Fashion
Germany posts slight trade growth as exports edge higher in October
Adjusted exports totalled €131.3 billion and imports €114.5 billion, resulting in a trade surplus of €16.9 billion (~$19.6 billion), up from €15.3 billion in September and higher than the €14.6 billion surplus recorded in October 2024.
Trade activity with EU markets strengthened. Exports to EU member states rose 2.7 per cent month on month to €76.3 billion, while imports increased 2.8 per cent to €61.1 billion. Shipments to eurozone countries grew 2.5 per cent, and imports from the bloc increased 3.9 per cent, Destatis said in a press release.
Germany’s trade performance improved slightly in October 2025, with exports up 0.1 per cent MoM and imports down 1.2 per cent.
The adjusted trade surplus rose to €16.9 billion (~$19.6 billion).
EU trade strengthened, but non-EU activity weakened, with notable declines in exports to the United States, China, and the United Kingdom.
China remained the top import source.
Trade with non-EU partners weakened. Exports to third countries fell 3.3 per cent to €55.1 billion, while imports dropped 5.4 per cent to €53.4 billion.
The United States remained Germany’s largest export destination, though exports declined 7.8 per cent month on month to €11.3 billion and were down 8.3 per cent year on year. Exports to China decreased 5.8 per cent to €6.3 billion, while exports to the United Kingdom fell 6.5 per cent to €6.5 billion.
China was also the largest source of imports, though inbound trade fell 5.2 per cent to €13.8 billion. Imports from the United States declined 16.6 per cent to €7.2 billion, while those from the United Kingdom dropped 14.5 per cent to €3.1 billion.
Trade with Russia remained limited. Exports rose 4.8 per cent month on month to €0.6 billion but were slightly lower year on year. Imports from Russia fell 10.6 per cent on the month and were down 34.7 per cent compared with October 2024.
On an unadjusted basis, Germany exported €139.1 billion worth of goods and imported €121.8 billion. The resulting nominal surplus reached €17.3 billion, up from €15.1 billion a year earlier.
Fibre2Fashion News Desk (SG)
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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