Vinted saw its sales in France jump by 32 percent in 2023 compared to 2022, according to the Joko application.

Princesse tam tam and Comptoir des Cotonniers had taken steps to "adapt to the changing clothing market". The group stated this in June 2023 to justify a job protection plan.

The project aimed to close 28 of Comptoir des Cotonniers' 67 points of sale and cut 101 of its 272 permanent positions. For Princesse tam tam, it aimed to close 27 of its 69 stores, as well as cut 84 of its 235 permanent positions. In addition, 119 positions were cut within Fast Retailing France.

The group has not commented since on the implementation of this plan.

Today, there remain "around 100 Princesse tam tam and Comptoir des Cotonniers stores in France and approximately 500 employees at Fast Retailing France, including the head office". This was detailed by the same source close to the matter to AFP.

Covid and then inflation

Other traditional fashion brands that had been placed in receivership had managed to find a buyer. They were sometimes placed back in receivership, or even immediately liquidated.

Ready-to-wear businesses, emblematic of town centres and shopping areas, had already suffered from the Covid pandemic and the shutdown of economic activity. This was followed by inflation, rising energy costs, raw materials, rents and wages.

Brands such as Camaïeu, Kookaï, Burton of London, Gap France, André, San Marina, Kaporal, Jennyfer, Du pareil au même, Sergent Major, Esprit, C&A, Naf Naf and IKKS have already suffered.

To combat fast fashion, the European Commission proposed in May to impose a two euro fee on each "small" parcel worth less than 150 euros entering Europe (currently exempt from customs duties). The vast majority of these come from China.

Carrefour CEO Alexandre Bompard wants to go further. He called on Wednesday on RTL for a "Trump-style" tax on small parcels from China, at 100 percent of their value.

"I fight every day for low prices, but low prices at all costs, there is a limit", said Mr. Bompard about these parcels.

This article was translated to English using an AI tool.

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