MS Mode has decided to cease all of its French activities after it did not receive permission to buy back a part of its store network after it had filed for bankruptcy. In total, 500 people will lose their job.
500 jobs lost
Dutch MS Mode had 134 French stores: 113 will now shut down entirely, while 21 will be sold to other companies. IDKids will acquire 19 stores and 70 employees and transform them into Okaïdi and Oxybul. Fashion label Christine Laure acquires another 2 stores.
However, the chain did not intend to leave France, but wanted to buy back a part of its local store network after its bankruptcy, similar to what it did in the Netherlands and Belgium. Unfortunately, the French court refused to sell the stores back to the group responsible for the bankruptcy in the first place.
The court’s decision is a blow for MS Mode, because France had been its second strongest market and had always been profitable as well, despite a recent turnover drop.