Karmijn Kapitaal rescues MD Group out of bankruptcy

Karmijn acquired a majority and Dekker the minority stake in the company.

The firm behind Dutch designer Marlies Dekkers' lingerie chain was announced bankrupt on 22 August. Karmijn's capital injection will be used to restart the company and move its business focus online.

An undisclosed number of the firm's stores will be closed and the majority of sales moved onto its website. Through the closures, more than half of the staff will be made redundant.

A tough economic situation in the Benelux region was the reason for MD Group's bankruptcy, Karmijn reported. Two of the firm's suppliers also went bankrupt, leaving the lingerie company struggling to find new production partners.

Furthermore, many of the business's clients – small lingerie high-street stores – were not able to cope with the economic situation and, in return, went bankrupt or closed down.

In constrast to the firm's Benelux position, Karmijn reported that MD Group's international websales were growing fast.

Karmijn typically invests in small and medium businesses in the Netherlands. The firm specialises in growth and acquisition financing, with an extra focus on companies that cherish gender equality and diversity through a leadership comprised of men and women. It made its first investment in April last year when it acquired Dutch Mediterranean food company Enrico.

Company
MD Group is the company behind the lingerie chain Marlies Dekkers, named after its founder and designer. It was founded in 1993.

It has stores in Amsterdam, Rotterdam, Maasmechelen, Breda, Utrecht and Antwerp.

People
Désirée van Boxtel, Hadewych Cels and Cilian Jansen Verplanke are Karmijn's managing partners. Marlies Dekkers is a fashion designer and was CEO of MD Group. She will remain a board member of the company.

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• Topics
• Benelux
• Consumer
• Buyouts
• Netherlands