French fashion group IKKS, owner of the IKKS, One Step and I.code brands, is planning to downsize, owing to a market situation characterised by ‘unprecedented disruption’. On 5th February, the group presented to employee representatives a recovery plan envisaging the suppression of up to 202 jobs in France, where the group has 1,328 employees.
The IKKS group, which was bought in 2019 by its creditors, US investment funds Avenue Capital, Carval Investors and Marathon Asset Management, is also planning to close 77 retail outlets (between stores and concessions) of the 604 it is currently operating in France.
The restructuring plan has been called ‘PhoenIKKS’ by the group, which has been spearheaded since 2020 by Ludovic Manzon. In a press release, the group stated that it has been adversely impacted by the pandemic, the invasion of Ukraine (where it used to have some factories) and rising inflation.
“Faced with this complex economic situation, the IKKS group has decided to react vigorously, developing resilience strategies to ensure its long-term survival. The PhoenIKKS plan is designed to strategically refocus the brand on its most profitable ready-to-wear activities, and to adjust its geographical footprint,” said IKKS.
The IKKS group was founded in 1987, and claims to operate 700 stores worldwide, with 1,700 employees in total. In fiscal 2019, before the pandemic, the group reported a revenue of € 329 million, a peak that it hasn’t reached again since then. In 2020, Manzon and his staff deployed a plan that focused on product development, advertising and on attracting younger customers, aiming to make the group’s revenue and profitability grow again by 2025.
