Ssense Lenders Seek Fast Sale of Struggling Fashion Retailer

Lenders to luxury fashion retailer Ssense are asking a Canadian court to allow a quick sale of the cash-starved company, with first bids due in early October.

“At this stage, the lenders have lost confidence in Ssense Group’s ability to oversee its operations,” a group of creditors led by Bank of Montreal said in an application to the Superior Court of Quebec.

Other banks involved in Ssense include Royal Bank of Canada, JPMorgan Chase & Co., National Bank of Canada and Bank of Nova Scotia. The lenders are owed around C$145 million ($105 million), according to the court filing seen by Bloomberg News, and they want the retailer placed under a monitor pursuant to Canada’s Companies’ Creditors Arrangement Act.

Creditors are pushing for a lightning-fast process to find new investors for the company, which does most of its sales online. They’ve proposed that potential buyers be contacted by next week, with non-binding offers due by Oct. 6. They’ve also suggested a process to seek buyers for the company’s inventory this month in order to raise cash.

It’s a perilous moment for an improbable fashion success story — a family-run business from Montreal that turned a minimalist website into a destination for shoppers in search of everything from Stella McCartney’s balloon trousers to obscure Japanese avant-garde labels.

Ssense’s mix of commerce and culture attracted private investment in 2021 that valued the company at more than C$5 billion. Now, the enterprise is threatened by debt and mistrust.

The banks’ court filing outlines a series of events that caused them to become increasingly alarmed about the company’s deteriorating cash flow.

In July, the lenders hired Deloitte to advise them. As the firm began its work, “it became increasingly apparent that the information previously provided by Ssense Group underrepresented critical aspects of their financials,” including inventory problems.

In August, Ssense negotiated with lenders to release C$20 million of critical payments to cover expenses including payroll, according to the filings. A cash-flow forecast suggested the company’s liquidity needs through the end of October would be around C$68 million.

A spokesperson for Ssense did not immediately reply to a request for comment Tuesday.

Vendors Caught

The balance sheet underscores the strain. As of June 30, Ssense reported liabilities of C$517 million against assets of C$420 million, with no significant assets free and clear of liens.

Suppliers are caught in the fallout. Some vendors were not being paid, according to the banks. Investment bank Greenhill & Co. was retained by Ssense and presented a refinancing plan, but the banks weren’t satisfied with it, and they demanded repayment of the company’s credit facilities.

The company has balked at being forced into CCAA protection by its lenders.

“While we sought a collaborative path forward, our primary lender has chosen instead to place the company under CCAA protection and commence a sale process without our consent,” a spokesperson for Ssense said in an emailed statement to Bloomberg News last week. “We will be filing our own CCAA application to safeguard the company, retain control of our assets and operations, and fight for the future of this business.”

The retailer is owned by Groupe Atallah Inc., which was founded in 2003 by chief executive officer Rami Atallah and his brothers, Firas and Bassel.

By Mathieu Dion and Paula Sambo