End clap for Cop. Girlfriend and San Marina. For their part André, Pimkie, Go Sport… are looking for buyers. Why this carnage?
There are cyclical reasons and others, structural. The covid pandemic and the shutdown of non-essential businesses have caused additional costs – empty tills but rents to pay, loans to repay, etc. The war in Ukraine has driven up energy bills and aggravated supply problems. At present, the sector is bearing the full brunt of inflation and the drop in purchasing power. But, behind that, there is a structural crisis. Unlike Zara or H & M, some brands have missed the shift to digital transition, initiated more than twenty years ago and accelerated by the health crisis. They have not been able to rework their image to get started on social networks. Therefore, they do not support the increased competition from players who, well present on the web, drive prices down.
Why are mid-range brands suffering? Conversely, why are low cost and luxury doing well?
It is difficult for brands that have not gone through their digital revolution to fight against the aggressive strategy of Shein, For example. This Chinese giant of ultra fast-fashion, very successful on TikTok, creates thousands of new references every day, sold at unbeatable prices, because they are produced under inhuman working conditions. Shameful methods, but which, thanks to influencers, allowed him to double his turnover, from 15 to 30 billion in one year. Shein, like physical discounters like Primark, which is setting up shop in Brest, are a hit because of their low prices. Luxury, he never unscrewed. It’s the in-between that wins – a bipolarization observed everywhere in Europe.
The clothing sector is also faced with the ecological challenge. Aren’t its difficulties also due to new modes of consumption: buying second-hand, renting clothes?
The digital tool, the brand image and an offer that meets the new needs of society, more eco-responsible and less inclined to own than yesterday: everything is linked. The premium brand Ba&sh, for example, manages both to achieve 30% of its turnover thanks to digital and to have a real CSR (corporate social responsibility) vision by offering second-hand goods on its site. And it works.
In other words, is it adapt or die?
Yes, but it’s not specific to clothing. Streaming platforms have led the way. By giving access to an infinity of titles and films, they also inevitably reduced sales of CDs and DVDs…
So fashion brands that haven’t taken the turn in time have little chance of finding buyers?
Except that a group (Editor’s note: Breton) like Beaumanoir, which has long invested in the image of the brands it supports as well as in the quality of its computerization, shows interest.
When will the black series of liquidations and placements in receivership stop in ready-to-wear?
There is still a risk of failures in the coming months. The after-sales period, from February to April, is often a period of fragility for treasuries.
Can the public authorities help the sector to recover?
The State can support brands in carrying out their digital transformation. It can also, as it did for Wish, prohibit any advertising to actors whose products are an ecological aberration or do not respect safety standards. Through support measures, it can finally ensure that more young people work in the textile industry and in sales in France. The magic of fashion is that brands disappear but new ones appear at the same time.
