The encyclopedia · Finance & Accounting · Financial decision · 2025
Les Lunes, a Berlin sustainable-womenswear brand, filed for self-administration
Oct 2025: Berlin's sustainable-womenswear label Les Lunes filed for self-administration after weak spending drained its liquidity, keeping its shop open.
Les Lunes GmbH · 2025-10-31
What happened
Les Lunes GmbH is a Berlin e-commerce company selling sustainably-focused womenswear — simple, mostly monochrome pieces made from natural materials — through its own online shop and at retailers like Breuninger, Best Secret and Zalando.
On 31 October 2025 the company applied at the Charlottenburg district court for self-administration proceedings (Eigenverwaltungsverfahren). The application was accepted and preliminary self-administration confirmed; restructuring expert Alexander Dietel joined the management alongside CEO Benjamin Höhner, with lawyer Nadja Raiß handling the restructuring and Prof. Dr. Torsten Martini appointed preliminary custodian.
The company blamed the strained overall economic situation and restrained consumer behaviour, which had 'significantly impacted' its liquidity in recent months. It chose self-administration deliberately so the business could keep operating while it restructured: the shop stayed open, orders and discount codes continued, and even the Black Friday promotion planned for late November went ahead. The 36 employees received insolvency benefit from the employment agency for three months.
Why it happened
- Restrained consumer behaviour and a strained economy drained the company's liquidity in the months before the filing.
- A small e-commerce brand with 36 employees had little buffer, so the same demand weakness that big retail could ride out left it formally insolvent.
- The company chose self-administration over a direct liquidation so management could keep running the business while restructuring — a hinge decision that kept the shop selling through Black Friday.
The lesson
For a small direct-to-consumer brand, a demand dip is a liquidity event, not just a revenue one — when the shop is the business, a few months of weak spending can push it into formal insolvency.
Aftermath
Business continued without restriction during the proceedings, with the online shop open and promotions running. The company aimed to restructure and relaunch 'to operate efficiently and sustainably in the market going forward.'
Sources
- German womenswear brand Les Lunes is insolvent — FashionUnited (Oct 31, 2025)
- Les Lunes GmbH leitet Eigenverwaltungsverfahren ein — Der Indat (Oct 31, 2025)
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