French kidswear specialist Okaïdi exits administration

Lille - French kidswear retailer Okaïdi has exited administration after a court approved a recovery plan that has resulted in the loss of 244 jobs and the closure of 57 stores in France, the company announced on Tuesday.

The brand has also ceased trading outside France, shutting 25 stores in Poland, 17 in Germany and two in Portugal, it told news agency Agence France-Presse (AFP).

Okaïdi belongs to IDKIDS, a group based in northern France that was placed into administration in February for most of its French brands. The proceedings at the Lille Métropole commercial court covered Obaïbi, which sells clothing for children up to the age of three; Okaïdi, aimed at children aged three to 14; the early-learning toy retailer Oxybul; and the logistics platform IDLOG, together employing 2,000 people in France.

The court "validated the recovery plan presented by the IDKIDS group", the company said in a statement, allowing Okaïdi to "successfully exit administration in six months" on the strength of what it described as "a solid continuation plan".

Network refocused on best-performing sites

The group said the process had supported a "profound transformation" of the business, marked by a "refocusing of the French network on its best-performing sites", the "cessation of structurally loss-making international activities" and the "adaptation of its head office organisation".

When the proceedings opened, Okaïdi said the continuation plan was intended to address a "persistently challenging environment", citing a declining birth rate, "pressure on families' purchasing power" and "the rise of second-hand fashion and competition from ultra-fast fashion".

A historic brand within IDKIDS, which is headquartered in Roubaix in northern France, Okaïdi generates 600 million euros in turnover worldwide, of which 300 million euros comes from France, according to figures the group gave AFP in February.

IDKIDS parted with the most profitable label in its portfolio a few weeks ago, selling the high-end children's ready-to-wear brand Jacadi to French fashion group Deveaux, whose brands include Armand Thiery and Jacqueline Riu.

France's apparel sector has been under pressure for several years, moving from the growth of e-commerce through Covid-19 and inflation to competition from second-hand fashion and ultra-fast fashion.

This article was written with the assistance of AI.