Who will be the next one ? This is what the employees of the major clothing brands say, after the end of Camaieu and the dismissal of more than 2000 people. It must be said that the situation is complicated for many brands. Pimkie, for example, is in the red. Last week, the brand was sold by the Mulliez family to a consortium of investors. The 1,300 employees fear store closures with, as a result, job cuts.
>> Camaïeu definitely lowers the curtain: “The end of a great story” for the “camaiettes” of Vendôme
There is also Burton, placed in early October, in safeguard proceedings or the shoemaker San Marina placed in receivership at the end of September. It’s starting to look like a disaster. However, the clothing market has been suffering for years, but the difficulties have accelerated with the Covid. Confinements and temporary store closures slowed activity, especially as rents continued to accrue over these periods. Teleworking too, which has developed with the pandemic, is reducing sales in shops, especially in business districts or city centers. As for shopping centers, in recent weeks, the shortage of gasoline has slowed down their attendance and therefore purchases of clothes.
Another element, the French have changed their habits and are turning more and more to the second hand, the occasion for ecological reasons, but also financial. Because inflation does not help: households make trade-offs in spending. Of course, we buy a down jacket for the youngest to spend the winter, but we give in less to the favorite purchase, the jacket or the dress, and more just to have fun. We also go a lot more through online sales but that does not compensate for purchases in stores. While during this time, brands must cash in on the rising costs of raw materials, energy, packaging, transport, etc.
They are found in a “scissor” effect. All hope to find a little breath, with the Black-FridayFriday, November 4, sales at the end of November or even the end-of-year celebrations, times that normally boost purchases.