The encyclopedia · Marketing & Brand · Marketing decision · 2019
Jennyfer rebranded away from its teen roots — then couldn't find its way back
Jennyfer rebranded to 'Don't Call Me Jennyfer' in 2019. The name confused customers, and after six years of failed restructurings, the brand was liquidated.
Jennyfer · 2019
What happened
Jennyfer was founded in 1985 as an affordable fashion brand for teenage girls in France, building a strong presence in shopping centers. By 2019, wanting to shed its teenage image, the brand rebranded to 'Don't Call Me Jennyfer' — a name that confused its core customers and failed to attract new ones. The rebranding was a disaster, and the brand soon reverted to its original name, but the damage to its identity was lasting.
The decline accelerated. Jennyfer filed for judicial protection in June 2023 and emerged in mid-2024 with a €15 million investment from a new shareholder group, having closed 20 stores and cut 75 jobs. The brand briefly renamed itself JNYFR before returning to 'Jennyfer' again. A new CEO aimed to preserve the brand's DNA and expand its age range, but the recovery plan failed to meet its targets. The commercial court of Bobigny ordered compulsory liquidation on April 30, 2025.
All 300 stores — 220 in France and 80 internationally — were closed. A partial rescue by Beaumanoir group (26 stores, 350 jobs) and Célio (7 stores, 47 jobs) saved 397 jobs, but about 600 of the 1,000 employees lost their jobs. The brand that had dressed French teenagers for 40 years disappeared from the high street. The case showed that a brand identity crisis — especially one that tells your core customers you do not want them — can be fatal even after years of recovery attempts.
Why it happened
- Jennyfer's 2019 rebranding to 'Don't Call Me Jennyfer' alienated its core teenage customer base without attracting new customers, creating an identity crisis.
- The brand spent six years cycling through identities — Jennyfer, Don't Call Me Jennyfer, JNYFR, back to Jennyfer — without ever fixing its underlying business model.
- Ultra-fast fashion competitors like Shein and Zara captured the teenage market while Jennyfer was distracted by its own rebranding.
- A €15 million recovery plan in 2024 failed because the brand had lost too much ground — customers, stores and relevance were eroding faster than the turnaround could address.
The lesson
A brand that tells its core customers they are not wanted has no customers left. Jennyfer's rebranding alienated the teenagers who made it successful, and it never recovered.
Aftermath
Jennyfer was placed in compulsory liquidation on April 30, 2025. All 300 stores were closed. Beaumanoir group (owner of Bonobo, Cache Cache, Caroll) and Célio acquired 33 stores and 397 jobs in a partial rescue approved by the court in June 2025. The remaining 600 employees lost their jobs. The brand that had been a fixture of French shopping centers for 40 years disappeared from the high street, a victim of a failed rebranding that disconnected it from the customers who made it successful.
Sources
- Midi Libre — Jennyfer en liquidation judiciaire, sauvée en partie par Celio et Beaumanoir (June 2025)
- Marie Claire — Jennyfer liquidation judiciaire (April 2025)
- Ecostylia — Jennyfer en liquidation : la fin d'une icône de la mode ado
- L'Indépendant — Liquidation de Jennyfer : le stock écoulé chez Noz (Sept 2025)
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