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The Danish family business Group88 has been an important player in the field of high fashion in Sweden for decades. The company, which established itself early in the Scandinavian market, is not a fashion house or brand in itself, but a retailer of international luxury fashion. Over the years they have launched a number of brands such as Balenciaga, Saint Laurent, Gucci, Bottega Veneta and Loewe in Sweden and Scandinavia, and have been a driving force in making luxury in-store shopping possible.
Since the beginning, their niche has been to meet the demand for luxury fashion that exists in the Nordic countries by acting as a retailer for luxury brands, so they didn’t have to open local stores themselves. But now the chain is going bankrupt, writes Habit.
Stores closed last year
Last year they decided to close their last store at NK in Gothenburg, after having no fewer than five stores three years ago. The problem has consistently been a lack of profitability in recent years, and now they have filed for bankruptcy, marking the end of their era as a pioneer of luxury fashion in the Swedish market.
One possible reason could be that several international fashion houses have deviated from the previous business model and are now choosing to run their own flagship stores in Scandinavia rather than working with intermediaries such as Group88. In the past, companies like Group88 have worked to help luxury brands establish themselves locally in the Nordic region, but many believe the industry is now instead moving towards a model where they control their entire presence in all markets.
At the same time, demand for luxury fashion remains high, both in Sweden and globally, but with fashion houses as the main players, rather than retailers such as Group88. The pandemic must also have affected the bankruptcy.
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