The online store will continue to operate under current management with $40 million in milestone funding.
Montreal meaning has reached an agreement with its creditors that will allow the online fashion retailer to continue operating with the support of fresh capital.
“With the support of our creditors, we now have the basis to develop and implement a restructuring plan aimed at securing the long-term future of SSENSE,” said Ssense co-founder and CEO Rami Atallah. “We now have the time, resources and structure to begin the process of rebuilding a stronger SSENSE.”
The company said that on September 12 it received approval from the Quebec Superior Court to implement a restructuring plan under the Companies' Creditors' Arrangement Act (CCAA), which will prevent quick sale possible by their creditors. The agreement allows Ssense to continue operating under its team with nearly $40 million in milestone funding, according to filings reviewed by BetaKit.
In a statement, Atallah said the court's decision was “a critical step that marks the beginning of our next phase.”
Court documents show Ssense had $387 million in assets against $371 million in liabilities.
The new restructuring plan includes bridge financing, including $15 million from Ssense's creditor banks and $25 million from the company's founders. Ssense's lenders include Bank of Montreal, Royal Bank of Canada, Scotiabank, National Bank of Canada and JPMorgan Chase. Ernst & Young is the judicial monitor appointed to oversee the restructuring.
Founded by brothers Rami, Firas and Basel Atallah in 2003, Ssense is an e-commerce retailer specializing in designer fashion and luxury streetwear with approximately 1,100 employees. The company also creates editorial content highlighting its retailers' offerings.
Persistent liquidity problems have led to disagreements between Ssense and its creditors. In July, Ssense hired investment banking firm Greenhill to develop a restructuring plan that would satisfy creditors and allow the business to continue operating, according to documents.
But Ssense's creditors said they could not agree to the refinancing plan. On August 24, approximately $135 million of Ssense's loans came due, and lenders filed their own motion to place Ssense under CCAA protection and force a sale without the company's consent on August 27.
In a statement on August 29, a Ssense spokesperson said they were “deeply disappointed” with the creditors' decision and planned fight for the future of the company with its own CCAA application.
According to the documents, the two sides reached an agreement on September 6 “after intensive discussions and negotiations.”
CONNECTED: Ssense seeks to 'protect' the company from a potential sale through creditor protection
Court documents show Ssense had $387 million in assets against $371 million in liabilities. These liabilities include more than $135 million in loans to creditors, $3.2 million in furlough pay for employees and $93 million in trade creditors, suppliers and others. Investissement Québec will also receive a $21 million equipment loan in 2021 for its Ssense fulfillment center in Saint-Laurent, Quebec.
A Ssense spokesperson told BetaKit that the court has granted the company a 30-day stay period during which it is protected from debt collection by creditors. According to the statement, the suspension period will end on October 20. A stay of proceedings prevents creditors from taking debt collection actions against Ssense. It also temporarily protects Ssense from having to pay designers, some of whom are reportedly didn't pay for shipments shipped several months ago. However, Ssense received court approval to pay for customers' online purchases.
The decision was made after a difficult period for the online store, which was valued at $5 billion in 2021, when US megafund Sequoia Capital acquired a minority stake.
Ssense said in a statement that sales declined between 2023 and 2025 due to changing consumer habits and rising interest rates. The company reported net losses of $123 million in 2022, $67.7 million in 2023 and $132 million in 2024, according to the filing. Its revenue in 2024 was $1.3 billion.
As a result, the online retailer was left with a “significant amount” of unsold inventory, it said, and has taken the following cost-cutting measures: reducing purchases of brands with lower contributions to gross margins, marking down unsold pandemic-era merchandise and reducing advertising costs through “proprietary algorithms.”
Ssense also laid off around 350 staff between January 2023 and May 2025, eliminated evening shifts and increased the use of “cross-functional shifts” for half of its staff. Ssense said this helped save $36 million in fiscal year 2025. To cut costs further, Ssense froze base wages and changed its parental leave policy.
Retail headwinds have intensified this year as Ssense faces liquidation minimum tax exemption. Before it expired in August, the loophole allowed cargo worth less than $800 to enter the United States duty-free. According to the report, 59 percent of Ssense sales are in the U.S., with an average gross price of $549.
The statement said the company continues to face liquidity issues, making the restructuring plan “essential” to stabilize operations. The company will also conduct an investment and sales solicitation process (SISP) to explore sales, investment or financing opportunities.
Image courtesy of Ssense.
