The German fashion retailer Orsay is leaving the Czech and Slovak markets. Last week, Forbes magazine reported the news, citing anonymous sources familiar with the situation. The company is expected to sell its Czech stores by the end of June and the Slovak ones even a month earlier.
“I can confirm that Orsay is in the final stages of negotiations to sell its stores in the Czech Republic and Slovakia. If this fails, Orsay will enter insolvency and close the stores there,” Forbes quoted one of its sources, who asked to remain anonymous.
Orsay, which sells women’s fashion, has 90 stores in the Czech Republic and Slovakia. In the Czech Republic, where the company employs 213 people, the business ran into losses in 2020 when a coronavirus pandemic broke out, and stores had to close for several months. The loss exceeded CZK 117 million, Forbes reported.
The Orsay brand was founded in 1975. It is owned by the French Mulliez family, which also owns other well-known chains such as Decathlon and Pimkie.
It is, therefore, another fashion brand that has been struggling in the Czech market lately. Pietro Filipi, for example, has already gone into insolvency.