Fashion
Castle Mark gains OEKO-TEX STANDARD 100 Special Articles Certification
Castle Mark has taken a significant step forward in product safety and sustainability by achieving OEKO-TEX STANDARD 100 certification for its finished products. Although the company had long been using certified PU materials, increasing buyer requests encouraged them to extend certification to their complete product range.
Castle Mark, a Taiwan-headquartered furniture maker with production in Dong Guan, China, has become the first to achieve OEKO-TEX STANDARD 100 certification under the ‘Special Articles’ supplement for its recliners with electronic components.
Guided by TESTEX, the move boosts brand trust, sustainability credentials, and buyer confidence, positioning it as a pioneer in safe furniture.
Initially, Castle Mark was unsure whether certification would apply to its category, since the products combine textile and non-textile elements. With the guidance of TESTEX, which introduced the Special Articles Supplement and provided training, the process was completed successfully. This supplement clarifies which components must be tested, such as textile parts in contact with skin, and which are excluded, such as frames or mechanical elements.
The certification has already strengthened Castle Mark’s brand image. Buyers have welcomed the move, recognising the company as a pioneer in safe and sustainable furniture. Although certification was only received in August 2025, the company expects a steady rise in sales, supported by TESTEX’s marketing initiatives across social media, PR, and international exhibitions. More importantly, Castle Mark views the certification as a way in which it can contribute to the brand-building of its partners, ensuring shared growth.
While it is too early to track direct sales increases, the company believes the OEKO-TEX STANDARD 100 label will boost buyer confidence, create new opportunities, and underpin long-term growth. Compared with other industry certifications, Castle Mark values OEKO-TEX STANDARD 100 for its trusted, globally recognised system. The clear testing procedures, alignment with international legal requirements, and consumer recognition provide strong support for positioning Castle Mark as a responsible manufacturer.
Feedback from buyers and retail partners has been overwhelmingly positive, and Castle Mark is determined to communicate the certification widely. Beyond product labelling, the company integrates the achievement into its website, catalogues, brochures, and trade fair presentations. With TESTEX’s support, visibility will continue to grow across social and professional channels.
Castle Mark has also praised the collaboration with TESTEX, noting the organisation’s responsive guidance and hands-on support throughout the process. TESTEX representatives visited the factory twice, introduced the OEKO-TEX product range, and provided quick feedback whenever needed.
TESTEX’s Sales and Marketing Manager summed up the partnership: “We are very pleased to support Castle Mark on their journey towards OEKO-TEX STANDARD 100 certification. This collaboration demonstrates how the Special Articles Supplement enables even complex finished products, such as furniture, to be certified according to OEKO-TEX criteria. By achieving this certification, Castle Mark not only ensures product safety but also strengthens trust with sustainability-focused buyers and consumers. We look forward to continuing our cooperation and promoting safe and sustainable development in the furniture industry.”
Note: The headline, insights, and image of this press release may have been refined by the Fibre2Fashion staff; the rest of the content remains unchanged.
Fibre2Fashion News Desk (HU)
Translated by
Nicola Mira
Published
December 12, 2025
On Thursday December 12, the Paris commercial court decided on the future of French premium ready-to-wear retailer IKKS. At the end of a receivership procedure involving several purchasing bids for IKKS, the court has approved the offer by Santiago Cucci, who was named president of the group’s holding company HoldIKKS last year, and Michaël Benabou, co-founder of event sales site Veepee.
The court’s decision has put an end to months of uncertainty for IKKS’s employees. According to figures drawn up by the receivers at the end of August, the group’s staff numbered 1,287 worldwide, 1,094 of them in France. At the time, the group had 473 stores between France and 11 other countries, plus headquarters in the town of Saint-Macaire-en-Mauges and offices in Paris.
IKKS gave a design make-over to its collections in summer, and in September it applied for receivership, after the group’s main shareholders, US investment funds Avenue Capital, CarVal Investors and Marathon Asset Management, expressed their wish to sell the company.
The IKKS group, which operates the eponymous brand as well as One Step and ICode, is still a leading international ready-to-wear retailer in the premium segment, operating several hundred retail outlets (between directly owned and franchised stores, and concessions) in nine countries. The path to new ownership has been complex, since the group was split in several entities, and none of the purchasing bids referred to the group as a whole.
The winning bid’s details
Cucci and Benabou have convinced the court after recently revising their bid upwards. Initially, the bid related to 141 stores, 88 of them directly owned, and 391 company employees.
The deal was clinched after the bid was extended to include 219 stores in France: 92 of them directly owned, 100 franchised, plus 27 Galeries Lafayette concessions. The employees associated to the directly owned stores are 546.
Benabou and Cucci, a former senior executive at Levi’s and a strategic advisor to G-Star, have taken over the IKKS business and are planning to operate a more streamlined store fleet. They will focus on womenswear and menswear, while childrenswear has been put on hold.
The dossiers given to prospective buyers indicated that the IKKS brand accounted for 80% of the group’s revenue, that 64% of its revenue was generated by womenswear, 21% by childrenswear, and 15% by menswear. When the company applied for receivership, direct retail accounted for 77% of revenue, e-commerce (both B2B and B2C) for 20%, and the remaining 3% was generated through the wholesale channel.
Rejected bids
The bid by sustainable fashion brand Faguo, which had been revised to include 15 stores and 30 jobs, was rejected. French group Beaumanoir (which owns womenswear brands Morgan and Caroll) had teamed up with Faguo, offering €1 million to buy the IKKS brand name and some of the stores.
Another rejected bid was put forward by Salih Halassi’s company Amoniss, a shareholder in Pimkie which recently acquired Christine Laure and Chevignon. It initially bid for a minimum of 168 stores and 393 employees.
BCRI Holding, which recently bought Café Coton, initially offered to buy 67 stores with a total of 426 employees. While AA Investments (owner of Smallable, L’Exception and Bonne Gueule) was interested in IKKS’s intangible assets. Verdoso, new owner of The Kooples, withdrew its bid before the November 28 hearing.
Since none of the bids related to the Icode and One Step brands, and to IKKS childrenswear, some of the latter’s stores in France have now closed. The new owners are therefore concentrating on the IKKS brand, out of a group fleet that had 550 stores as of the end of 2024, though streamlining measures started in H1 this year.
The brand’s employees are now hoping IKKS will be able to regain momentum as a recognised name in the premium ready-to-wear segment.
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A circular by the central bank said the policy update follows the decision reached at the 186th meeting of the Scrutiny Committee on Foreign Loan/Supplier’s Credit of the Bangladesh Investment Development Authority (BIDA). The aim is to facilitate industrial growth.
Bangladesh Bank recently announced that authorised dealers may now allow their industrial importers to import capital goods on a usance term of up to three years under supplier’s or buyer’s credit.
The aim is to facilitate industrial growth.
However, usance period for import of spares will not be more than 360 days in all cases, a circular by the central bank said.
”The usance tenure shall also be applicable to such imports by industrial enterprises operating in export processing zones or private export processing zones/economic zones/hi-tech parks and other areas designated as specialised zones by the government. However, usance period for import of spares will not be more than 360 days in all cases,” the circular added.
Fibre2Fashion News Desk (DS)
Spanish multinational clothing company, Inditex has delivered a strong operating performance in the first nine months of 2025 (9M 2025). Sales for the period rose 2.7 per cent to €28.2 billion (~$32.8 billion), or 6.2 per cent in constant currency, with both stores and online performing well. Gross profit increased 3.2 per cent to €16.8 billion, lifting gross margin to 59.7 per cent.
Inditex has posted strong 9M 2025 results, with sales up 2.7 per cent to €28.2 billion (~$32.8 billion) and gross margin at 59.7 per cent.
Profitability improved, with EBITDA at €8.3 billion (~$9.6 billion) and net income at €4.6 billion (~$5.3 billion).
Q3 saw sharper growth, early Q4 sales rose 10.6 per cent, and expansion plus new tech, including soft tags, continue to strengthen the business.
Operating expenses grew just 2.4 per cent, 29 basis points below sales growth. EBITDA reached €8.3 billion (~$9.6 billion), up 4.2 per cent, while EBIT rose 4.8 per cent to €5.9 billion. Net income grew 3.9 per cent to €4.6 billion (~$5.3 billion).
The Group said its fully integrated model, diversified footprint and agile sourcing approach remained key to execution. Inditex opened stores in 39 markets during the period, operating a total of 5,527 sites at the end of October. Inventory was 4.9 per cent higher year on year, which the company described as ‘high quality’.
In the third quarter (Q3) of 2025, momentum strengthened further. Sales advanced 4.9 per cent to €9.8 billion, or 8.4 per cent in constant currency. Gross profit increased 6.2 per cent to €6.1 billion, with gross margin expanding to 62.2 per cent, the group said in a financial release.
EBITDA rose 8.9 per cent to €3.2 billion, while EBIT climbed 11.2 per cent to €2.4 billion. Net income for the quarter increased 9 per cent to €1.8 billion. The Group ended the period with €11.3 billion in net cash.
Early fourth-quarter trading has been strong. Between November 1 and December 1, 2025, store and online sales in constant currency grew 10.6 per cent versus the same period in 2024.
Looking ahead, Inditex said its priority is to keep improving its fashion offer, strengthen customer experience and progress on sustainability. It highlighted the benefits of its flexible, proximity-based sourcing model and its diversified global presence across 214 markets. Gross margin for 2025 is expected to remain stable within a band of +/-50 basis points, while currency movements are forecast to have a -4 per cent impact on sales.
Investment plans remain substantial. Ordinary capital expenditure is estimated at €1.8 billion for the year, complemented by a two-year, €900-million-per-year logistics expansion programme for 2024–25. The Zaragoza II distribution centre is now operational, and Zara’s new 200,000m² building in Arteixo was inaugurated in October.
“Zara has launched in new locations for example in Las Vegas Forum Shops at Caesars Palace. This week, we will open a new store in, Charlotte North Carolina, as well as a Zara Man standalone store in Palazzo Verospi, Rome. Additionally, we have made important relocations and refurbishments in Osaka Shinsaibashi, Austin The Domain, Maastricht Grote Straat and Barcelona Diagonal. We continue introducing the new soft-tag technology in our stores with a significant improvement in customer experience. The new system is now fully operational in Zara and is being rolled out in Bershka and Pull&Bear,” the release added.
Fibre2Fashion News Desk (HU)
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