Tommy Hilfiger stores are leaving Slovak shopping centres. (Illustrative photo) (source: Vladimír Šimíček, TASR)
Shops that have until recently been selling fashon goods under the global brand Tommy Hilfiger are quitting Slovak shopping centres. The owner of the operation in Slovakia describes the closures as "optimisation".
In Slovakia, the brand falls under the Denim Group company. Withdrawing Tommy Hilfiger from the Slovak market is part of optimising and adapting to shoppers’ new behaviours, Denim representatives said. Denim Group administers other global brands like Levis, CK Underwear and Tommy Jeans, writes Index.
Denim Group is known for its attempt to seek compensation for financial losses incurred during the Covid-19 pandemic. In 2019, the company recorded €6.6 million in sales, which then fell to €4.8 million during 2020, when shops were closed because of pandemic measures. The company turned to the European Court to Human Rights in 2021, Denník N reported.
“Financial aid for entrepreneurs that are also employers is lacking. The company runs on our own savings and on loans we are taking out,” wrote the owner of the company, Ondrej Konečný. He added that while pandemic-related financial aid in Slovakia was around 20 percent of turnover, it was up to 80 percent in other states.
Now, Denim Group is gradually closing stores bearing the Tommy Hilfiger brand. Those in Bratislava, at the Aupark and Vivo shopping centres, closed at the beginning of 2023, followed by a store in Nitra’s Mlyny centre.
“There were certain discrepancies with shopping centres regarding increasing rent and services including energy costs. Closing the stores was therefore a matter of optimisation,” said Konečný. The company says it is now focusing on shoppers' new habits, and finessing its e-shops, according to Konečný
Denim Group and Denim Retail appear on the list of significant debtors to public agencies, according to information from Finstat. The highest outstanding debt is for €11,000, owed to the public Social Insurance company. Denim Group owed €280,000 to the Financial Administration tax authority as of 2021, but that was paid off in August 2021.
