IKKS Acquisition Finalized, Securing Future for French Retailer

The Paris commercial court finalized the acquisition of French premium ready-to-wear retailer IKKS on Thursday, December 12, putting an end to months of uncertainty for the company and its staff. Following a receivership procedure and multiple purchasing bids, the court approved the offer submitted by Santiago Cucci, the president of the group’s holding company HoldIKKS, and Michaël Benabou, co-founder of event sales site Veepee.

The decision resolves the complex situation for IKKS, which applied for receivership in September after its main shareholders—U.S. investment funds Avenue Capital, CarVal Investors, and Marathon Asset Management—expressed a desire to sell the company. At the time of the receivership application, IKKS employed 1,287 people worldwide (1,094 in France) and operated 473 stores across France and 11 other countries, in addition to its headquarters in Saint-Macaire-en-Mauges and Paris offices. The group, which includes the eponymous brand as well as One Step and ICode, had recently undertaken a design make-over for its collections over the summer.

The winning bid by Cucci and Benabou initially proposed the acquisition of 141 stores (88 directly owned) and 391 employees. To secure the deal, they revised their offer upwards, extending it to include 219 stores in France. This final package included 92 directly owned stores, 100 franchised outlets, and 27 concessions within Galeries Lafayette. The deal encompasses 546 employees associated with the directly owned stores, and the new owners plan to operate a streamlined store fleet, focusing on womenswear and menswear while placing childrenswear on hold.

Details provided to prospective buyers indicated that the IKKS brand generates 80% of the group's revenue. Womenswear accounted for 64% of this revenue, followed by childrenswear at 21% and menswear at 15%. Revenue distribution by channel showed direct retail as the primary driver (77%), with e-commerce (both B2B and B2C) contributing 20%, and wholesale making up the remaining 3%.

The acquisition process was complicated because none of the purchasing bids covered the group as a single entity, which includes brands ICode and One Step. Several other offers were rejected during the procedure. Sustainable fashion brand Faguo, which had partnered with French group Beaumanoir, submitted a bid revised to include 15 stores and 30 jobs; Beaumanoir offered €1 million for the brand name and some stores. Salih Halassi’s company Amoniss, a shareholder in Pimkie, proposed a bid for a minimum of 168 stores and 393 employees. BCRI Holding, which recently acquired Café Coton, offered to buy 67 stores with 426 employees. AA Investments expressed interest in IKKS's intangible assets, while Verdoso, the new owner of The Kooples, withdrew its bid before the November 28 hearing. Since no bids were received for the Icode and One Step brands or IKKS childrenswear, some of their stores in France have already closed.

The new owners, including Cucci (a former Levi's senior executive and strategic advisor to G-Star) and Benabou, are now focusing exclusively on developing the core IKKS brand. Although the group fleet numbered 550 stores at the end of 2024, streamlining measures had already begun earlier in the year. Employees hope that under new ownership, IKKS can regain momentum and solidify its position as a leading premium ready-to-wear retailer.