Duror Fashion Group, the parent company of Terre Bleue, Gigue and Zilton, has filed for bankruptcy because it cannot repay its pandemic loans. 29 shops are to close, 150 people will lose their jobs.
Difficult context
The Belgian fashion company has been struggling with declining sales for some time: before the pandemic, its turnover was still 35 million euros, but by the 2022-2023 financial year, that figure had fallen to 30 million. The company proved unable to reach an agreement with its financiers on a slower repayment of its pandemic-era loans and saw no other option than file for bankruptcy.
Duror Fashion Group refers to the difficult context: the effects of the Covid-19 pandemic, the war in Ukraine, rising costs for energy and raw materials, fierce competition from cheap fast-fashion brands, international online shops and the booming second-hand clothing market.
Dire straits
The move comes as a bit of a surprise, as CEO Peter Perquy had announced that Terre Bleue’s brand positioning would be refreshed in an interview with RetailDetail in April this year. The label wanted to become more fashionable and contemporary, but at the same time still remain qualitative and timeless – a notoriously difficult balancing act.
The entire fashion sector is in dire straits: this year, Esprit also filed for bankruptcy for its European operation, Scotch & Soda‘s European branch went bankrupt, Bristol started debt protection proceedings, Cassis Paprika had to close nine shops after a judicial reorganisation, Ted Baker closed its Belgian stores and Sacha also decided to close most of its stores in the Benelux.
