Canadian retailer and indie fashion brand Ssense has filed for bankruptcy protection amid concerns over high tariffs.
On Thursday, August 28, the company filed an application with Canada's Companies' Creditors Arrangement Act, similar to filing for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in the US.
The CCAA is a federal law that allows insolvent corporations owing creditors more than $5 million to restructure debts under a legal framework while they continue operations.
According to an Ssense spokesperson, the filing came after the retailer's primary lender placed the company under CCAA protection, triggering a sales process "without our consent."
Ssense has been hit hard by the global trade war triggered earlier this year by the Trump administration's trade policies, and the company attributed the bankruptcy filing directly to higher costs incurred in light of the new policy.
As of August 1, Canada faced a 35 per cent tariff on goods shipped into the US, with some exemptions, a higher rate than Mexico, at 25 per cent, and China, currently at 30 per cent.
Furthermore, another setback that hit the company is the closing of the de minimis loophole this Friday, after which packages under $800 in value entering the US will be subject to duties.
Reports about the de minimis loophole coming to an end, on top of the spiked tariff rates on Canada earlier this year, prompted customers to lament their Ssense hauls, particularly from the retailer’s beloved biannual sales.
