Indie marketplace SilkFred in administration filing

SilkFred, the London-based e-fashion marketplace, is now in administration with Quantuma handling the process. The filing was flagged last month with the official notice being filed at Companies House on Tuesday.

Founder Emma Watkinson announced the news on Instagram, saying that “maybe this isn’t where the story ends and there’s a new chapter to be written. For now though, I’ll just say thank you”.

The 15-year-old business specialised in connecting womenswear designers and brands with consumers. It focused on occasionwear and one-of-a- kind fashion from independent brands.

And while its website is still accessible it’s not possible to shop there. The website had earlier been reported to be unavailable and it’s unclear whether the administrator will be continuing to run it while trying to find a buyer.

Rumours had been circulating of an impending demise and customers on social media had been talking about orders not being fulfilled and refunds not being processed. 

The latest accounts the company had filed came last December and covered 2023. They detailed another year of pre-tax losses with the loss widening to just over £4 million. Gross customer orders and gross merchandise value had plummeted during the year with revenue down 46% to £11.18 million.

The administration filing underlines the difficulty of running a small independent business at present as costs rise and cash-strapped consumers search above all for the lowest prices. That was despite SilFred embracing new ways of shopping at an early stage with the company in mid-2023 having added a new AI shopping tool to help women discover tailored fashion recommendations.