| Pimkie | |
| Type: | Subsidiary |
| Key People: | Sandrine Njezic |
| Location City: | Villeneuve-d'Ascq |
| Location Country: | France |
| Area Served: | France, Germany, Spain |
| Industry: | Retail |
| Parent: | Lee Cooper |
| Products: | Clothing |
| Homepage: | pimkie.com |
Pimkie is a French fast fashion label and chain store for young women. Its headquarters is in Villeneuve-d'Ascq, France.[1] [2] They have offices in Germany and Spain. The first shop was opened in 1971 in Lille.[3]
After a long expansion period, Pimkie reached its peak presence in 2018 with 716 stores in 30 countries, but the company began to face difficulties in the late 2010s.[4] In 2022, a majority share of the company was sold to Lee Cooper.[5]
Pimkie has a large social media following, with 1.3m followers on Instagram.[6]
In 1971, French fashion entrepreneurs launched a new trend: pants for women. Thanks to some success, the range was expanded to offer women's ready-to-wear fashions for 15-25 year-olds. Pimkie, then known as Pimckie, opened its first store in Lille during this era.
In 1983, Pimckie became Pimkie. At the end of the 1980s, Pimkie had established itself throughout France with around 100 stores. The brand grew internationally over 20 years. In 2015, the brand expanded its target market from 15-25 year-olds to 18-35 year-olds.[7] By 2018, it had 716 stores in 30 countries, mainly in Europe, five purchasing-sourcing offices (Morocco, Tunisia, Turkey, China, and Hong Kong), one main warehouse in Germany, and five distribution warehouses in Europe.[8]
The company began to face difficulties in late-2010 following a proposed agreement on an indefinite number of contract terminations in France.[9] In 2017, Pimkie announced it would close some 50 stores in Germany and Austria, amid several executive departures. In August 2018, it made 208 people redundant in France and closed 37 stores.[10] In December 2018, Béatrice Lafon was appointed as CEO.[11] The bankruptcy of Pimkie's Belgian and Swiss subsidiaries was announced in 2021, amid management issues and the pandemic.[12] [13]