Bankrupt fashion group McGregor to continue under new name

Dutch fashion retail group McGregor which last month filed for bankruptcy for a portion of its subsidiaries, it is to continue under a new name called Doniger Fashion Group.

The new group will see the Adam Menswear and McGregor brands merged as part of a new portfolio to be managed by two of its former directors.

The company, which was put up for sale in June, did not attract sufficient bids, much like BHS in the UK. Subsequently the former owners thought to re-start under the guise of a newly incorporated company.

The new management team will see Joep van Straaten and Kris Mierop head up the Doniger Fashion Group, while an appointment for a Finance Director remains vacant. 1,100 employees are expected to keep their jobs, with 150 thought to be made redundant.

In 2015 McGregor made a loss of 26 million euros

The McGregor brand was founded in 1993 in Driebergen in the Netherlands and operated 150 of its own retail stores. It further saw distribution via wholesale and other channels to over 3,000 stores around the world. It's success was not without tribulations, however, as in 2015 the company made a loss of 26 million euros despite a turnover of 231 million euros.

Doniger Fashion Group CEO Joep van Straaten has indicated the company will wait with further announcements about it's future plans and strategy after it has fully traded for at least one quarter.

The McGregor brand took its new company name to resonate with the Anglo-American spirit of the label. One of the many thousands of Europeans who crossed the Atlantic in search of a better life was David Doniger, a hat-maker and entrepreneur from Scotland.

Part of the McGregor clan, Doniger could trace his roots back to the first kings of Scotland and, possessing both a keen eye for business and dapper sense of style, he had made enough money for the voyage by making caps out of the McGregor tartan. Once in the land of the free, Doniger set up a business and introduced his Scottish plaids to New York and beyond.

Photo credit: McGregor Facebook