Stars’ shoe firm steps into bankruptcy in US
LUXURY shoe brand Charlotte Olympia, whose fans include Kate Moss, Beyoncé and Lady Gaga, has gone bust in the US.
Founder Charlotte Dellal, 36, the daughter of property tycoon Guy Dellal, has filed for bankruptcy. The filing was made by the designer’s three Delaware-based firms Pinktoe Tarantula, Desert Blonde Tarantula and Red Pump Tarantula, which trade as Charlotte Olympia.
Court papers show the three firms have combined debts of $19.2million (£14million). Four unprofitable shops in New York, California and Nevada will close.
Last summer, Ms Dellal sold a controlling stake in the business to Japanese-owned Onward Luxury Group for an undisclosed sum. William Kaye, representing Dellal’s companies at the US Bankruptcy Court, said: ‘Despite selling the iconic Charlotte Olympia brand and taking steps to reduce their expenditures, the debtors’ operations are not profitable due to the widespread disruption in the retail industry.’
Charlotte Olympia, founded in 2008, recently shut three other stores in the US. Latest accounts for the UK-based parent company show the closures cost the group £1.7million. The parent group posted a £5.4million pre-tax loss for the year to March 31, 2017, and a 20 per cent drop in turnover to £16.8million, citing ‘challenging market conditions’. Charlotte Olympia has two London shops and a concession in Harvey Nichols, Knightsbridge, which remain open.
Dellal is married to Maxim Crewe, a partner in private equity firm Cinven. Her father Guy is a business partner of tycoons Robert and Vincent Tchenguiz and of Dominic Chappell, the serial bankrupt who bought BHS.
Since 2015, more than £12 million of loans have been made to the company by ‘a related party of a director and shareholder’. Charlotte Dellal declined to comment.