Ssense Founders Win Bid to Retain Ownership

A Canadian court has accepted the Atallah family’s bid to retain ownership of Ssense, ensuring the luxury e-tailer will remain under the control of its founders when it emerges from bankruptcy protection, the company announced on Sunday.

The bid, by co-founders, Rami, Firas and Bassel Atallah and a Canadian multi-family office, is expected to close by Feb. 13, pending court and regulatory approval, the company said.

“The day-to-day leadership remains unchanged with our existing executive team under the transaction,” the executive team said in an internal memo sent to staffers on Saturday. “This outcome will allow us to provide continuity and stability for our customers, suppliers, partners, and you, our employees.”

Ssense filed for Canada’s equivalent of bankruptcy protection in September owing more than $200 million in debt to banks and brand partners, a move intended to preempt a legal manoeuvre by the company’s creditors to force a sale. It was a stunning development for a retailer that had been valued at $4.5 billion just four years earlier, and had carved out a niche within luxury fashion stocking a mix of established and emerging brands that appealed to younger consumers.

The restructuring came on the heels of Italian online retailer LuisaViaRoma’s bankruptcy earlier in 2025, and played out amid the worsening financial troubles at Saks Global. The American department store operator, by far the largest pure luxury retailer in North America, is reportedly preparing to file as soon as this week and is looking to raise at least $1 billion to continue operating. Still, many brands that sell through Saks fear they could lose out on millions of dollars in merchandise and unpaid inventories depending on how the bankruptcy process plays out.

Ssense’s restructuring represents something of a best-case scenario: since September, the company has used its interim financing to continue operations, and its sale to the Atallahs would ensure continuity once it emerges from bankruptcy. While many brands say they still haven’t been paid for their Spring/Summer 2025 collections, Ssense made pre-payments for Fall/Winter 2025 and Spring/Summer 2026 inventory, according to five brand partners and two current employees.

Staffers were told last October that the company’s sales were up 17 percent above an unspecified goal for that month. But the company also said product listings were down year on year “due to a slower start on FW25 payments,” according to an internal document viewed by BoF. Ssense’s monthly sales in the US dropped more than 60 percent year on year from September through December 2025, according to debit and credit card transaction data from Consumer Edge.