It looks like Escada may be the latest victim of the financial crisis. The German fashion brand appears to be on shaky ground, with chairman Bruno Saelzer admitting he’s spoken with insolvency experts.
The company is thought to have enough liquidity to last until August, but not beyond that. Mr. Saelzer will pitch a debt restructuring plan to his creditors, but 80 percent of them must approve it by the end of the month. On Monday only 37 percent of creditors had accepted the offer, so the clock is certainly ticking.
If this last ditch attempt fails, it seems certain that Escada will cease trading as Mr. Saelzer says “98 of the 99 possible measures” to save the company have been exhausted. Even if it is successful, I wonder just how much time it will buy the fashion brand.
Escada has been a fixture on the fashion circuit since its establishment in the late 1970s, and its loss will be felt across the industry. Saving it seems like a long shot, but I’m crossing my fingers.
[Image Source: Brian Taipei/Flickr]
