Princesse Tam Tam and Comptoir des Cotonniers are requesting to be placed in receivership

Having been in serious difficulty for several years , the axe has fallen for the two brands: the ready-to-wear brands Princesse Tam Tam and Comptoir des Cotonniers filed for receivership on Friday, June 20, according to a source close to the case, confirming information from the specialist site Fashion Network .

This request, made to the Paris Economic Activities Court, the new name for the Commercial Court, was motivated by "the continued financial deterioration" of the accounts of the two brands, "in a market context that has not improved," said this source. Specializing respectively in lingerie and women's clothing, they belong to the Fast Retailing France group, a subsidiary of the Japanese giant of the same name whose flagship brand is Uniqlo .

The group had already announced in June 2023 that it was considering closing 55 of its 136 Comptoir des Cotonniers and Princesse Tam Tam stores in France, as well as cutting 304 jobs across these two brands. The goal of the plan was to "continue to adapt Fast Retailing France to changes in the clothing market and to address the serious challenges faced by the company and its subsidiaries in order to ensure their long-term viability," according to the group.

The project for Comptoir des Cotonniers included the closure of 28 of the 67 stores operated in France, and the elimination of 101 positions out of 272 permanent contracts. For Princesse Tam Tam, this involved the closure of 27 of the 69 stores, as well as the elimination of 84 positions out of 235 permanent contracts. In addition, 119 positions were eliminated within Fast Retailing France "in order to adapt the workforce to the reorganization of the distribution network, but also to reduce its oversizing." Despite this drastic reduction in staff and stores, the two brands have not resisted the crisis affecting mid-range ready-to-wear brands, which are facing stiff competition from the rise of "ultra fast fashion" and second-hand clothing.

Camaïeu , Kookaï , Burton of London , Gap France , André , San Marina , Kaporal , Jennyfer , Du pareil au même , Sergent major, Esprit, C & A , Naf Naf , IKKS: none of these brands came out unscathed. Some closed stores and laid off employees, others filed for receivership, and some had to resort to being simply liquidated.

Previously, some of them had already suffered from the Covid pandemic, which brought economic activity to a standstill, followed by inflation, rising energy costs, raw materials, rents, and wages. This explosive cocktail put a severe strain on these well-known businesses in city centers and commercial areas.