Ready-to-wear: Jennyfer's 1,000 employees threatened with compulsory liquidation

The crisis facing ready-to-wear brands continues. Jennyfer, a brand aimed at young teenage girls, emerged from receivership in 2024 and was finally placed in liquidation on Wednesday, April 30.

"The explosion in costs, the decline in purchasing power, changes in the textile market and increasingly aggressive international competition have made its economic model unsustainable," the management said, adding that the brand employs 999 people. "Our deep and sincere thoughts go out to all the teams who have worked for years with passion, creativity and commitment," it added.

The Bobigny Commercial Court has declared the company in liquidation with the continuation of operations until May 28. At that date, potential offers from potential buyers of the brand will be reviewed.

According to a press release from the CGT Services union, "employees were informed of the situation" this morning. The union deplores the fact that "management, with the complicity of the state, will eliminate 999 jobs at the company."

For the union, the State should have "guaranteed vigilance" following successive redundancy plans. "This violent and brutal announcement plunges employees into a very precarious situation," the union believes.

The brand, founded in 1984, had 220 stores in France and 80 internationally, particularly in Belgium, by mid-2024, and boasts an annual turnover of around 250 million euros.

Having fallen into receivership in June 2023 due to the "sudden increase in costs combined with galloping inflation" , it announced its exit less than a year ago, announcing "an initial investment of 15 million euros" and "the arrival of a new shareholder" .

A job protection plan (PSE) had been implemented in the meantime, leading to the elimination of 75 positions (60 at headquarters and 15 in warehouses) without closing any stores. The company had tried for a time to relaunch itself through a new brand identity, "Don't Call Me Jennyfer" , which did not take off with customers. It finally returned to its historic name, Jennyfer, in 2024.

Its new CEO, Yann Pasco, declared in April 2024 that he wanted to "preserve the DNA of Jennyfer" , which has "a 15% market share among 10-14 year olds" but also "expand the customer target" by positioning itself among 15-19 year olds and 20-24 year olds.

A severe crisis has been hitting the ready-to-wear sector in France for several years. Dutch fashion brand C&A, established in France for over 50 years and which has been restructuring its store network for several years, announced a new plan in mid-March that threatens more than 300 jobs.

Camaïeu, Kookaï, Gap France, André, San Marina, Minelli, Pimkie, Comptoir des Cotonniers, Princesse Tam Tam, IKKS, Kaporal: many brands have suffered the brunt of this turmoil. It was fatal for some, which were liquidated, such as Camaïeu in September 2022 , with the layoff of 2,100 employees, which had a strong impact.

Brands have suffered from a volatile cocktail: the pandemic, inflation, rising energy and commodity prices, rising rents and wages, and competition from second-hand stores. Recently, the rise of "hyper-fast fashion," symbolized by the Shein website, has continued to threaten the business model of older, low-cost brands.

This ephemeral fashion, with its very low prices and frequently updated collections, is nibbling away at more and more of its market share in France every day. So much so that the government is seeking to mitigate its expansion: on Tuesday, it proposed implementing a small handling fee for every small package entering Europe, including those from Asia.