Agatha: 46-year-old French jewelry chain felled by online rivals and COVID

Agatha was founded in 1974 by Michel Quiniou as a costume jewelry brand positioned between cheap fashion jewelry and luxury, famous for mix-and-match pieces customers composed themselves. It grew into a French retail staple, and in 2006 the Hong Kong group King Power bought the company. Its subsidiary Seize operated the brand's 120 stores.

By 2019 the model was already bleeding: Agatha faced online jewelry competition, changing customer habits, and the 'yellow vest' protests and pension-reform demonstrations that emptied French city-center shops. Revenue that year was €60 million, with a loss of more than €11 million.

The COVID lockdowns destroyed what was left. On 5 November 2020 the Tribunal de commerce de Bobigny placed Seize in receivership — confirmed on 27 November with a six-month observation period — and a second proceeding opened on 15 December for the group's companies. Seize employed about 300 of the group's roughly 400 staff.

The rescue was a carve-up. On 4 February 2021 the competition authority granted an urgent derogation, and Altesse (Renaissance Luxury Group, owner of Les Georgettes) and Thom (Histoire d'Or, Marc-Orian, TrésOr) jointly took over 32 boutiques and 40 corners — 72 of the approximately 120 points of sale — under the Agatha name. The final clearance (decision 21-DCC-103) came on 23 June 2021, without conditions.